Anchorage or bust

[ThomB87]

I saw some others planning this trip this year. We will be heading out from Colorado the first of June. Have the newest edition of Milepost on order. We will be sticking to what passes for major highways in the Yukon and Alaska. Will be spending a couple of weeks around Anchorage and Seward. Our 2018 Elite II does not have solar. I do have a portable panel for charging. We will probably boon dock two or three nights in a row. But then I will be looking for hookups, full size showers and a dump station.  Plus around Jasper and some other places I will want more than one night. I really want to have an open itinerary.  

Anyone who made this trip recently please comment. How hard to find places the morning  of or the day before? 

 

I know where I live reservation especially if hitting the weekend are 6 months out. 

 

Thanks 

[Jim and Chris Neuman]

You will not have a great deal of trouble finding places to camp, especially if boondocking.

There are spots, Laird Hotsprings comes to mind, where dropping in could be a problem in the summer months but normally it is easy to find a spot.

Do you have the capacity to charge from your tow vehicle?  If not, consider a small generator like the Honda 2200i.  Even with solar panels finding the sun in June can be iffy.

The roads are generally quite good but do not pass up an opportunity to top off your fuel tanks whenever possible.  On our last trip from Washington I hauled two full 5 gal gas containers but never needed to use them.   If you doubt your tires condition, change them out ... it can be a long way between good tire stores.  I am assuming you have a good GPS?  If not, it is a good investment.  I carry tire chains for the truck and cable chains for use on one axle of the trailer.  Never had to use them during spring, summer and fall months but have encountered snow.

The horror stories about endless miles of bad dirt roads and lack of services are very old history.  Condition of the roads will vary from very good to not quite so good but the main routes are quite pleasant.  It used to be that you could hardly make the drive without losing a windshield but that has not been the case for 15 - 20 years.  The only stretches of dirt / gravel will be sections under repair as  pretty much the whole routh has been paved for years.  Have fun and enjoy - your Oliver is more than a match for the trip!

Just one last thought - give yourself a lot of time (two months if possible).  Your round trip is likely to be in excess of 7K miles and every few miles will present an opportunity for camping / hiking / fishing and enjoying a truly spectacular part of the world are limitless.

Have fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeaDawg]

2 hours ago, Jim and Chris Neuman said:

horror stories about endless miles of bad dirt roads and lack of services are very old history.  Condition of the roads will vary from very good to not quite so good but the main routes are quite pleasant.  It used to be that you could hardly make the drive without losing a windshield but that has not been the case for 15 - 20 years.  The only stretches of dirt / gravel will be sections under repair as  pretty much the whole routh has been paved for years.  Have fun and enjoy - your Oliver is more than a match for the trip!

If you stick to lower named paved roads, this is generally true. But, always look ahead for construction,  and travel advisories. Your tires,,windshield,  and gelcoat will thank you.

We've done the Alaska trip many times. (Well, four.) Every trip is different.  

Denali highway is gravel, but great unless recently graded and lots of  sharp granite exposed. (Tires)  Upside, it's amazingly beautiful,  and worth several nights in pullouts. Take it slow, if you see a princess bus coming,,slow way down. Your windshield will thank you. Princess buses just keep running at max speeds.

The ice road to Prudhoe Bay/arctic circle sign can be a mess, if it's raining. Or, has recently rained. 

Ditto, chicken highway. Beware of soft shoulders,  and steep dropouts. Gravel on the us side .

Side gravel  roads to interesting places, in the Yukon and Alaska, can also be challenging,  in rainy weather. If you stick to paved roads (we haven't), you'll be fine. if you're careful on construction zones, and have protected the front of the trailer, you'll be fine.

We love the Yukon. One of our favorite places, in the many countries we've camped in, and, we will return. Someday soon, we hope.

Lots of great Yukon territory campgrounds right off paved roads, cheap fees,  free firewood. Some are easily accessed, others aren't.. read the milepost. 

