Your housing allowance and cost of living adjustment will go a long way to help for rents. Tracking's recommendations are sound and should be seriously considered. Post housing office can also help with a lot of information. Contact them immediately.
We've been in Alaska in the winter and have seen an occasional RV, but they're not too frequent. I believe what you're wanting to do can be done, but not on your first trip north into these climate extremes. When you get up there, talk, talk, talk to the locals, NOT THE GI's. The locals know and can give you tons of good info, but you need time to absorb their lessons and to learn to live in that environment. At those extremes, mistakes can be deadly.