Prepping my Caravan for my Alaska adventure

[Geocritter]

My full-time home is a Class A RV. It’s very comfortable when parked and set up, but with its size and the 6-7mpg it gets, except for numerous month-long relocations, I explore in my 25mpg Dodge Caravan. This year I’m taking my Caravan explorations to a new level. I’m putting my RV in storage for two months and starting this May I’ll be driving to Alaska and back in my Caravan. To make the Caravan more camping friendly I’ve made the following interior modification.


I added a 4’x6’ sleeping platform with underneath storage accessed through three separate and removable 2’x4’ panels that make up the top surface of the platform.


Here’s a photo of the sleeping platform from the rear. I’ll be sleeping on two thick foam dinette cushions that I’ll borrow from my RV. The red cooler in the photo is where I store all my various cookware, spices, etc. As can be seen with my campstove, the rear of the platform doubles as a kitchen area. When not in use, the cooler is stored under the platform.


I’ve equipped one of my hydraulic rear lift gate supports with a sliding support lock (the hydraulic lift support doesn’t work well in cold weather). This way I can cook my meals or sit outside in a lawn chair even if it’s raining.

Building the platform was easy. I had all the wood pre-cut at the lumber yard and assembled it in about an hour back at the RV park. The platform cost about $65 in materials. According to my research, the exterior grade OSB I’m using contains a generally considered hazard free low out-gas emitting phenol formaldehyde.

Back in the 1980-90’s I equipped several Caravans I had exactly the same way to take my kids on camping trips and it worked out great!

Steve

[Grit_dog]

J herb wrote:
Geocritter,
thanks for the report on your trip and glad that you had a great trip.
We are thinking about going to Alaska in a year or two and was wandering about how bad were the mosquitoes in in Canada and Alaska.
Thanks, Jay

Hahahahahahah.......ahhhhaahhaha!!
They're bad. No wind, middle of summer, better have some long sleeves, deet and possibly a head net 'pending where you're at.

[J_herb]

Geocritter,
thanks for the report on your trip and glad that you had a great trip.
We are thinking about going to Alaska in a year or two and was wandering about how bad were the mosquitoes in in Canada and Alaska.
Thanks, Jay

[Team_Triton]

We have had good luck with these. Put one on the table under the awning near the door. I was surprised how well they work.
http://www.thermacell.com/products/mosquito-repellents/mosquito-repellers

[Geocritter]

73guna wrote:
Im extremely jealous.
How long did it take you to travel through Canada to Alaska border?
How was it getting into Canada and back into the States?
Also, Im curious if you carried a gun and how that went with the border crossings?

Traveling through Canada took a while. I passed into Canada around noon May 4th and rolled into Tok Alaska on May 9th that time period also included a one day side-trip on the Klondike Highway to Skagway AK and back. The return from Alaska was much different since I came back through British Columbia and then headed east at Cache Creek BC to meet up with my daughter in Banff for a long Father’s Day weekend. On the return trip I was in Canada from early June 7th to June 22nd.

I chose not to bring a gun. However, I’m not anti-gun but the Canadians are pretty down on handguns and it would’ve cost me $25 for a permit to bring a long gun. Instead, after a conference with a good friend who’s lived and hunted in Alaska for 40 years, I brought a can of “Bear Deterrent”. Basically, bear deterrent is pepper spray, but it should be plainly marked “bear deterrent” since if you were to take a can of Mace it’d be confiscated. I had no trouble with any border crossings, even with Texas plates. However, I think partially because of the Texas plates, I was questioned thoroughly about guns but I'd done my due diligence (I was even complemented on that!) and had no problems.

Steve

[73guna]

Im extremely jealous.
How long did it take you to travel through Canada to Alaska border?
How was it getting into Canada and back into the States?
Also, Im curious if you carried a gun and how that went with the border crossings?

[dodge_guy]

At first I didn't understand why you wouldn't take the RV on that trip, now I see why? Sounds like a great time! That's a trip I'de like to do some day, even a quarter of it would be good!

[2gypsies1]

Wow! You had a fantastic trip with only a couple minor problems. Good for you! Your Banff gift was awesome.

