Boondocking On The Way Up (or Back)

[Just_Lee]

We are hoping to travel to Alaska in May/June/July of next year and as time goes by I am sure we will have many questions... One them that I thought of for now is..

I have a 2004 Diesel Pusher that has a Engine Heater... Will running my generator at night be wrong? With the temps so cold...

[Grit_dog]

OP, you have a diesel puncher rv. I don't think you'll freeze to death in the vast untamed Northern wilderness.........in the summer.

[grant135b]

A few summers ago (June) I did the trip up the ALCAN and the Haul Road to the Arctic Circle and back to the lower 48 via the Cassiar tent camping on my motorcycle. I was perfectly comfortable at night with a 40 degree sleeping bag, and some nights I didn't even use the bag. Only one night did it get a little chilly (40, maybe?) and it was a night I made the mistake of using my sleeping bag unzipped like a blanket instead of zipped up, and that was relatively far south in Prince George, BC. For most of the trip in BC, the Yukon, and AK, I thought the nights were the perfect sleeping temps.

Of course, when you're that far north in June, "night" is a relative term. It took a while to get used to it being light and the birds singing all night, which in a tent can be a distraction (I used ear plugs).

[memtb]

Thanks pigman1, this planned trip is only getting better! memtb

[pigman1]

memtb wrote:
pigman1, You mentioned a freezer of seafood..... Any problems coming back to the states crossing the border? If not.... We may have to get a "bigger" freezer! 😉 memtb


Of course, We could wait until Nov. or Dec. and just put it in the bed of the Dodge and not have to buy another freezer :B

Yeah, We put a 4' chest freezer in the back of the pickup. It has a big cap on an 8' bed. We also have a 3 cu ft basement freezer we fill. I've wired it so 110 power from the RV keeps both running all the way down. No problem at all as far as bringing the fish through Canada and back to the US. I used to fill out a fish declaration, USFWS Form 3-177, and have US Alaska customs certify it, and show it to Canada customs and US customs when I hit Montana. Two years ago I tried to do it and Alaska customs said it was no longer required. Sure enough, not even an eye bat when we went south, so I won't bother again.

[memtb]

pigman1, You mentioned a freezer of seafood..... Any problems coming back to the states crossing the border? If not.... We may have to get a "bigger" freezer! 😉 memtb


Of course, We could wait until Nov. or Dec. and just put it in the bed of the Dodge and not have to buy another freezer :B

[Lwiddis]

Why would runnng your generator all night long be necessary? You don't have enough battery capacity to run your heater for one night?

[Lwiddis]

"Will running my generator at night be wrong? "

If you camp close to me it will. And why?

[PA12DRVR]

Not sure about the question whether it is for purposes of "cabin heat" or regarding an engine block heater.

Can't speak to Cummins or Cat, but neither my Chevy diesel nor my F550 diesel has needed a block heater (either oil, pad, or anti-freeze) since circa late March/ early April this year in Los Anchorage, and even that last time I used it was probably overkill. Did use the block heater in Squarebanks mid-March, but that was a couple of -20 deg. F days.

Can't imagine you'll need block heat for your trip.

[pigman1]

We just came up to Alaska for the 7th time since 2006. This year we left DE on April 20 and got to Valdez April 28. Low temps we saw on the trip were in the 27-28 range at night, but understand even at that time nights are quite short in the north country. We did use gas heat on some nights and our rear heat also helps to heat the basement. We usually had night heat set to 60 on the thermostat, but we like to sleep cold. We hit some snow and slippery roads in and around Calgary and hit snow showers from Wisconsin to the Alaskan border. Based on weather history, this weather was unusually cool and wet. We boondocked all the way from Delaware to Valdez and used about 7 gal of propane. Never plugged in or stopped in an RV park. We never used the generator except for occasions when we used the microwave or the electric frying pan. Dash heat was fine for day runs, but it did get chilly in the back some days while we were traveling. We'll plan to leave Alaska at the end of August and heat will not be necessary. In fact, we usually hit temps in the 90's by the time we're in Ohio. Snow line in the north will start coming down the higher mountains by that time, but nothing to be concerned about as far as driving or overnighting in wide spots in the road. We boondock all the way back too, even with a 17 cu ft chest freezer and a 3 cu ft basement freezer full of frozen fish and shrimp.

[rag-ftw]

Suggest you check the average temps along your route. It has been our experience that the night time lows seldom get below freezing that time of the year. We did see 25F one night in Dawson Creek in 2012, but that was the coldest night we have seen during those 3 months.

Keep checking the responses to the other post where you asked this question as more replies will be entered.

[pianotuna]

Running the generator may be essential.