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I sold everything I owned that did not fit into the back of my pickup (except firearms, which I shipped)
Oh, another couple things I had issues with: I have a small old GOA (Gun Owners of America) sticker on my back window. I didn't even realize that most people could recognize it for what it was, but the Canadian border agent did, and it upset him. Any NRA, GOA, or anything of the like, I might consider removing or covering prior to driving through. The other thing that jammed me up is that years ago I'd pulled out the stock 60/40 seats in my pickup and replaced them with leather lumbar seats out of a Sequoia. Well, the console from the Sequoia wouldn't fit so I made an ammo can into my console. Canadian border agent hated that.
Basically, anything that smells like guns or ammo, I would consider sterilizing before driving through Canada.
How many firearms did you ship? Did you ship to an FFL? Did you have any ammo to get up there? It seems like our ammo is really the issue for us.
Yikes, based on your description, we'd never get hubby's truck through there. Between the built-in gun safe and his stickers, they might just arrest us on principle! Thanks for the head's up, though, as driving up was/is still on the table.
I shipped two, a pistol and a shotgun and I shipped to an FFL. Very expensive on the shipping end, dirt cheap on the receiving end. I brought a crap-ton of ammo, which the border agent neglected to ask about, so I neglected to mention. I thought that was weird since he was giving me crap about everything else.
I should have noted above that while my move up here was relatively uneventful, years ago I had two very bad experiences at the Canadian border that has forever colored my view of Canadian border crossings and has made me a more than a little paranoid about it. Twice within six months my whole truck was pretty much dismantled at the border... they removed the seats, door panels, headliner,... the works. Pickup was never the same after that and I swore that I would never step onto Canadian soil again. Then I moved here, so I sort of had to. I was very much on-edge the whole time I was at the border, expecting my pickup to get torn apart again.
I have never known why they dismantled my pickup but I suspect that the previous owner had been in some trouble, because I surely never have. It was a great truck, but I sold it shortly after that and bought the one I currently have. Like I said, it was never the same after they tore it apart. I was pretty upset. I am very picky about who I let work on my truck, so having some rando Canadians rip it apart pretty much made me go Richter.
I shipped two, a pistol and a shotgun and I shipped to an FFL. Very expensive on the shipping end, dirt cheap on the receiving end. I brought a crap-ton of ammo, which the border agent neglected to ask about, so I neglected to mention. I thought that was weird since he was giving me crap about everything else.
I should have noted above that while my move up here was relatively uneventful, years ago I had two very bad experiences at the Canadian border that has forever colored my view of Canadian border crossings and has made me a more than a little paranoid about it. Twice within six months my whole truck was pretty much dismantled at the border... they removed the seats, door panels, headliner,... the works. Pickup was never the same after that and I swore that I would never step onto Canadian soil again. Then I moved here, so I sort of had to. I was very much on-edge the whole time I was at the border, expecting my pickup to get torn apart again.
I have never known why they dismantled my pickup but I suspect that the previous owner had been in some trouble, because I surely never have. It was a great truck, but I sold it shortly after that and bought the one I currently have. Like I said, it was never the same after they tore it apart. I was pretty upset. I am very picky about who I let work on my truck, so having some rando Canadians rip it apart pretty much made me go Richter.
Wow, I'm surprised they didn't flip over the ammo! That's horrifying about your truck-that's pretty much enough to make me not want to drive up no matter WHAT the circumstances!
Quote:
Originally Posted by riceme
I think a lot of folks ship firearms via Alaska Air. If you have more than a couple, I think it's more cost effective.
I do need to call Alaska Air and get some clarification. I've read their rules online and it still seems I'd have to fly and have them as checked baggage, rather than sending them as freight (without me on board). They didn't list a limit that go, but I sure want to check before I show up at the airport with more than a few cases, LOL
My pickup was torn apart about 15-20 years ago. I have never heard of that happening to anyone else, and after some investigation I wonder if the guy I bought it from was smuggling drugs, guns, something out of Mexico.
