First Trip through Canada & into Alaska - Many Questions!

[Quadcab]

Wife & I are planning our Alaska Adventure starting in June of 2025. I am all gung-ho, but my wife is reluctant to commit without asking those of you with experience how we should plan & what to look out for. BTW, we have a newer 2022 F-350 7.3L Gas Lariat SRW Supercrew 7.5' bed with 4:30 Axle & a 2021 Alliance Paradigm 310RL 35' 5th wheel with a smaller Solar package. 5th Wheel will be upgraded to the MorRyde IS and Disc Brakes before we leave.
Questions:
1) Elevation - any concerns pulling with our gasser? Any mountain passes or other higher elevations we should avoid? 5ver weighs about 15,000lbs. fully loaded. Our truck handles it nicely here in the lower 48.
2) Any experience joining an RV Caravan & travelling as a group? Any thoughts about doing that verses winging it alone?
3) Should we carry extra auxiliary gas cans just in case?
4) Will (2) smaller dogs be a problem? We know about having their shots & papers with us when crossing into Canada. They usually love car trips.

All responses would be helpful & appreciated!

[thomas201]

Alaskans don't go thru a couple dozen tires per year. Yes, have a full size spare tire but you don't need multiples.

Lots of paranoia on this subject. If you don't feel the need for multiple spare tires in the lower 48, you don't need them for Alaska.

I always carry two mounted spares for the 5er. Hard to find the right tire on a Sunday morning in a small town. On a long journey, I carry a second mounted spare for the truck. My 5er is still just barely 15% of its weight on the pin. That way, I can wait and buy tires at my convenience. Tools, antifreeze, window wash, tires, oil and filter, grease, bearings, yada, yada, and I am still light on the pin. I love an extra spare, yep I have seen two popped at the same time. I think a wedge is the best way to jack one up.

[MDKMDK]

Honestly, pulling a 7+ ton fiver, with a gas powered pickup truck, would be the last way I'd try the Alaska journey. Too many possible points of failure. Rent a class C motorhome, instead.
We did it in a B van (Roadtrek) and there were many possible points of failure for us. Thankfully, none happened, except a windshield replacement on the way back.

[valhalla360]

thomas201 wrote:

For the 5er, an extra spare tire would be good.

Alaskans don't go thru a couple dozen tires per year. Yes, have a full size spare tire but you don't need multiples.

Lots of paranoia on this subject. If you don't feel the need for multiple spare tires in the lower 48, you don't need them for Alaska.

[MDKMDK]

One more thing comes to mind, based on our 2016 trip up and back along Hwy 97 (AlCan Hwy).
Travel speeds, road conditions, and construction zones.
There will be places along the AlCan that will be under construction, and you may see some unpredictable delays.
Many stretches of the construction zones use "pilot cars/trucks" besides "flag people" to guide you through it, and at these stretches speeds can be slow, and distances can be long. We hit a few that were miles long, and dead slow due to the road conditions. Some was loose gravel, some bordering on mud. That was during the daylight hours. After dark, if you choose to drive then, you may be "your own pilot car" at times, so be aware, most construction zones were only manned during daylight hours.
Also, frost heaves along the roads are common, particularly north and west of Whitehorse, and were often marked with little flags or painted stakes. Go slow through/over these places.
Lastly, don't expect to be traveling at freeway speeds, even though the speed limit signage might allow it. Don't assume because it says 80 or 90 or 100 kph that you can safely do that speed.
Be prepared to take your time.
There are (in Canada) highway and road conditions websites (511?) with maps, that will show where you can expect to find construction and delays. Some of them are here...
https://511.alberta.ca/#:Alerts
https://www.drivebc.ca/mobile/events/index.html
https://511yukon.ca/
https://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/Highways

[thomas201]

We flew back just 2 weeks ago from Whitehorse. We rented a new class C in Elkhart and drove up. Most of the advice above is good, but I will add a few things.

For the 5er, an extra spare tire would be good. Make sure, the hubs are packed when the switch is made to the new wheels. Have a spare wheel bearing, race and seals, already packed and ready to go. Put the bearings and races right in a can of grease. Know how to replace the wheel bearing and bring the tools and rags.

