Alaskan TC Owners

[countrycampers3]

Alaskan TC Owners,

Looking ahead at our next TC Rig, and I would like to ask some of you who own an Alaskan a few questions.

Like do you think you actually save on fuel without such a High Rig to catch the wind and cause drag to lower you fuel economy.

Do the seals that seal off the upper half and lower seam to do a good job on keeping out bugs and wind. Especially during winter Camping, which we do a lot of. Any drafts that you notice? How long have you had your Rig, and did the seals need replacing?

How well insulated. Would you give high rankings for cold weather. We've camped at well below -0 temps, and want to be toasty.

Any other information of Pro's and Con's you might have would be appreciated.

Are there any Alaskan TC owners anywhere in the Middle Region of the Country that we could meet and see your TC. That is the hard part to find one to view. There aren't many around and then to find one close to view is difficult.

Thank You for your help.

[countrycampers3]

Thanks everyone for the Help. Even the Goose.

We really weren't planning this but came across a deal to good for a family of three. We found a 1994 lance 990. In great shape. Had a friend who had owned one, he told me where to look for all the moisture intrusion spots.

NONE that we found. things in great shape. 2 owner, second owner had it sheded for the 10 years he owned it when not in use. I called my local lance dealer and ask if they could have headquarters find out if it had the arctic package on it from the serial number. Low and behold my local dealer sold it brand new in 1994. Cooolllll. I'm going to see if I can find the original owner then I'd have a complete history on her. I'm into those history things and making connections.

Thanks Again Everyone for the Alaska(n) Info.
The Lord Led us down a different road. There always seems to be a lot of different turns in it. Trust Him and go down it.

Later,
Life's Short Go TC'en.
Doug

[countrycampers3]

gkirtley wrote:
I owned an Alaska(n) cabover-style camper for a number of years in the 80s. I had an interesting experience in cold weather. I purchased it in Sioux Falls, S.D. from a pair of Swedish cabinet makers who owned the franchise there. Since I used to live in N. Minnesota I thought I would go up and visit some of my old neighbors while I was close-by (relatively speaking). It was December and the temps were dropping to around -30F at night and around 0F during the day in the Grand Rapids area. I slept in the camper and stayed most of the time in the neighbors house.

When I decided to leave after 2 or 3 days I went to lower the camper and it wouldn't budge. The two seals (one is on the bottom of the camper top and the other on the top of the camper bottom) were basically frozen from the cold and and body moisture. We tried pouring some almost boiling water on it with mixed results. It would thaw it out but by the time we got around the perimeter it would refreeze. We got it broken loose but it would not go down evenly. Since it was a cabover model it is basically unbalanced to begin with due to the overhang on one end.

We went and borrowed a construction heater and made it like a sauna in there and then it dropped fine at that point. Sometimes I wished I still had that unit but it had some drawbacks including the mosquito intrusion mentioned in another post--that is for real in bad mosquito country. Rain and snow weren't much of an issue because the folding panels cover most of the bed before you put them into place. If the bugs were real bad we would spray a fogger around the outside before set-up. On ours there was no screen on the door(s) either so you had to deal with that as well.

Thanks a bunch on this. We plan to do a lot of winter camping just like that in some in those temperatures. a lot of 2-4 night stays for about a month in the winter. Would hate to have to deal with that. Thanks again

[countrycampers3]

dcsparky wrote:
I own an Alaskan and have camped it at around 17 degrees. I can't tell for sure if it save money over a full up one. I have a 2006 diesel ram shortbread. I can tell you it a joy going down the highway at 70 to 75.

I average between 14 and 16 mpg depending on my foot and the torain.

Its not the biggest camper but the construction quality is great.

Mine is 2 year old.

I love th fact that I can cruise down the highway without any worries including low bridges. I store it in the garage.

The upper part is insulated you can get insulation on the floor. The side walls are not insulated except for the fact that you double wall with the cabinets.

The only thing I actually occasionally miss is an indoor shower.

Thanks helpful. Appreciate it.

[ISBRAM]

exhaustipated wrote:

Ramp Digger wrote:

brookside wrote:
We are looking at truck campers and I really like the Alaskan camper and searched coming up with this thread but can anyone tell me if Alaskan has an option for an inside shower, sort of like the cassette/pop-up shower design? I couldn't find anything saying that it did but I really like it. We wouldn't be able to consider it if there is no inside shower option since that is one of the big reasons we are "moving up" from our current pop-up. Thanks!

I believe the alaskan in the 10 foot model may have that option.You can check their web site.Ours is an 8 foot model and does not and I dont believe there be room to put one.

The 10 foot model Alaskan only has a Thetford cassette toilet but no inside shower according to Alaskan's website. You can order an outside shower for it. I noticed that a fellow from Salinas, CA is selling his 2013 Alaskan for $26,000 on EBAY and his has a Thetford cassette toilet.

We looked at the Alaskan as I really like them but the open toilet area and no inside shower was a no go for my wife.

[Waitin2Retire]

brookside wrote:
We are looking at truck campers and I really like the Alaskan camper and searched coming up with this thread but can anyone tell me if Alaskan has an option for an inside shower, sort of like the cassette/pop-up shower design? I couldn't find anything saying that it did but I really like it. We wouldn't be able to consider it if there is no inside shower option since that is one of the big reasons we are "moving up" from our current pop-up. Thanks!

I have an Alaskan and what I do for a shower is have a tupperware type container on the floor and suspend a shower current surround from the cabinets then use a solar shower bag. Works quite nice when you are in a populated area and can't just go outside and use the outside shower or weather doesn't permit.

