2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska

2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - Printable Version

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RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - xGE_97 - 06-22-2023

Richard,
How are the roads along the way? Are the Canadian roads any better than the roads in the States? I'm real interested in current road conditions (potholes, uneven patches, bad bridge approaches, etc). Thanks!!
Regards,
Bob

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - Richard - 06-22-2023

As you can see from the tour dates, we are currently in Watson Lake, about 1/3 of the Alcan. So far the roads have been significantly better than I expected. Although two lane, there is almost always a shoulder. Most of the surface is chip seal. We have had a few very short sections of gravel where the river has come over the road and destroyed the asphalt.

Hwy 16 from Edmonton all the way to Dawson Creek was super smooth, better than most US interstates.

We have occasional rough patches which slow me to about 45 mph, but no frost heaves yet. The biggest problem I have had with about 20% of the road so far is small periodic undulation in the asphalt. Think washboard but more widely spaced. It irritates me because the spacing and speed produce a harmonic vibration in the coach. When I have driven the same road in the car, I don’t even feel it. I sometimes drive out of the “groove” to avoid the vibration. Going faster actually smooths out the vibration, but the Canadians seem to be stuck on 100km/hr so I have to be careful. I really don’t want to meet a Mountie up close and personal. We see bears every day on the side of the road, along with sheep, caribou, and one porcupine.

Rhonda is chronicling the campgrounds and roads on the FB group “Big Rig Campgrounds and Parks”

Starlink is working great!

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - TJ Clark - 06-22-2023

The first time I drove that road is was dirt 95% of the way.

If you need anything once you're in Alaska let me know. I have many contacts.

I would stay off Alaska Highway 8 in the Newell.

Driving the toad on to the Matanuska Glacier should be high on the list.

Cheers.

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - xGE_97 - 06-22-2023

Richard,
Thanks! I heard the "queen's roads" were a lot better than US roads. We ran into that undulation on Hwy20 crossing Mississsippi (I have to sing the song to spell it) with the Teton and Volvo. We slowed way way down for that because the length and the articulation meant the 5th wheel was going up when the Volvo was going down. And vice versa and repeat. Drove me crazy.
Good luck and safe travels.

Regards, Bob

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - Richard - 06-29-2023

We have reached Tok, and I thought I would provide a road update before the memory chips corrupted. The bulk of the Alcan is pretty good, speed limit of 62 or 68 in few sections. You can drive the speed limit in a 45 coach. There are a few watch outs. The most significant are the steep, up to 10% grades, descending into river crossings. They are well marked, but you still have to mind your approach. There is usually a curve onto a narrow bridge at the bottom of the descent.

The worst section of road is the last stretch from Destruction Bay into Tok. The section is about 200 miles of frost heaves, horribly repaired frost heaves, road construction, loose gravel in many place, and dust or mud depending on the rain or lack of rain. We drove this section in two days. I am happy to report that the Newell handles the whoop de doo frost heaves pretty well. I found that if I drove about 50, then it gave me enough time to get down to 30 before hitting the rough stuff. There were at least 5 construction zones of 5 miles or so in this stretch. Of course it rained all day today, so the coach is unrecognizable. I’ll get out the pressure washer tomorrow.

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - Jack Houpe - 06-30-2023

Did you see many break downs?

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - Richard - 06-30-2023

I was surprised by the lack of breakdowns. I saw two cars on the side of the road in 1300 miles of the Alcan. No RVs. I saw the remnants of two tires. I expected much more.

There is a lot of truck traffic, and a lot of the intermediate villages and towns have some sort of oil or mining business, so plenty of shops to support the big trucks. I had to laugh, almost every village had a shop with big WELDING sign out by the road.

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - BusNit - 07-02-2023

Glad you guys made it safe! I can imagine the messed up roads is where your toad picked up stray pebble hitchhikers! Funny how you use the term "Whoop de do" as I have been using that term for years! I can just feel the whoop de do as you described the road conditions!

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - Richard - 09-08-2023

I thought I would take the time to document some “driver’s” notes before the memory chips corrupt. We are back in the lower 48 from the Alaska trip, and here are some somewhat random thoughts on the coach related aspects. Rhonda will update the campground/itinerary later.

The concerns about fuel on the Alcan were unfounded. I used either the TDS card or Visa. No discount with the TDS but it works at the Cardlock stations.

The roads for the most part were far better than I expected. However, the 400ish mile section from Destruction Bay to Tok is miserable. I would drive about 40, which gave me time to slow to 20 for the worst sections. Until you have driven the “frostheaves”, it is hard to picture exactly what that describes. Heave is a misnomer, actually what is happening is the base of the road is giving way leading to an irregular dip. The worst section were like driving an giant strip of fried bacon. Imagine that kind of surface and you get it. The people that had problems were primarily the folks with pull behinds going WAY too fast.

