Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Alaska
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-30-2014, 02:03 PM
 
4,715 posts, read 10,524,586 times
Reputation: 2186

Advertisements

Every which way I do the math, driving always wins by time and money. I even added the cost per mile on my lease as savings and still didn't work out as well as driving. So assuming those are most important to you, driving is the way to go.

Only way it may not work out is if the vehicle you are driving has problems that it might not have had if you took the Ferry. Repair costs are probably steep in the boonies. I hope to never, ever, have to find out.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-30-2014, 04:00 PM
 
Location: Dangling from a mooses antlers
7,308 posts, read 14,697,869 times
Reputation: 6238
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakster View Post
Every which way I do the math, driving always wins by time and money. I even added the cost per mile on my lease as savings and still didn't work out as well as driving. So assuming those are most important to you, driving is the way to go.

Only way it may not work out is if the vehicle you are driving has problems that it might not have had if you took the Ferry. Repair costs are probably steep in the boonies. I hope to never, ever, have to find out.
I didn't find the actual labor costs that bad. It was the availability and price of parts that was the killjoy. The alternator started going out on my truck a couple of years ago about 90 miles north of Hope BC. Somehow I managed to keep it running until I got to Abbotsford. The engine shut down as I came off of the off ramp and I was able to coast into the parking lot of a muffler shop. It was a Saturday afternoon and they were about to close. They found one NAPA store that was still open and they went over and got the alternator. It costs $375CN but they only charged me $60 labor to put it in. Good deal since I didn't have the tools with me to do it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-31-2014, 11:02 AM
 
4,715 posts, read 10,524,586 times
Reputation: 2186
You got really lucky Stiff... You could have been stuck for several days. Obviously someone wanted you to make it to your destination on time. Good to see Labor isn't crazy, even though the cost of the part seems steep, although since I don't know what year, make, model truck you have, who knows.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-31-2014, 01:39 PM
 
Location: Dangling from a mooses antlers
7,308 posts, read 14,697,869 times
Reputation: 6238
Yep, if it would've happened in Iskut or Jade City I coulda been screwed. I have since expanded the tool/spare parts kits in all three of my trucks. And have added another blanket and reading material.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-05-2014, 08:06 PM
 
Location: Vernon, British Columbia
3,026 posts, read 3,649,229 times
Reputation: 2196
We looked into taking the train from Kamloops to Prince Rupert, and then the ferry to Whittier, but decided against it because the large layovers along the way. Maybe if I was retired.

Anyway, we have decided instead to take the ferry just from Whittier to Valdez on the way home. Much simpler, and a whole lot cheaper!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Alaska
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top