Will Towing a Keystone TH to Alaska Make it Fall Apart?

[tlukasavige172]

So I just sold a high end ATC fifth wheel toy hauler. They are very well built with real wood throughout the camper. The bathroom door weighed about 50 pounds by itself. :E It was just too dang big though so I sold it. I'm looking at getting a Keystone 27 Carbon bumper pull travel trailer.

My girlfriend and I will be full timing in it and towing it to Alaska for some winter time skiing and snowmobiling. My questions is, will the dang thing just fall apart around us as we use it? I've not seen this exact model but travel trailers that I've looked at seem to be pretty chincy. What's your opinion?

The other option I was going to do was buy a Northern Lite truck bed camper and tow an enclosed trailer behind. But I really need to be able to use the bed and it's a pain to load and unload a camper and impossible in the winter when the ground is freezing and thawing everyday. Thanks for any advice.

[Vulcanmars]

I think the trailer will be fine. I towed my Tailgator through plenty of dirt/gravel/sandy forestry roads. No issues. If possible undercoat the chassis to slow down the salt corrosion.

[ORbiker]

I've camped in -15*F at Crater Lake as a ski patroller in my Citation pickup camper. With electric it did pretty well. It was 55* inside, but the double pane windows were lightly frosted over. I did have water on board, but the basement was being heated by a small electric heater.
While traveling the propane furnace did ok, but if the tanks got down below 1/2 there was less heat. At 30 below, I don't think the propane will be flowing very well at all.

The roads should be fine. Maybe smoother then in the summer.

[trail-explorer]

I go for a Desert Fox with fully enclosed / heated tanks before I went with a Keystone.

Frames on Northwood products (Arctic Fox, Desert Fox, Nash, Snow River, Fox Mountain) are built in house, and are much beefier than the frames on a Keystone.

[carringb]

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Have you looked at Nash's 4 season models?

X2 - I would strongly suggest a Dessert Fox for that kind of use. The Northwood trailers are actually made for off-road use, so they have stronger joints on the body structure, better clearance, way better insulation, and small things like bigger brakes and shocks absorbers. And the axles aways seem one step higher than the equivalent floor plan from the big brands.

(PS - My Outdoors RV Creekside also has a Northwood chassis... if was one of the criteria when I was trailer shopping).

[OutdoorPhotogra]

Have you looked at Nash's 4 season models?

[shum02]

tlukasavige172 wrote:

If you have full hook ups it could be done with planning. You would need two electric space heaters, and I would purchase the heating element for the a/c unit. You have the furnace as a last resort but I don't think you will need it very often. Make sure your water heater is gas and electric and use the electric. For sure you can stay comfortable with the above. Set the portable electric heaters at 70 and they should do a fairly good job of keeping it warm in there in all but the worst of weather.

The bigger issue will be keeping hoses and tanks from freezing. Heated/insulated tanks, should suffice for your tanks- especially if you are hooked up and leave the valves open. Make sure the tanks are served by electric blankets and not insulated tanks that are feed by warm air from the furnace. You will want a solid pvc or other drain pipe from the rv to sewer. Take your water hose inside at night and leave it in the shower so it does not freeze or has a chance to unfreeze if the day was super cold. I would keep very little water in the water tank of the trailer and plan my showers for when the hose was hooked up...

I will not be keeping water in it.

Using electric tank heaters, elbow heaters and heat trace wire makes it more than possible if you where in the mood for the challenge. Do it all the time in my R7 rated KZ with only the occasional challenge. The Keystone is way better insulated than my rig, I'd consider it.

[tlukasavige172]

If you have full hook ups it could be done with planning. You would need two electric space heaters, and I would purchase the heating element for the a/c unit. You have the furnace as a last resort but I don't think you will need it very often. Make sure your water heater is gas and electric and use the electric. For sure you can stay comfortable with the above. Set the portable electric heaters at 70 and they should do a fairly good job of keeping it warm in there in all but the worst of weather.

