Driving & Moving to Fairbanks in December (Haines, Tok: renting, how much)

[ArmyRN]

ArmyRN here, got my christmas wish early this year. Orders for Fort Wainwright.
I am looking for advice for moving up there. currently in Fort Hood, TX.

1. i have a reliable(new front wheel drive) car. and plan on putting studded tires on in Colorado, on the way up.
2. plan on driving the Alcan.
3. will plan on giving myself 10-14 days drive time.
4. camera with new batteries.
5. survival kit set up.
6. Any and all suggestions welcome. i've got some snow driving experience, been a few yrs. thats why giving myself plenty of time to get up there. (not stupid).

thanks.

[mikenbobbi]

Welcome and good luck.
I, too, will be making same drive about same time frame. Received some very useful feedback on thread: //www.city-data.com/forum/fairb...ay-w-pets.html

Retired military; relocating to Fairbanks with a government contracting job. Won't have firm date for about another week or two. Anticipating packing up and starting drive around 15 Dec and taking about 10 days for trip. Routing through Colorado Springs to see our son enroute.

[Dakster]

Get the milepost magazine. Realize that your cell phone is worthless in rural Canada. Always fill up when you see an open gas station in rural Canada. Talk to folks along the way - ask what road conditions are like ahead.

Enjoy the drive....

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by ArmyRN

ArmyRN here, got my christmas wish early this year. Orders for Fort Wainwright.
I am looking for advice for moving up there. currently in Fort Hood, TX.

1. i have a reliable(new front wheel drive) car. and plan on putting studded tires on in Colorado, on the way up.
2. plan on driving the Alcan.
3. will plan on giving myself 10-14 days drive time.
4. camera with new batteries.
5. survival kit set up.
6. Any and all suggestions welcome. i've got some snow driving experience, been a few yrs. thats why giving myself plenty of time to get up there. (not stupid).

thanks.

AWD or FWD vehicle? If the car is under warranty, have the dealer install a block heater before you drive it up here. As soon as you arrive stop by NAPA and buy a battery blanket or heater. Most are a 75W heat pad that you can place under the battery. If you want to winterize the car yourself, you will also need the following:

a. 45W (or so) oil pan heater (another electric pad, but smaller in size)
b. Replace the anti-freeze with a 60/40 mixture. 60% antifreeze/40% distilled water
c. A 15-foot winter-grade extension cord (blue color insulation). These cords come with a LED light at the female end of the cord
d. A 4-outlet electrical box with an extension cord of perhaps 3 feet in length. The end of the cord away from the box should be a male one. Just buy the box ready to go from NAPA, or maybe from the gas station on post
e. A tube of high temperature RTV silicone (orange color)

Some of your coworkers can show you how to do the work, but if you need help some of us can tell you how.

[AKStafford]

I second the suggestion for having The MILEPOST: Alaska Travel Guide and Trip Planner . I've done the drive 6 times and I wouldn't do it with having it. In my opinion its the best guide to the drive.

As mentioned, you will not have cell service through much of BC & the Yukon. Use the Milepost to plan your fuel stops. Be sure to leave Whitehorse, Watson Lake, Haines Junction, Beaver Creek, & Tok will a full tank of gas.

[heathen]

OP sounds better prepared than most. Just be aware of the very short days as you go north through Canada. Only about 7 hours of useable daylight at this end of the drive in December (4 hours of sunlight). Best not to drive any of it in the dark, but especially avoid the section between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake at night because of an extra high concentration of (large) wildlife. Sounds like you're allowing plenty of time, so avoid driving in heavy snow and when the temperature is below -40 (some people aren't comfortable below -20 but that might not be practical). You will need a block heater, either an oil pan heater or synthetic oil, proper antifreeze, etc. Best to get that all done before you hit Canada.

[1stimestar]

No need for a gps. Really, there is one road.... not much chance of getting lost.

[Gunluvver2]

A CB radio would be a good idea. Check along the way to find out what Channels are monitored in the area.
GL2

[Dakster]

Originally Posted by 1stimestar

No need for a gps. Really, there is one road.... not much chance of getting lost.

Personally, I liked having an iPad with a GPS App for the drive. (Granted I drove from SE Florida to Alaska and back) It told me speed limits (even on the Alcan), displayed by driving speed in KMH. I even setup and audible alert so when I broke the speed limit by more than 7 KMH it alerted me. I set it to 10MPH in the US. When I was in coverage I could get weather updates and traffic conditions. Some stand-a-lone GPS's get this information via satellite. (IIRC the XM/Sirius network) so at least the weather part would work in rural, northern Canada. I also like knowing EXACTLY where I am and how much further I have to go. Kind of the same way I like to see a Distance to Empty and current MPG on the dash in addition to the fuel gauge.

It becomes more valuable when you get to towns. We were able to call ahead to restaurants and hotels... This is also why the Milepost is nice. FWIW, there is a Milepost App for Android and IOS. And there used to be a PDF version for a regular PC/MAC - not sure if they still do that or not.

Is any of this NECESSARY - No. There is a cost involved, but it was nice to have. In retrospect a cheap CB radio or renting a Sat Phone would have been a nice 'safety blanket' too - but obviously we made it back and forth without it and we didn't have an experience where we wished we had it. We would have missed not having the Milepost though.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Personally, I liked having an iPad with a GPS App for the drive. (Granted I drove from SE Florida to Alaska and back) It told me speed limits (even on the Alcan), displayed by driving speed in KMH. I even setup and audible alert so when I broke the speed limit by more than 7 KMH it alerted me. I set it to 10MPH in the US. When I was in coverage I could get weather updates and traffic conditions. Some stand-a-lone GPS's get this information via satellite. (IIRC the XM/Sirius network) so at least the weather part would work in rural, northern Canada. I also like knowing EXACTLY where I am and how much further I have to go. Kind of the same way I like to see a Distance to Empty and current MPG on the dash in addition to the fuel gauge.

It becomes more valuable when you get to towns. We were able to call ahead to restaurants and hotels... This is also why the Milepost is nice. FWIW, there is a Milepost App for Android and IOS. And there used to be a PDF version for a regular PC/MAC - not sure if they still do that or not.

Is any of this NECESSARY - No. There is a cost involved, but it was nice to have. In retrospect a cheap CB radio or renting a Sat Phone would have been a nice 'safety blanket' too - but obviously we made it back and forth without it and we didn't have an experience where we wished we had it. We would have missed not having the Milepost though.

While the iPad's "Maps" app works great for road travel when you have a data plan for the iPad, I bough CoPilot Live USA/Canada app so my wife could use it when visiting her parents a couple of months ago. This app is simply amazing. But since she only needed a data plan for a couple f weeks, I purchased an AT&T 30-day plan.