With family commitments this year, we won't be doing another trip to Alaska, but another year (we hope) will make it possible.  We have delivered rvs for a friend of ours,,and it's been a different and amazing trip, each time.

We've camped all over the 🇺🇸 usa and Canada  (plus Iceland,  Norway,  Denmark,  Australia,  New Zealand,  Patagonia, and more) but the Yukon, and the Richardson highway on the way to Valdez, are among our favorites. North to Valdez is an amazing drive. Take your time. We never miss that .

Get that bucket list done. 

And be prepared for no cell coverage.  If you need constant communication,  get at least a GPS based spot, or something. We have found free pullouts with Verizon signal, on Alaska,  but can't count on it. Many of the yt campgrounds had no signal, on either service 

We carry tmobile, and Verizon,  on two phones,  and often have no signal, in rural remote areas, which we love. 

Have fun. Many great campgrounds just off paved highways, and it's an amazing trip. 

 

[SeaDawg]

Btw, Anchorage kind of is not your "favorite " destination,  imo.

Not an interesting place . A few good museums, some good restaurants.  

Turnagain arm, priceless, at the right time. time. The crazy tide change, visible  from the pullouts 

Check the tide tables. If you can see the crazy roil, it's amazing.  Don't go on the beach.

[Steve Morris]

Never driven to Alaska, but we did do the train trip from Fairbanks to Seward. Beautiful, but we hated being on someone else's schedule.

We recently watched a series of YouTube videos on a channel called From She to Me. It is a couple our age in a pleasure way van, and their sightseeing interests seem similar to ours. They did a 2019 trip to Alaska, and covered it in a 16 video series. We found it was really interesting, and definitely something that we'd refer back to if we ever make the trip. Here's the link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLky6TgiimtQ9WqdGXyK_I6Hh2efO-F4V3

I hope that helps a little bit

[SeaDawg]

I agree with Jim and Chris about reservations.  We've never had much for issues,  except around Whitehorse,  in the Yukon, especially weekends. Since much of the YT population lives in or near Whitehorse,  and most who live there are outdoor folks, weekends can be tough. 

You mentioned Jasper, which, honestly is one of my favorite (and charming, friendly) places in western Canada. Stayed there a number of times. Great little restaurants, bakeries,  and breweries,  great laundromat with a coffee bar and a wonderful pizza place upstairs (coin clean on Patricia. ) excellent visitor's center. The national and Provincial parks "close by" are outstanding. 

Find a parking place, and the little city of Jasper is very friendly and walkable. I have read that the cool little movie theater has closed, unfortunately.  The scenic train ride from prince Rupert ends here in Jasper. If you have the time, and don't have pets, thats an amazing trip. We did that one year when our daughter kept our little dog.

We avoid Banff. Way too busy for our taste.  We have camped/paid boondocked at the Icefield parkway visitors' center, and that was great. Also, Lake Louise. LL campground was ok, the walk at the lake amazing, and pretty easy.  Beautiful. 

 

[SeaDawg]

Once you get to Alaska, you can boondock in just about any pullout, unless it is posted. We rarely pay for campgrounds in Alaska, unless we want to.

Actually,  some of our very favorite spots are pullouts. Scenic, and often quiet,,as there's not much traffic after dusk.

[Coastal Aggie]

i drove from San Diego CA to Fairbanks and then back to San Antonio TX this past July/august before i got the ollie just tent camping along the way. by that time of the year lots of the Canadian campgrounds would be full or very close to full if pulling in around 6 or 7 pm as i was, I've got google Fi so it'll pick up most carriers networks and there were still quite a few times i was without cell service for the night but would pick it up fairly quickly after getting back on the road in the morning. It worked out for me to stop in a town somewhere with cell service for breakfast and to plan where i wanted to stop that night so i could have a few alternate campgrounds picked out that i could just punch into my trucks GPS in case the one i was shooting for ended up being full. saw many trailers spending nights in pullouts all the way through Canada and Alaska though i wasnt interested in tent camping alone on the side of the road given the bear population.

