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Going to Alaska

Yahoo Message Number: 16325
For you who are (or thinking about) traveling to Alaska, you are in for a rare treat and should not be at all apprehensive about the roads or "desolate" stretches of highway. You will see an amazing variety of wildlife "up close and personal". There are plenty of fuel, camping and grocery stops--even a few Walmarts.

We live in Alaska from May-October, then travel to the Blue Ridge Mountains for the winter. We drive our motorhome back and forth each year and have yet to confront a problem that could not be handled easily. We do carry a spare tire, but have never had to use it. In the summer, there are many RV-ers on the Alaska Highway, most of whom are very friendly and helpful. Since truckers travel the Alaska Highway year-round, there are plenty of places to get the supplies and repairs that may be needed.

On another subject, we bought our '03 Allure to live in while we built a new winter home in the South. Now that we have moved into it, we do not need a motorhome as large and luxurious as our Allure for our future travels; plus the house cost more than we ever expected. It is a 40' Allure Cascade (with tag axle),370 HP Cummins, in immaculate condition and loaded with options. It has 17,500 miles on it, and I would sell it for $195,000. If we do not sell it by mid- May, we will drive it back to Alaska and sell it there. If interested, you may call at 706-839-1917 or email at ann_tipton@.... Hope to see you on the Alaska Highway.

Henry & Ann Tipton
'03 Allure 30869

Going to Alaska

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75681
We are considering going to Alaska using the ferry system as much as possible. We will be leaving San Diego and go north until we are able to join one of the ferry systems. Does anyone have any information using the ferry system and your motor home to reach Alaska ?

Stan Inspire 2005

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75688
Stan, You can google "Alaska Marine Highway" and get a schedule and projected cost per foot for your coach and toad. Very expensive way to get to AK. You might also want to get a copy of the "Milepost" I think you can also google it. The highway is mostly paved, good road for the most part. Just keep your foot out of the fuel control and eyes on the road. Watch out for the frost heaves, they can sneak up on you real quick. Try to give yourself at least three months to enjoy the trip.

Bill

was a 99 Intrigue, 36 Galley slide 19 rd trips over the alcan

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75708
Quote from: Stan Canaris
> We are considering going to Alaska using the ferry system as much as possible. We will be leaving San Diego and go north until we are able to join one of the ferry systems. Does anyone have any information using the ferry system and your motor home to reach Alaska ? >

Stan Inspire 2005
We took the ferry up in 2005. We started in Prince Rupert BC. We made stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Sitka, Juneau and got off in Skagway. All total we were on/off the ferry system for about 24 days. We really wanted to stay in each place 4 to 5 days so we could work around the cruise ships and see all we wanted to see. When they were in port we pretty much stayed home. We were very very happy we did it this way. It wasn't cheap. We started planning Oct/Nov of the previous year and were ready when reservations opened up.
It was a great way to see thye inland passage and afforded us plenty of time to see all we wanted to see. Some others we met aboard the ferries mentioned they should have spent more time on/off the ferry once all that effort was made. It doesn't cost more tostay in ports longer.

ken 2007 Beaver Contessa

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75716
Stan,

We drove up in 2005 in a 40' Allure and a Chevy Tahoe in tow. Left Florida in early April and returned end of September. What a beautiful trip and we want to do it again. No problems whatsoever. Just learn to slow down and enjoy the ride.
We had investigated the ferries, but found to be much more expensive and put us on a schedule in have to make reservations. I like the freedom of being somewhere on my schedule and not on someone elses. During our entire 6 month trip we made very few reservations and when we did, they where not made more than a week in advance.
We ran into folks that had horror stories about the ferries. Damaged coaches, holes in oil pans, broken suspensions, etc. Because of some of the timing of ferries loading and unloading at low tides, the ramps at some ports are too steep for some of the larger rigs.
We are glad we did not use the ferry. Cost, schedule and coach damage were all valid issues, but more importantly is we would have missed all beautiful areas and fun stuff to do on a road trip. We stay in Valdez, took a cat down to Juno, took glacier trips along some of the waterways. We saw the whales and other wildlife. So much to see and do via the road trip. We are planning to do it again soon and before I get too old to drive the bus....

Jim Hughes

2000 Allure #30511

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75717
Jim

As a frequent traveler with the ferry system throughout Alaska and having been in almost every port with a 40' rig, never once have I experienced any problems with the crew on a ferry damaging a rig, no matter how low the tide. There is simply no dock that would cause a problem with any rig. They move heavy equipment much larger and heavier than a motorhome throughout the year. They are a great group of people and very experienced. If you haven't traveled with AMH please don't spread negative rumors. Much of Alaska can't be experienced without AMH.

