Car advice (Anchorage, Bethel, Nikiski: real estate, house, job market)

[blueflames50]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Maybe you can have the Wrangler shipped to Alaska? That's how military members get their vehicles up here unless they drive. Back when in the military, I shipped a car from Seattle to Anchorage, and drove a Ford F-150 all the way. I slept in the bak (it had a topper) every now and then along the way to save some cash.

the quote is little over $3000 to ship it...

Originally Posted by warptman

Get me a ticket down, I'll drive the Jeep back for you...

it's about 5000 mile drive JoeJoe!! Jeep Wrangler is not all the comfortable on long trips either!! but will run your offer by hubby!

[Dakster]

blueflames - Where are you going to or from that is 5k miles?? I am driving from about the Southern most point in the Continental United States to Anchorage and it is not 5k miles (one way).

No offense, but I would take the F350 to pull the 24' camper too!

Warptman - I see you like to drive too...

[blueflames50]

Originally Posted by Dakster

blueflames - Where are you going to or from that is 5k miles?? I am driving from about the Southern most point in the Continental United States to Anchorage and it is not 5k miles (one way).

No offense, but I would take the F350 to pull the 24' camper too!

Warptman - I see you like to drive too...

we are driving out of Massachusetts! mapquest tells us it is 4890 miles from our house here to our land in Nikiski! of course we are going to consult Warptman and take a route he suggests!! I drove it in '82 but that was before they straightened the Alcan and I went thru Canada as back then it was cheaper than staying in the US driving. haahhaa not like we need to take the Jeep as already have a car in AK plus older motorhome but....love my Jeep! an we are pulling 24 trailer not a camper...it is a 4 place drive thru prow nose snowmobile trailer...easier to load and unload with 2 large doors and one personnel door!

[Dakster]

It is almost 5200 miles for me to get to the center of Nikiski.

Ok, sorry 'bout the mixup on the camper vs. trailer... I have no idea what a "4 place drive thru prow nose snowmobile trailer" actually is... Holds 4 snowmobiles?

Either way, have a safe trip when you do go.

[blueflames50]

Originally Posted by Dakster

It is almost 5200 miles for me to get to the center of Nikiski.

Ok, sorry 'bout the mixup on the camper vs. trailer... I have no idea what a "4 place drive thru prow nose snowmobile trailer" actually is... Holds 4 snowmobiles?

Either way, have a safe trip when you do go.

yes it holds 4 snowmobiles! see....5000 miles!

[Dakster]

Looking at the map, I have to go further "North" and you have further "East" to go. However, I have 300 more miles to go in total. I would have thought that the difference would have been greater! (I also keep forgetting that I planned my arrival in AK based on Anchorage and you are several hundred miles from Anchorage)

[AK-Cathy]

Another non-gear head perspective from a 30+ year Alaskan:

Subaru: We've owned three of them. A 70's DL Coupe, an 80's pre Legacy wagon, and a late 80's 4WD Justy. Every one of those cars was bulletproof. Rarely did they need big work done and they all were sold in running condition with north of 250K on the engines. Admittedly the bodies and interiors were looking their age when they were sold especially the earlier models that had a tendency to rust out. The local dealership in Anchorage is/was great as of 1998. We had nothing but positive experiences with Continental. We ended up leaving the Subaru line because we needed more space for two big dogs and wanted some off-road capability.

Geo/Chevy Tracker: We've owned two, the earlier Geo model we lifted and made into an off-road toy which was surprisingly effective, even well into deep bush trail. They were also mechanically reliable. A bit short coupled and can become unstable on ice in turns, particularly true with the earlier boxier Geo version, off road pre-modification. Seems that they had most of the problems ironed out in the Chevy model. The later model was a commute car.

Land Rover Discovery: We own two presently. A 97 modified with a rear locker and 04 model. Roomy and comfortable. The body (aluminum) and interior like most luxury cars is bullet proof. More expensive on initial investment. We have never been stuck on any road in Alaska in our Land Rovers and only once on an off road expedition in the winter to the Knik Glacier in the 97 Discovery. I broke through overflow on ice in a 3 foot deep creek. I ended up plowing too much ice under the front end and lost traction and needed a pull out from one of our group. I think had my husband been driving at the time, he might have gotten through. The vehicle is heavy and feels safer in a collision than any of the cars we've owned except an old Saab 900S that was built like a tank and stood up to a driver's side impact collision from a crew cab Ford 250 with a huge iron welded bumper without injury to the occupant inside. We've had a few minor "fender benders" over the years in our Rovers that didn't bend our fenders at all but there was fairly significant damage to the other vehicle.

The downsides? Gas mileage, not so hot. The 90s version 12 in town, 16 on the road. The 2004 version 14 in town, 18 on the road. In very cold weather it goes down significantly. Also they are twitchy mechanically. Non-Land Rover mechanics tend to scurry away like cockroaches from an ailing Rover. Fortunately my husband does a lot of the work on ours. If he wasn't skilled or knowledgeable in mechanical things and familiar with Rovers, we'd be chained to the dealership. Particularly true of the 97 that had the "prince of darkness" Lucas electrical system. It took a few years of tinkering to work through the bugs in the wiring on that car. The later models, the Discovery II have Bosch wiring which is much, much better. We drove the Alcan at -65 two winters ago in our 2004 Discovery. The road was littered with cars and trucks that had broken down but other than a bit of a sticky throttle that we cured by continuous feet heat and the crappy gas mileage due to the extra power needed to keep the gears moving, it was smooth sailing all the way to Anchorage. Last but maybe not least, insurance is more expensive due to the repair costs of Land Rovers.

It depends on what you need. If you aren't doing the combat commute (where safety will be a big consideration) or need off road capability, I'd say the Subaru, but having not driven the RAV or CRV, I can't comment on those cars. Good luck to you.

[lyoness]

Originally Posted by blueflames50

the quote is little over $3000 to ship it...

it's about 5000 mile drive JoeJoe!! Jeep Wrangler is not all the comfortable on long trips either!! but will run your offer by hubby!

And what would it be without Lyoness's 2 cents I'll buy the tow dolly, we can have Joe Joe tow up me & my CRV with the Jeep & I'll foot the gas

[warptman]

I drove 12,000 miles in a very uncomfortable Explorer this pas July, as long as I get a bed at night and a shower in the morning, I can drive forever. It's all good.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by warptman

I drove 12,000 miles in a very uncomfortable Explorer this pas July, as long as I get a bed at night and a shower in the morning, I can drive forever. It's all good.

Did you ever think of driving over the road trucks?