Finally have a date to move!! (Haines, Tok: mover, credit card, hotel) - Alaska (AK) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

CL99 · 03-22-2007, 11:16 AM

My Nissan Xterra is a 4.0 liter V6 4x4.. I have a bunch of camping supplies tent, bags, cooking stuff.

Rance · 03-22-2007, 11:17 AM

Your gonna want hotel rooms not tent in April. Believe me...after driving all day...the last thing you want to do is set up a tent in the dark. You can get rooms cheap in any town through Canada. Don't use Super 8 or the name brands unless you want to spend 150 or more. Those all have pools. The cheap no name brands went for 50 to 75 bucks with no pool. After getting back into Alaska I stayed overnight in Mantasta. Nice little cabin, the coldest beer in the whole 7000 mile trip, and the best food. Little things like that will make your whole day. 40 or 50 miles either side of the Canadian/Alaskan border are bad with frost heaves so you'll have to take it a little slower.

Delaneyland · 03-22-2007, 11:22 AM

When we came "down", the CA customs looked at my paperwork, took their fees, waved, and wished us well....when we got to US customs, they smiled, said welcome home, have a safe trip. About all we had to show was paperwork for the dogs. I didn't mean to badmouth the entry at Portal, he was a young kid convinced I was packing a handgun (he saw my police ID) and didn't want to be embarassed by me...it was probably more my fault than his, once his attitude went south, I was already at the equator. IF you drive, stop at Toad River...best food on the trip, in my humble opinion!

CL99 · 03-22-2007, 11:31 AM

I don't plan on camping but for an emergency situation of which I hope doesn't happen. I have already set up arrangements for the guns. We still have military stickers and ID's. I also don't plan on staying at a name brand chain hotel because I like to support local economy. Plus I like cheaper prices

OK I know its sounds dumb remember I am from northern IL and IA, but what is a frost heave and how do I know that I am in one.....Did I happen to drive in that when I was in Anchorage/Wasilla in January? I know I am full of questions, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Manmountain · 03-22-2007, 11:34 AM

These guys are college students , not senior citizens. Tent it and have an adventure; remember "YOU ARE BROKE'

How bout buying one of these; 6x10 for 1500$ where you are in kentucky and sell it when you get to Alaska or keep it.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DG

http://www.cargotrailersforsale.com/cargotrailersforsale2747x350x263.jpg (broken link)

CL99 · 03-22-2007, 11:45 AM

The bottom URL was great, that would work as long as it is 6x10 then everything will fit like a sardine

I thought they would cost more than $1500. I know we priced them in VA before we moved and they were close to $3K. I guess I could look at the for sale adds too. I'm sure there are many of them here because of all the farm land. That would be a good investment.

CL99 · 03-22-2007, 11:54 AM

It's not a 6x10 trailer its a 6x12 i know 2 feet,but it would make a huge difference.

Manmountain · 03-22-2007, 11:57 AM

Ive seen the 5 x 10 1500$ by some dealers , would be a good deal if you cold get it for that.

U hauls are heavy, was my point.

Call all the trailer sales in your area and ask for an outthe door cheapest price.

Advantage is they are 30% lighter than uhauls tank trailers and youll be hard pressed to find a used one. They sell fast.

Your v 6 oughta do ya ok............... Thats good........

If you take your time on the drive you can be on the rode for 2 weeks.

Parts of the Continental divide have turnouts and camping areas, and not a lot of motels ; regardless, have sleeping bags, water, dogfood and an ice chest with food,

we went in april and camped the whole way.

Your animals will go apeshyte..........

Mate the recliners and a small trailer should do ya......... spend energy not money..........

CL99 · 03-22-2007, 12:01 PM

That sounds like a great deal.. I will start looking around... The weight was a big concern because when we pulled the Uhaul my gas was really bad I normally get 25mpg on the HWY I was getting near 13-15 with the trailer. I don't wan to be tight on gas.

flu189 · 03-22-2007, 02:55 PM

We moved out of AK two years ago and I used commercial movers to avoid the hassle of packing and hauling. Of course I moved 11,000 lbs of household goods. Used North American Van Lines and got a good deal using a govt discount (Military Reservist) even for a non orders personal move. Don't forget you can take a moving deduction for the costs of the movers, storage, your own mileage and lodging if driving, etc. Check the IRS publication for details. The bottom line is you have to decide what items of your stuff is important for you to keep. What I liked was that I was able to arrange when my stuff left the port and then once it arrived on the east coast I left it in storage for two months until I found where I wanted to live. One more point, take your time if you can and enjoy the trip. There is quite a bit to see and do even in April. We stayed at hotels/motels to include Super 8's and two years ago the average cost was about 85.00 even in Canada. The only location we did not like was Watson Lake as the lodging there was pretty run down. Also, don't overlook discounts from memberships you might already have such as AAA and Sams Club. We spent two weeks on the road and for what we saw and did the cost was not that bad.