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Old 06-29-2016, 09:24 PM
 
Location: Interior Alaska
2,383 posts, read 3,061,170 times
Reputation: 2373

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MouseBandit View Post
Holy Cow- yeah a samurai is extremely light, LOL! Smaller is better! Maybe the conex idea will pan out!

Do the floor jacks have any trouble operating at those low temps? Does the hydraulic fluid get thick or not want to work?
A suburban will not fit comfortably in a standard container. The door opening is only about 7-1/2 foot. I would ship it on a flatrack or RoRo... or on the ferry $$$$. If I were you I would want to pack the container with my "stuff" and not a vehicle. I mean, it will fit, but... why would you? Know what I mean?

Floor jacks are good in the cold (100% better than a bottle or scissor jack mostly because your hands and fingers don't work good in the cold), but you are on the right track. Hydraulics hate the cold and tend to fail in extreme cold conditions.
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Old 06-29-2016, 09:33 PM
 
Location: SW Oregon
94 posts, read 127,482 times
Reputation: 63
Off to put kids to bed, but SO much to research and think about! Thank you all for helping point me in the right direction!
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Old 06-29-2016, 09:53 PM
 
92 posts, read 93,401 times
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Just curious why you think the Mar Su would be to hot in the summer. Palmer's high was about 72 today.
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Old 06-29-2016, 10:32 PM
 
Location: SW Oregon
94 posts, read 127,482 times
Reputation: 63
All the reading I've done on it talks about hitting 90's in the summer and even the occasional 100. It seems to be touted as "think alaska is so cold...what about Mat-Su!"

I should add that it's not just thinking about hotter temps, but it seems to be a large, open valley, and that's something that I've never enjoyed. (Not that it's all about what I'll like best or enjoy most, but if there's a choice, LOL!) I vastly prefer small, hemmed-in valleys. Where I was born and raised is a valley about 7 miles wide and 30 miles long, with smaller "hills" along the length, naturally separating it into smaller "sub-valleys", if you will. Heavily forested with 3000-5000 ft summits all around on all sides. The more similar to that, the more I will like it, LOL.
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Old 06-29-2016, 10:42 PM
 
Location: SW Oregon
94 posts, read 127,482 times
Reputation: 63
For those that have traveled the Alcon this year, what is the "average" price per gallon of gas you're seeing, or what is the "typical" amount of funds I should have allocated for gas on the trip? 18mpg (or less, hauling a trailer). It's looking like about 3000 miles and 53 hours drive time.

The conex on a barge thing is sounding really expensive! Rough quote is $12k, haha. I love my mom's furniture, but no, not that much, hahahaha.

I'll check some other quotes, and actually talk to them to see if it's cheaper since we have our own conex.
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Old 06-29-2016, 11:39 PM
 
Location: Interior Alaska
2,383 posts, read 3,061,170 times
Reputation: 2373
Quote:
Originally Posted by MouseBandit View Post
For those that have traveled the Alcon this year, what is the "average" price per gallon of gas you're seeing, or what is the "typical" amount of funds I should have allocated for gas on the trip? 18mpg (or less, hauling a trailer). It's looking like about 3000 miles and 53 hours drive time.

The conex on a barge thing is sounding really expensive! Rough quote is $12k, haha. I love my mom's furniture, but no, not that much, hahahaha.

I'll check some other quotes, and actually talk to them to see if it's cheaper since we have our own conex.
Uhh... you get 18 mi/gal in a 96 Suburban??? Wow. My scorecard on that vintage Suburban is about 7 mi/gal. When you guys get here send the hubs up to tune-up my Silverado, lol

No one knows where the price of oil/gas will be next week, let alone a few months down the road. Oil could be at $10/bbl (good for you, bad for Alaska) or $80/bbl (bad for you, good for Alaska)... It's anybody's guess. But, I filled up today and regular gasoline was $2.65/gal and diesel $2.50/gal. This was in town in Fairbanks... I don't know what it is down south.

Because of the conversion from CAD to USD *and* litres to gallons, it's a lot easier to use a cost of fuel calculator that you can find online. I think there's one somewhere on the AAA website, if memory serves.
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Old 06-30-2016, 12:02 AM
 
1,931 posts, read 2,143,816 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MouseBandit View Post
Ty! I'll look at Delta Junction and the Eastern Interior more before we make any hard decisions! So, a property with a good spring on it off East End rd - is that a "jump-on-it" kind of deal, that we aren't likely to see again? There's a place we like a lot from the listing, and a huge part of that is a spring that supplies the water.

Is craigslist the best source for used furniture and other used goods? Is there a second-hand store in Homer?