[ThomB87]

Thanks to everyone who responded. Good information. Confirmed what I already was thinking. Will definitely aim for some extra time at Jasper. BTW once I get to Anchorage I have a driveway to camp in. In Seward I have a spot on the beach at a friends property with water and electricity. Well as long as they don't have another mountain slide that cuts off access.  The city has a dump station.  Wish us luck. 

 

[SeaDawg]

On 2/24/2023 at 10:25 AM, ThomB87 said:

Wish us luck

We wish you that luck.

Seward is a pretty nice little town. We took a glacier cruise one year from Seward,  and it was a lot of fun. We've not done the sea fishing expeditions, as it's not our thing. But lots of them in the area.

Have fun.

 

 

[Middlefork49]

We visited Alaska/Canada in 2017 with our Sportsmobile and definitely want to go back with our Oliver. We echo the recommendation to take the Denali and Richardson Highways. Fantastic views and plenty of places to camp. One of our trip highlights was a floatplane trip from Homer across the Cook Inlet to an area close to Katmai National Park where we saw a number of brown bears up fairly close, one sow with triplets, feasting on Sockeye salmon. So many great places to visit in Alaska and Canada. Have a great time!

[SeaDawg]

We had a bunch of visitors,  again, tonight.  6 for dinner .so, I'm late again.

Alaska is  so very beautiful.  Take your time, and watch road, and fire reports. Adjust routes, accordingly. 

Yukon is my favorite.  Parts of Alaska are just amazing.  Schedule plenty of time, to make sure you see what you want to see 

Ps,,book Denali early, if you want to go there. It books up quickly. To get the best bus tours, you need to camp in the northern rv campground. Used to be 3 day minimum. That bus tour us the best. Scarey, at times, but the very best.

One if my cousins lives near Denali. It is amazing, on good days. 

There is a state campground just south  of Denali, but to do the best schoolie bus through the park (you can't drive it) you need to camp in the northern cg, Teklanika.

https://www.reservedenali.com/camping/camping-experience/

[SeaDawg]

On 2/13/2023 at 3:15 PM, ThomB87 said:

pending a couple of weeks around Anchorage and Seward. Our 2018 Elite II does not have solar. I do have a portable panel for charging. We will probably boon dock two or three nights in a row. But then I will be looking for hookups, full size showers and a dump station.  Plus around Jasper and some other places I will want more than one night. I really want to have an open itinerary

How much solar do you have? 

What batteries?

Which generator do you carry??

 

[ThomB87]

10 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

How much solar do you have? 

What batteries?

Which generator do you carry??

 

100 Watt Renogy with controller

two 12 volt AGM

I have a Honda 2000 W I may take. 

[SeaDawg]

6 hours ago, ThomB87 said:

100 Watt Renogy with controller

two 12 volt AGM

I have a Honda 2000 W I may take. 

Do you have the proper adaptor,  and have you tested it? (Zamp reverses the sae connector, for safety reasons.)

100 watts isn't a lot, but it can be great for the last bit of slowed down charging. And, def better than none. 

Wete it me, I'd take the Honda, use it in the morning,  and let the portable top off.

2 12v agms may be enough, if you're careful, as we are, and monitor your power consumption closely. Caveat, which fridge do you have? 3-way, or dc? And, do your batteries charge from the truck while driving?

[ThomB87]

18 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

Do you have the proper adaptor,  and have you tested it? (Zamp reverses the sae connector, for safety reasons.)

100 watts isn't a lot, but it can be great for the last bit of slowed down charging. And, def better than none. 

Wete it me, I'd take the Honda, use it in the morning,  and let the portable top off.

2 12v agms may be enough, if you're careful, as we are, and monitor your power consumption closely. Caveat, which fridge do you have? 3-way, or dc? And, do your batteries charge from the truck while driving?

No installed solar so no adapter needed. Attaches directly to batteries with alligator clips. Have tested both generator and panels.  Norcold 3 way fridge, so runs on LP. Yes, batteries charge while driving. In a real pinch can charge via truck. Done that in the pass to get boast.