I cannot find where it says this, but if you choose to take your long guns with you through Canada (my cousin has done this many times with no problems aside from a border agent giving his wife a bunch of lip once) you have to have the firearm/s and the ammo separate. For example, if the firearms are in the back of the pickup, the ammo has to be in the cab, or vice versa.
Again, bear in mind that my experience was a long time ago and I believe was rare. It is unfortunate that it forever colored my view of border crossings.
Oh, to clarify about the ammo... border agent did not ask, so I did not mention it and they did not find it. The whole back of my pickup was full of everything I owned so I don't think they wanted to start pulling stuff out of there. If they had and they found the ammo, I probably would have been in trouble even though the guy never asked me about it.
... I am having trouble getting Weather Tech/Husky Liner floor mats for my truck without having to order and pay big bucks in shipping costs.
Try Amazon for the Husky Liners. I got 2 sets of Husky's through Prime with free shipping. And the shipping was even upgraded to 2nd day air without any additional charge....not the normal free Prime shipping to AK.
Wow. I will have to look into that again.... akpls. I thought I tried Husky's too and ran into the same issues... If not, I am going back to Miami for a couple of weeks and they will end up as checked baggage along with my firearms. I am flying them back. Cost me less to fly roundtrip with my firearms that it doesn to ship them up.... I believe the limit was 4 firearms per container, but it also might have been per checked bag. Either way, an extra $25 is still cheaper than FFL to FFL. I don't have an arsenal.
I brought ammo up the last time and wasn't asked either. I was asked about firearms, to which, I had none... I haven't had a really bad border crossing experience, I have been strongly questioned or given a hard time. Like riceme, I am very particular about my vehicles and was nervous about the take everything apart issue riceme went through.
I'm oving from Northern Cal to Anchorage. Your post was very helpful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ry1n
I decided to share some of my experiences on this forum, because I came here often to get information before I made the move. Hopefully this does not get too long, but I wanted to put some of the items I really was curious about before I came.
I have wanted to move to Alaska as long as I could remember, something about it draws certain types of people. To be happy here you really need to be the keep busy type, who does not sit in the dark watching TV and doing nothing all winter. Ideally you are the outdoors type (like me), and If you move here and are more of a city type of person, you are not going to like it. At this time, I really wouldn't even consider Anchorage a full blown city! More like a very developed town. It has everything you really could need, and is really exploding - they are building new businesses all the time (which makes me worry about it becoming too crowded in the future!)
Employment: The job market is VERY good here. They need help at so many places, you actually here radio commercials stating help wanted! Still, I applied for jobs before I moved, and got contacted immediately. Other posts I read told people not to bother looking because businesses want to see you in person, which for some is true, but I felt it was too risky to come this far without something set up.
Housing: I read many times people saying how super expensive it is to live here. Coming from Orange County California, the housing was MUCH cheaper. I also rented and apartment before I came up so I could have a home base after driving 4000 miles. Now this is a little tougher, I did as much research as I could, but getting a place blind is always tricky. I chose to use the community everyone says to avoid (weidner), just because they are the biggest and most established company in the area and I could rent without fear of a scam.
I landed right on the edge of which after MY research, I established to be the ghetto. When I got here it was a little older, but by no means a ghetto. After living there awhile being right near downtown was so convenient, it was awesome. I purposely picked a very short term lease before I came so I could have a base to explore all the areas and decide where I would like to settle down long term.
Other Random Things:
I explored Anchorage over and over, and as there are older parts (a lot of older parts), I did not come across a true ghetto like Compton or other areas of South Central LA. There are A LOT of homeless people, which are what makes areas look trashy, and most of them appear to be Natives from dry villages who want to get drunk all day. Just avoid Mountainview at night and you will be okay. Now I get the "Carrs on Gamble" joke on this forum.
Most people around town are nice from what I have seen so far.
Buy your winter clothes here, they have EVERYTHING.
I immediately went from the DMV with my temporary license and did what any guy would do - went and bought a gun with no tax and no waiting
Still am building my Carhartt wardrobe and may grow a beard to fit in..
