Roll Call Alaska 2019

In Wisconsin on way back home. Traveled over 11400 miles so far. Steer clear of Tok cut off between Tok and Glennallen. Use rt 4 between Delta Junction and Glennallen. Tok cut off is in bad shape (frost heaves) and construction. Broke a spring and shackle there. Saw another guy who broke an axle. Long delays there also.

Unfortunately here in the far north, construction and frost heaves have been a way of life since roads were developed.

I cannot stress enough the fact when I post here or tell other people about commuting on buckled up roads or frost heaves to SLOW DOWN OR DRIVE TO A CRAWL IF NEEDED or else significant damage to equipment, suspension parts, and axles bending or breaking will result !


To give a prime perspective on a much similar conditioned route when I travelled the notorious 85 mile stretch of Destruction Bay YT thru White River YT on the Alaska Highway over the years - these are the driving times I posted according to my travel logs in my old 1970 Ford F250 camper rig :

Year - Total Time - Average MPH

1998 ....3 hr 46 min....22.56 MPH
2008 ....2 hr 44 min....31.09 MPH
2009 ....2 hr 50 min....30.00 MPH
2010 ....3 hr 07 min....27.27 MPH
2011 ....2 hr 41 min....31.67 MPH
2012 ....3 hr 32 min....24.05 MPH
2013 ....2 hr 39 min....32.07 MPH
2014 ....2 hr 55 min....29.14 MPH
2015 ....2 hr 53 min....29.48 MPH
2016 ....3 hr 36 min....23.61 MPH

Now haulin' the camper on my old 1975 Ford F250 rig :

2017 ....1 hr 54 min....44.73 MPH
2018 ....1 hr 41 min....50.49 MPH

During 2016 and 2017, the Yukon DOT Road Maintenance had worked on the Koidern-Donjec corridors of the Alaska Highway and significantly improved the roadway along this stretch which was the best I ever seen it during 2017 and 2018 since the first time I driven it in 1985, however it will be short lived as this stretch will buckle up again within a year or two.

As you see the incremental travel times I logged over the years are different, as there were stretches of this 85 mile area that the road surfaces and frost heaves were so bad, I had to drive thru some portions moving between 2 MPH to 10 MPH in many spots.

Regardless, I NEVER had a single mishap on bent, broken spring, shackle, or axle issues in my 1970 Ford F250 rig that I exclusively used as a camper hauler from 1996 thru 2016.....

That covered over 3600 miles of estimated unpaved road surfaces....

Crossed well north of the Arctic Circle while sections of the Dalton Highway were very rough....

Estimated covering over 70 percent of the 'connecting' Alaska road system minus various city and village side streets....

Driven thru many road construction zones and pilot car escorts to count....

Driven Top of the World Highway to Dawson seven times and the Taylor Highway 8 times between 1998 and 2016 in my camper rig....

Driven a 5060 mile round trip from Fairbanks AK to Yellowknife NWT and back in 2008 with unpaved road and rough surfaced sidetrips in between....

....and countless western Canada trips on a yearly basis since 2008.

I driven the Tok Cutoff route in my camper in 1997 and it was pretty horrendous with frost heaves then, took me two days taking my time thru there as I overnighted on Nabesna Road and overnighted in Gakona the following day taking my sweet time to Anchorage.

Logged 45,951 total miles with my camper on my 1970 F250 rig, and the GVWR was overweight between 200 and 600 lbs., while the front axle was 300 lbs. overweight from 2008 thru 2016.....All on Alaska and western Canada roadways with countless frost heaves and buckled road surfaces in between without a bent or broken mishap !!!!!.

Although I had to retire the 1970 F250 truck of mine from being a full time camper hauler because of the replacement cab mounts welded in 2010 were not as durable as the factory ones - only lasted six years as I only had 80 percent rust free floorboard left and the steering column started taking a toll on the heavier front end with the cabover camper weight - now it is an everyday driver starting in 2017 with the extra weight off the truck and is just fine.

I'm sorry but whenever someone experiences equipment damage to suspension or axles - they were still driving too fast for road conditions - it is all on the driver.


If the road is declared open, it is drivable....just slow down or waaaay down if the road surface is worse like I always done and you will avoid damage.

Unless one wants to be in a hurry - then avoid a certain route and go the long way around if that's an option.