The bigger issue will be keeping hoses and tanks from freezing. Heated/insulated tanks, should suffice for your tanks- especially if you are hooked up and leave the valves open. Make sure the tanks are served by electric blankets and not insulated tanks that are feed by warm air from the furnace. You will want a solid pvc or other drain pipe from the rv to sewer. Take your water hose inside at night and leave it in the shower so it does not freeze or has a chance to unfreeze if the day was super cold. I would keep very little water in the water tank of the trailer and plan my showers for when the hose was hooked up...

I will not be keeping water in it.

[fly-boy]

tlukasavige172 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. I drove up to Alaska four years ago in the winter for a ski trip and that's the plan again this winter. My question is geared more for what kind of milage can these trailers handle? They are made for people to use on the weekends for 4 months out of the year is kinda my thought. Will towing it full time just deteriorate the entire thing? Is it made to handle full time towing and traveling?

No! It will fall apart and it is not close to being designed for cold weather let alone Alaska cold. A nice living quarters horse trailer would stand a much better chance of standing up to the type of use you describe- and the smaller volume of space will help with heating.

If you have full hook ups it could be done with planning. You would need two electric space heaters, and I would purchase the heating element for the a/c unit. You have the furnace as a last resort but I don't think you will need it very often. Make sure your water heater is gas and electric and use the electric. For sure you can stay comfortable with the above. Set the portable electric heaters at 70 and they should do a fairly good job of keeping it warm in there in all but the worst of weather.

The bigger issue will be keeping hoses and tanks from freezing. Heated/insulated tanks, should suffice for your tanks- especially if you are hooked up and leave the valves open. Make sure the tanks are served by electric blankets and not insulated tanks that are feed by warm air from the furnace. You will want a solid pvc or other drain pipe from the rv to sewer. Take your water hose inside at night and leave it in the shower so it does not freeze or has a chance to unfreeze if the day was super cold. I would keep very little water in the water tank of the trailer and plan my showers for when the hose was hooked up...

Little things like the above would make it doable but I would just rent a nice mountainside cabin... and park in the garage. 🙂

[DutchmenSport]

I've owned 2 Keystones now and to be truthful... They travel nice... but take a lot of propane in the winter to heat. I've never had one fall apart... well ... not quite... yet. But, I've never driven roads in Alaska either.

[tlukasavige172]

Thanks for the replies. I drove up to Alaska four years ago in the winter for a ski trip and that's the plan again this winter. My question is geared more for what kind of milage can these trailers handle? They are made for people to use on the weekends for 4 months out of the year is kinda my thought. Will towing it full time just deteriorate the entire thing? Is it made to handle full time towing and traveling?

[Tom_Barb]

tlukasavige172 wrote:
So I just sold a high end ATC fifth wheel toy hauler. They are very well built with real wood throughout the camper. The bathroom door weighed about 50 pounds by itself. :E It was just too dang big though so I sold it. I'm looking at getting a Keystone 27 Carbon bumper pull travel trailer.

My girlfriend and I will be full timing in it and towing it to Alaska for some winter time skiing and snowmobiling. My questions is, will the dang thing just fall apart around us as we use it? I've not seen this exact model but travel trailers that I've looked at seem to be pretty chincy. What's your opinion?

The other option I was going to do was buy a Northern Lite truck bed camper and tow an enclosed trailer behind. But I really need to be able to use the bed and it's a pain to load and unload a camper and impossible in the winter when the ground is freezing and thawing everyday. Thanks for any advice.

I have yet to see a Toy Hauler that is insulated well enough that I'd take it to Alaska in the winter. Better ask your trailer dealer what it will be like inside this unit at -30 degrees.


But the Roads are better in the winter than they are in the summer.

[Keithr627]

A trip to Alaska is on my bucket list. A winter time trip to Alaska in a trailer not so much.????????

[Road_Runners]

Its been a while since I was to Alaska in our fiver, but the thing I learned on the road was:
If you see road sign saying "Bump" you better slow down. It is not like in the lower 48 where a bump sign means a slight change in the road. On the Alaska hiway they only put a bump sign out when its a really big bump...