Kimberly

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75718
Hello Ken

Would you mind sharing the order of magnitude of the cost of the ferry trip you took? Sounds like a great way to spend a few months!

George, WB5LDN
2008 Affinity 6877

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75720
Kimberly,

Did not mean to imply anything negatively about AMH. Most do not have a problem using AMH and neither do many who take the road. However, neither is risk free. Only something to consider when deciding the method of travel and how far of a reach you want to make to see such a beautiful state.
Not rumor, I have seen first hand two different Country Coaches damaged coming off ferries. One was a crack in a high volume composite oil pan and the other was broken hanger/clamp on the front suspension. The third was an American Eagle that had some side wall damage from an awning on another coach that had a broken retract spring and the awning fell opened against the side of the American Eagle while ferry in route.
All three of these incidents I belive were without intent and most likely an exception and not the rule. We all take risks regardless of the mode we use. If the benefit out weigh the risk, then go for it I say....just consider all options.

Jim Hughes

2000 Allure #30511

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75724
We have not done this ourselves, but would like to. We met some people in the pools in Desert Hot Springs who told us that this travel agency was instrumental in helping them travel to many islands on the way north.
http://www.alaskaferry.com/RVInfo.php
Also, the May 2005 issue of RV Life did a wonderful story on John Holod's trips on the ferries in Alaska. He produced a video Alaska (highway/ferry system/how to prepare) which is available at http://www.rvadventurevideos.com/. The Holod's make no reservations, left from Prince Rupert and found the smaller "local" ferries never full.

Charlie Snyder
2002 Allure #30763

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75729
Read the post and it brought up the song... remember Johnny Horton? This is a You-Tube link and is clean - no virus (we use you tube quite a bit when learning songs by the original artists).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSt0NEESrUA Bill, 05 Intrigue

Quote
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Quote from: Stan Canaris
We are considering going to Alaska using the ferry system as much as possible. We will be leaving San Diego and go north until we are able to join one of the ferry systems. Does anyone have any information using the ferry system and your motor home to reach Alaska ?
Stan Inspire 2005

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75749
Stan,

I agree with kimberly. We drove most of the way but took the Ferry twice with no problem (except the cost). In Haines we loaded the car and motorhome seperately (partially to avoid paying for the length of the tow-bar) and they loaded all of the other vehicles first and then readjusted the ramp due to the tide level before having me bring the motorhome down. I think they know what they are doing and it would have been ashame to miss the drive up from Skagway towards Whitehorse by retracing our drive down to Haines.

John

05 Inpire #51399

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75754
Quote from: wb5ldn"
Hello Ken
> Would you mind sharing the order of magnitude of the cost of the ferry trip you took? Sounds like a great way to spend a few months! >

George, WB5LDN
2008 Affinity 6877
My recollection was just over $2,000 for the motorhome and pickup truck. That was in 2005. They are separate charges and you pay by the foot. And yes, they came out and measured. Charges are betweeen ports, even if you dont get off. I dont have any current pricing as we drove up and back this year.
We did do a lot of studying re: how many days in each port etc. IE, because of the schedule, you could spend 2 days in port or 5 days, no ferries were arriving on days 3 or 4. This veried between ports, hence the studying. AND, we were ready to get reservation the day they started. The ferries are busy and getting on/off 5 times required planning.
We did not have any problems loading/unloading on the ferries. They are very profesional and load vehicles much larger that our 37' motorhome. We did not do the ferry this year as we had already done it. We wouldnt do it again but were very happy we did it once on our first trip.

Ken 2007 Beaver Contessa

Re: Going to Alaska

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75783
To the OP's, Henry and Ann -- thanks for the assurances. I dream of an Alaska trip, but do worry about what the wear and tear on the rig would be.
But I am scratching my head about a couple things in your post. How can you drive your motor home back and forth to Alaska each year and have 17,500 miles on it? Also, can you really sell an 03 Allure in Alaska for $195K? If you can pull that off, I would buy one each year and drive it up there just to sell it.

Going to Alaska

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 75797
We again took our 2008 Country Coach Tribute 260 to Alaska, where we live from May through September, then back down to Washington State, where we spend a couple of month each fall and each spring, then down to Arizona where we spend several of the winter months. The drive is a delight, and no, we don't carry a spare tire for the coach. We tow our 2006 Ford F250 Super Duty 4x4 Diesel Truck, which in turn carries our 2007 Outlander Max, 2-up, 4wheeler. The only stretch of road that we use extra caution on is the last 150 miles from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to the Alaska Border. The frost heaves leave depressions in the roadway that cause us to slow down to 35 mph for most of that stretch. Other than that, the road is very good, and no, there are no gravel stretches, other than where road construction may be taking place.

Jim Hill
81138