We did see the price difference in Anchor Point, but would really like to keep that south-facing Katchemak view and sunshine.

Someday, off the road system will be in our future, but not until the kiddos are quite a bit bigger - maybe 5 more years. Plus, that gives us time to hone the skills we have and acquire the skills we'll need to take that step. :-) I'm adventurous, but I don't want to be stupid, LOL!

I am waiting to hear from the hubby as to whether he wants to buy before we go, or roll on up and then buy when we're there. It would cost quite a bit to fly up and take a scouting trip with 4 kids, LOL, plus we'd have to have a caretaker for this property. If it's gonna be more than $2k for the scouting trip, hubby will probably just say to drive up and then buy. But, who knows! He's still recovering from the barrage of detailed info I've been throwing at him since he finally agreed to the move, haha! I agree it would be ideal to fly up and have a week to get the lay of the land and physically look at houses.

Are there mini-storage places on the Kenai (outside of anchorage)?

We could sell the place here, drive up, drop the trailer in a storage yard, and then spend a week or two cruising around figuring out the right town and property.

Is there still a laundromat in Homer that allows you to take showers? Any estimate on how much that would cost?

Being a bush dweller (Hub now) with kids, I recommend doing the bush living (off road) while kids are small. You don't want them to fall in love with each other. I'm not joking.
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Old 06-30-2016, 03:05 AM
 
92 posts, read 93,401 times
Reputation: 125
Quote:
Originally Posted by MouseBandit View Post
All the reading I've done on it talks about hitting 90's in the summer and even the occasional 100. It seems to be touted as "think alaska is so cold...what about Mat-Su!"

I should add that it's not just thinking about hotter temps, but it seems to be a large, open valley, and that's something that I've never enjoyed. (Not that it's all about what I'll like best or enjoy most, but if there's a choice, LOL!) I vastly prefer small, hemmed-in valleys. Where I was born and raised is a valley about 7 miles wide and 30 miles long, with smaller "hills" along the length, naturally separating it into smaller "sub-valleys", if you will. Heavily forested with 3000-5000 ft summits all around on all sides. The more similar to that, the more I will like it, LOL.
Large is correct the Mat Su borough is about the size of West Virginia. Pretty sure there are some trees. lol.


Matanuska Valley, Alaska Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)
this show an average July high temp of 69 which sound about right to me.
The State record high was 100 in Fort Yukon about 100 years ago.
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Old 06-30-2016, 09:21 AM
 
12 posts, read 17,203 times
Reputation: 59
Wow, that a lot of moving Mousebandit! You'll do fine once you get the kinks ironed out.
Having spent a few months on the KP over the years, I prefer Seward to Homer, and to me it sounds a lot more like the topography you describe. But...more expensive, and much less chance of finding any sizeable acreage I think. Too bad...but do give it a look. Love that town...
I drove up last month from MN and gas was in the 2.50 range, but spiked in northern Canada (not surprisingly) ...I think we paid 1.25 Canadian a liter a couple places. I was too lazy to figure out the $$ because...well, there aren't a lot of options, and we were going anyway
I'm kind of, somewhat, looking to move to the Seward area in the forseeable future, but luckily I just want to fish, so I don't need acreage or space for a brood!
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Old 06-30-2016, 11:03 AM
 
Location: SW Oregon
94 posts, read 127,482 times
Reputation: 63
Seward will definitely get more research! Years ago, on one of our moves somewhere, an old steamer-type trunk appeared in our lives, and my oldest daughter (she's now 8) adopted it for her own. It was at least a couple of years before we noticed, but it has SEWARD imprinted in the handle, LOL! Of course, she and I immediately declared it a sign, ha-ha! ;-)

I've got the house here listed for sale! Anyone want to move to beautiful SW Oregon?! I'll make you a great deal! Big House in the Woods near the Coast Range!

Now the focus is to PURGE and get this house sold!! There's still a few construction projects to finish and we need to get the official occupancy permit. I was already in purge mode because I knew we'd probably be moving again before the first of the year, but I thought it would only be to N Idaho, so I wasn't going at it quite as hard as I will now. Oh, and I have to finish up my tax school because I won't be able to easily scoot down and take the licensing exam once we move, haha! (It will still be beneficial to me to be licensed in Oregon, since I will be having Oregon clients. Less chance of legal hassles that way, and more room to solicit additional Oregon clients later.)

Thank you all so much for your questions and advice!! I don't know if you realize how very tangibly beneficial this is to a newbie!!!!

I'll be singing "Free and Easy Down the Road I Go" all day now, as I toss everything into the donation boxes!!

Last edited by MouseBandit; 06-30-2016 at 11:11 AM.. Reason: singing, not signing, haha!
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