[Ramp_Digger]

brookside wrote:
Thanks everyone! I didn't think it looked like it from the website but they have such an interesting design.

I two looked at the Alaskan web site and saw no mention of showers in their standard designs.However I believe they can custom build about any option or size unit you might need.Somewhere I saw an article about them building a camper for a larger 12 foot flatbed truck.If you are looking to buy new give Brian a call at Alaskan and just ask they were very helpfull every time I needed them.

[brookside]

Thanks everyone! I didn't think it looked like it from the website but they have such an interesting design.

[kerry4951]

From what Ive seen on their Youtube videos there is no mentioning or showing of any inside shower.

[exhaustipated]

Ramp Digger wrote:

brookside wrote:
We are looking at truck campers and I really like the Alaskan camper and searched coming up with this thread but can anyone tell me if Alaskan has an option for an inside shower, sort of like the cassette/pop-up shower design? I couldn't find anything saying that it did but I really like it. We wouldn't be able to consider it if there is no inside shower option since that is one of the big reasons we are "moving up" from our current pop-up. Thanks!

I believe the alaskan in the 10 foot model may have that option.You can check their web site.Ours is an 8 foot model and does not and I dont believe there be room to put one.

The 10 foot model Alaskan only has a Thetford cassette toilet but no inside shower according to Alaskan's website. You can order an outside shower for it. I noticed that a fellow from Salinas, CA is selling his 2013 Alaskan for $26,000 on EBAY and his has a Thetford cassette toilet.

[Ramp_Digger]

brookside wrote:
We are looking at truck campers and I really like the Alaskan camper and searched coming up with this thread but can anyone tell me if Alaskan has an option for an inside shower, sort of like the cassette/pop-up shower design? I couldn't find anything saying that it did but I really like it. We wouldn't be able to consider it if there is no inside shower option since that is one of the big reasons we are "moving up" from our current pop-up. Thanks!

I believe the alaskan in the 10 foot model may have that option.You can check their web site.Ours is an 8 foot model and does not and I dont believe there be room to put one.

[brookside]

We are looking at truck campers and I really like the Alaskan camper and searched coming up with this thread but can anyone tell me if Alaskan has an option for an inside shower, sort of like the cassette/pop-up shower design? I couldn't find anything saying that it did but I really like it. We wouldn't be able to consider it if there is no inside shower option since that is one of the big reasons we are "moving up" from our current pop-up. Thanks!

[67avion]

I bought a 1965 Alaskan that had been a hunter's cabin on a Missouri farm for many a year. It was my first attempt at restoring a camper. In this case it was a 8', non-cabover. I quickly learned the first rule of TC dos and don't when buying an old camper - check out the damage from the leaks.



Well, it was serious. There was water damage everywhere. But, as I dug through the camper I was more and more impressed with the quality and beauty of the workmanship. The hydraulics still worked, lifting the top up and dropping it down. The wood was gorgeous, drawers were perfectly made, doors swung well, etc.



Eventually, I decided that it was better on the farm than restored. so, back it went. But, I was very taken with the Alaskan and have come to think it is probably the best constructed camper on the market. I met a fellow at the Mid Atlantic Truck Camper rally who has a brand new Alaskan and he was really tickled with it. So, I think you should be assured of the quality of the construction. I never experienced the issues of weather and bugs while lifting the top since mine was not a cabover, so I don't have any advice on that. Hope this helps.

[billtex]

I have a good Friend who is Alaskan. He is also realator and sells nucular reactors. He camps all the time in his Alaska camper. I think he voted for Bush for President.

I always thought they were very kewl campers (and would compliment our AirStream nicely). The craftsmanship is gorgeous. Alaskan campers are rare as hen’s teeth on the east coast and the lack of inside shower is a deterrent also…we are spoiled now. I do take a look at the Alaskan website now and then to daydream though!

If you really want a pop-up you should try to see one of these in person-very nice…and apparently built to last forever.

[Ramp_Digger]

As the owner of a 2007 co alaskan I can say I agree with most of the prior comments that have been made.I will try to address some pros and cons.First I must say I owned a 9.5 foot hardside for about 5 years back in 1990-to1995 and hauled it on a f-250. The alaskan we own now is on a DRW 3500 dodge, a much more capable truck.But the alaskan and truck combo drives and handles so much better because of the lower profile we would never consider another hardside again.The inconveniences associated with the popup are absolutly worth it.
Lower profile fuel mileage probally would not increase much as the alaskan is somewhat heaver than most other popups, maybe almost as heavy as a similar size hardside.To answer the OP's other questions.Cold weather camping has been limited to about 15 degrees,the furnace was more than adequate.The top to bottom seals work great and are still in good shape after 7 years.The cab over panel seals however could use some improvement, when windy outside we do experince some drafts.On one particually cold and windy night we used some rolled towels in a couple spots.Raising and lowering is a bit fussy untill you practice a few times with the adjustments,then you can do it in a couple of minutes without problems.Not a lot of inside storage we cured that with a flat bed and tool boxes under the wings.No grey water storage was cured with a custom built 25 gallon tank placed between the outside tool box and the camper.Blowing wind and rain could be a problem,however we have raised and lowered in a steady rain with very little issue.The cab over factory mattress is only about 4 in.thick and not quite enough.If you change to a thicker one the c/o panels will not fold down properly.What we done was just carry some extra memory foam pads and add them after set up.IMO the craftsmanship of the alaskan is very good and I would definately would not hesitate to buy another one should the need arise.OP if you have any question PM me if you like. Hope this helps.
Ramp