Fred Meyer is an awesome store, Its like having a giant target combined with a grocery store that also sells guns!
Remember, you move to Alaska for Alaska, not Anchorage. If you drive 10 minutes south you will remember why you moved here. Anchorage is just really convenient if you are going to live in the last frontier.
I moved light. Sold everything and came with only what would fit in the car- Gas cost was 800.00.
I spent one night in a hotel in Seattle and took naps at rest stops the rest of the way. Took 4 days to get here. I attempted to get a hotel another night but they were booked and so were all the surrounding cities in the Yukon Territory!
The drive is beautiful. People in Canada are very nice. Parts of the Alaska Highway had construction. I feel bad if you drive your brand new car here, its going to get chipped!.
Was not searched in Canada or Alaska. Get your passport and special canada insurance (your insurance company will send you a card) and you are good to go. I saw people in a u haul get pulled to the side though, so I would not risk bringing handguns.
I had a rule of getting gas whenever I was at half a tank. Had no problems. Still brought a gas can, but did not use it.
Make sure you have good tires!
The milepost is totally worth it, get one. Just the fact it shows you side streets in the towns so you can navigate around to get food, etc is so helpful.
I had to turn put my phone in airplane mode in canada to avoid crazy charges. One time I wanted to use it and had no signal at all and could not use it even if I needed to! I downloaded an app (Free) that let me use GPS only no data, which only worked the last half, but was very handy when it did work. It was called Map Factor Navigator. You have to download the maps for all the areas you will be driving through ahead of time. If you use Google maps in Washington it takes you a different way than the Milepost says - thats okay, follow google its safe! I did and everything went fine.
Get studded tires when they allow you to put them on, I think its starting Sept 15th. It will cost you 60 more dollars total to have them studded (they need to be studdable tires remember), and helps very much when you need to stop!
It rains a lot here, and I love it. Its raining right now!
Everyone gave me a "You are totally crazy" look when I said I was moving to Alaska. I am sure those of you coming here researched it and know what you are in for, the good and the bad. I was prepared and after finally fulfilling my dream of living here - I made it and am so happy I did.
One last thing. I noticed a lot of people on the forums try to make it sound miserable here, and now that I live here I see why.. They do not want more people coming, and you know what, I don't blame em
I sold everything I owned that did not fit into the back of my pickup (except firearms, which I shipped) and drove up. Arrived in NP on the 16th of October. That was later than I wanted to arrive and I honestly would not recommend planning to drive up that late unless you had to. I was by myself (no children) and I was delayed a full day at my sister's in the lower 48 with what could have been a major problem with my pickup but was not.
I was lucky and had great weather aside from a downpour through all of Oregon and Washington. But trust me, I was prepared for bad weather and sparse fuel stations.
A word to the wise: Canada takes their speed limit pretty seriously. I made really good time, but I got a couple of speeding tickets. If you get ticketed exceeding a certain amount over their limit they will impound your vehicle for ten days. I was warned. Both times. :/
Oh, another couple things I had issues with: I have a small old GOA (Gun Owners of America) sticker on my back window. I didn't even realize that most people could recognize it for what it was, but the Canadian border agent did, and it upset him. Any NRA, GOA, or anything of the like, I might consider removing or covering prior to driving through. The other thing that jammed me up is that years ago I'd pulled out the stock 60/40 seats in my pickup and replaced them with leather lumbar seats out of a Sequoia. Well, the console from the Sequoia wouldn't fit so I made an ammo can into my console. Canadian border agent hated that.
Basically, anything that smells like guns or ammo, I would consider sterilizing before driving through Canada.
Lol you are right about the speed limits! I made sure to drive the speed limit almost the whole way. I didn't speed it up until the Yukon. Man is the Yukon beautiful. I really am happy I got to drive the Alaska Highway! Judging by the weather here, I feel the beginning of September would be the latest I would drive in order to avoid ice.
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Thanks