Watch for soft shoulders on the roads. Slow down if you see little orange cones along the road. I thought the frost heave was going to throw me through the roof of the pickup the first time I hit a frost heave. I thought a little cone marked a little problem. Wrong.

[PA12DRVR]

Thoughts:

- If your setup works in the Cascades, Rockies, or similar, you won't have problems coming to Alaska
- BC deserves 98.5% of the same time as Alaska (can't say any higher % or my Alaska card gets revoked).
- Carry as much extra gas as is convenient. I've taken 20+ trips since 1976 and have never needed gas but always had it...go figure. The road is so vastly improved that you can get further in a "day's drive" than in the old days, but in my anecdotal view, there are fewer places to stop and get fuel. Do run off the top 1/2 of the tank.
- Haven't RV'd for 10 years or more, so this is pure unadulterated opinion: Caravans add minimum value and significant restriction and are not, IMO, needed to drive to Alaska. I've taken everything from an 18-wheeler to a motorcycle to/ from Alaska to the L48 except a 5th wheel..never caravaned, so my view may not be worth much.
- There are quite a few places along the way that you'll be away from cell phone coverage, etc, but I honestly think you'll see more folks on the route (during the summer) than you would in many of the more remote places in the American SW or northern plains.

[RICK-ards_Red]

Did this trip last summer, GMC 1500 pulling a 27' Catalina. Roads are good with plenty of hills in northern BC and Yukon but just take it easy and should be no issues. Book the busier camp areas early before your trip ie Dawson Creek, lots of caravans take the campgrounds. Ones I didn't pre book I arrived at a decent time around 4pm. Cell coverage is very sparse so make sure your units are well maintained. Gas I never had an issue with except on the Yellowhead Hwy in Saskatchewan

[MDKMDK]

About cell phone coverage and towers. For emergency calls/contact.
Check with your US cell phone service provider, and ask about Canadian roaming, and who they partner with for coverage in Canada. If they pair up with Bell/Telus, you should have some sparse connectivity between Dawson Creek, BC and Tok, AK. If they are partnered with Rogers, you'll be pretty much offline for that same stretch of highway. Rogers has few if any towers in that area along the AlCan Highway.When we did the AlCan in 2016, we had to get a Virgin Mobile SIM card in Whitehorse, YT to get coverage along there.
Map of cell towers....
https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html?lat=59.085739&lng=-106.172381&zoom=4&type=Road...

[enblethen]

One item is set up a chart
1) Monetary exchange rate at the time you leave home
2) Height show your rig in feet and in meters
3) Speed conversion miles to kilometers.
4) Show gallons to liters
Make sure your credit or debit card has banking system in Canada
We have used The Milepost Magazine for several trips. It has good map and information. More recent ones have a lot of advertising.
Your rout will determine elevations. Your rig should be able to handle it.
Don't over purchase food. There are stores all along the routes from Lower 48.

[CA_Traveler]

Here's our Alaska trip, don't overlook the right side links. https://2013alaska.blogspot.com/

[CA_Traveler]

1) No concern
2) It's expensive and you follow their plan and pre made arrangements. The caravan doesn't wait if you have a issue. We talked to several folks about their caravan and it was a good experience for them. We had family stay with us for a week and we were the Kenai Peninsula tour guides!
3) Yes, never drive below 1/2 tank full and plan on the next fuel station 200 miles away to be closed.
4) No problem. When we went the bigger problem was entering the US. Vets can supply travel papers. Be sure everything is current a few weeks before departure.

Do an advanced search on alaska above. Be sure to select the archive option.

[PartyOf_Five]

Those are nice questions, and unfortunately I don't have any answers.

We went in 2019 with a 31-ft C Class and pulled a Honda Accord on a tow dolly. No issues other than a crack in the windshield that insurance took care of, and a couple tires.

I hear the roads have gotten better since then but your best bet is to take it nice and slow so that your suspension and tires take less of a beating.

British Columbia deserves just as much time as Alaska does, and we enjoyed the whole 10,000 miles to and from Chicago.

There are plenty of gas stations and amenities of all kinds, and perhaps the most eye opening thing is that there are all kinds of people going to alaska. Bicycles, motorcycles, small cars, minivans, small RVs, Big A's, etc. Her worry we had, they were doing the same thing and we all made it.

Have a great trip!