Yes, Ruidoso will be much cooler than southern Arizona. Enjoy!

[Geocritter]

Hi all y’all,

I’m back from my Alaska Highway road trip adventure. Between May 1st and June 27th I drove 12,300 miles. The trip went from southeast Arizona up through Utah, Idaho, Montana, the Canadian Rockies, the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek to its historical terminus in Delta Junction AK (I also took a side-trip to Skagway AK), on to Fairbanks AK, to Denali, then Anchorage and next to Homer AK and back to Anchorage. During my return to Sierra Vista I drove back to Fairbanks then to Delta Junction, down to Valdez AK, from Valdez north to Chicken AK, east to Dawson City YT on the Top of the World (Klondike) Highway, next to Whitehorse YT and then south through BC to Cache Creek BC where I turned east to revisit Banff National Park in Alberta Canada (my wonderful daughter Margot flew in from Los Angeles and treated me to a Father’s Day weekend at a Banff B&B on a horse ranch). After Banff and Father’s Day I continued south through Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona to Sierra Vista. During my journey, besides driving the Alaska Highway, I visited the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, Craters of the Moon National Monument, Wrangle-St. Elias, Denali, Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Mt. Revelstoke, Glacier (Canadian & US), and Waterton Lakes National Parks. I toured a sternwheeler river boat and a huge gold mining dredge in Dawson City and a preserved ghost town in Bannack Montana. Of lessor interest I suppose was that I was finally able to visit an area in Montana and another area in British Columbia that were written about in two of my favorite childhood books.

FWIW, even though my Caravan had 189,000 miles on it to start the only problems I encountered was a flat tire that I repaired myself and I carelessly locked myself out in a mosquito infested Glacier NP campground. However, once I found a wire coat hanger and borrowed a screwdriver and plyers, it took me less than 5 minutes to get into my locked car. I’m pleased to say that my Caravan still gets over 10,000 miles per quart of oil.

I’m currently taking it easy in Sierra Vista AZ. In August I’m relocating in my RV to Ruidoso NM and hopefully cooler weather.

Steve

[CavemanCharlie]

Looks like fun.

[73guna]

It was really a quite simple setup.
Small solar panel charged batts during the day, at night we ran a couple fans if needed and in the morning Id fire up the coffee pot.
I made a drop receiver hitch to lower the batt box/cargo carrier so I could open the tailgate.
Few things I'd change if done again, like no head space was a pain at times, sleeping platform was too narrow for me, but you learn what's best as you go.
I don't know if you've visited this website before,
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/forums/ but I got a lot of great ideas there.

[Geocritter]

73guna, I like what you’ve done and I may incorporate some of your ideas into my future Caravan modifications (such as narrowing my sleeping platform down from 4’x6’ to 3’x6’). I’m curious though, while I’m very impressed with your solar setup, I’d like to ask why you need such an elaborate system. FWIW I’m very interested in solar because I want to make my Class A much more boondock worthy and escape the need for expensive and crowded RV parks.

Steve

[73guna]

Thats a great idea, something to be said about traveling light and with items you only need.
If you dont mind I'll share a few of my photos.
My son and I took a lil trip last year in my truck that I outfitted.
It was tight quarters but it sure was nice not pulling the camper.

[Gjac]

I did something similar in 1984 when my 3 kids were small in a Plymouth Voyager. I needed the back seats for the kids while driving so I built a storage box out of Al to go on top of the van. The back seat was repositioned all the way to the back and raised so that if it rained, or we pulled into a CG late, my wife and I could sleep on the floor with or feet under the back seat my 10 year old slept on the back seat and the 6 and 8 year old slept on the 2 front seats. We had a small tent and most nights the kids would take turns sleeping with me in the tent. We toured the west for a month. It was the best family vacation we ever had. Having said that the Class A was much more enjoyable going to Alaska at our age now.

[2gypsies1]

I think you've got it Geocritter! I first thing I thought of also was keeping the mosquitoes out if you're cooking in the rear.

Best of luck to you and safe travels. It's an awesome trip (but we took our 40' motorhome.) 🙂