I did not see many breakdowns on the Alcan.

There is a lot of truck traffic, and consequently a lot of diesel shops along the route. Not the Mercedes showroom kind of place, but diesel shops nonetheless.

If you have to order a part while in Canada or Alaska remote regions, talk to the place you want it shipped before you order. Why? Because for each place they will tell you which service delivers. For example I had a part shipped to Tok via FedEx, only to find out FedEx delivers to Tok once every two weeks but USPS delivers every day.

How did the coach handle the road? I had one repairable stone chip in the driver windshield. I did see some nastier rock induced problems. Somewhere in all that, I destroyed a suspension bushing, which resulted in extreme toe in, which led to a undesirably worn front tire. I have some new rattles and squeaks that I will need to address once I get home.

For the time, 7 wks, we spent there I am glad we were in the coach for a number of reasons. One, in general the restaurant food in Alaska and along the Alcan is mediocre at best. We were able to find lots of fresh veggies in the grocery stores so the coach made our diet much healthier. Two, we got a lot of wet weather with wind in the low 50’s. We are spoiled southerners so those days kept us inside occasionally. It was nice to have the comforts of home while holed up.

Starlink was a huge success for both internet, TV streaming, and phone calls.

I would boondock more along the Alcan and visit campgrounds less. There are lots of really nice boondocking parking lots, and a lot of the campgrounds just plain suck. Crowded, tight, dirt parking lots, with 30 amp service. I sound spoiled and I don’t mean to. Three outstanding boondocks were just south of Destruction Bay, Liard Hot Springs, and Denali View South.

We did not use air conditioning after we left Edmonton and until we returned to Calgary. We did use heat almost every night.

The Alcan and the interior of Alaska was not scenic to use. Lot’s of rolling terrain through dense scrubby vegetation. Exceptions were the Kluane mountain range and Denali State Park.

The coast is the prize. Totally different than the interior. We visited Seward, Homer, Valdez, and Haines. The drive from Haines Jct to Haines is the most beautiful highway I have ever been on.

Anchorage is gritty. I’ll leave it at that.

We hired a guide and fished for salmon. I highly recommend that.

We went on two small plane trips to see bears fishing at Brooks Falls and clamming on the beach. Both were great, but I preferred the watching the bears on the beach.

The weather was interesting in that if changes rapidly during the day. The difference between sunny and light wind and rainy with wind felt like about a 40 degree shift to me. We were constantly changing clothes.

I couldn’t help it, I worked on several coaches for people I met in campgrounds. My recovering engineer program has occasional slips. I found it interesting that all of the coaches I worked on were practically new. The lesson is, don’t take off to Alaska with unproven hardware.

The 64,000 USD question. Would you do it again? No, I would not drive to Alaska in the Newell again. I wouldn’t take a million for the experience, but I wouldn’t give you a bent nickel to do it again. Why, it’s a very very very long way with little to experience along the drive. It is tedious at times. It is hard on equipment. HOWEVER, if the question is would you go to Alaska again? Absolutely. I would rent a Class C in Anchorage, focus on the coastal regions, and utilize the ferry system to get around instead of long drives.

I would prefer a rented camper over being hostage to hotels and restaurant food.

I witnessed the cruise ship/bus tours. I am not a tour kind of guy. They sure do cram a lot into a short period of time, perhaps that is your thing.

I spent some time with people on RV tours. Again, I am not a tour kind of guy, but I also witnessed how hard and intimidating it was for Rhonda to put this trip together. A packaged tour takes a lot of work off the table. It was entertaining to watch the circus as one of the RV tour groups rolled into a tight campground trying to get 15 or 20 big rigs parked.

I will probably think of more as soon as I hit the post button.

RE: 2023 Tour Rhonda and Richard head to Alaska - BusNit - 09-08-2023

I have been following your adventures on FB. I admire you guys for doing so much. The scenery and experiences look amazing. That said, I could read between the lines and thought that driving my Newell to AK was just not going to happen. It was on my bucket list. I figured there was not much to see between destinations and the roads sucked. I guess it can be attributed to the weather changes and warm/freeze cycles that tear apart the roads. I am sure their DOT can't get to all the repairs fast enough. Your honest opinion about renting something there is kind of what I thought would be the best solution. Fly in, rent something, thrash their equipment and save the aggravating merciless drive back via a comfortable fast flight. Either way, I loved your adventures and it still was an amazing memorable trip. This is what life is for. Again, I enjoyed following your trip and please thank Rhonda for taking the time to post on FB! I know both of you still worked. She was posting the adventures and scheduling things and you were still selflessly helping others here and at your location. I admire both of you. Glad you are back in the "mainland'!