2gypsies
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Posts posted by 2gypsies
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I'm amazed that you would consider 400 mi/day unless you have a deadline to be somewhere and you don't have much time.
Plan to spend the whole summer up there if you have the free days. Cross the U.S. border around the 3rd week of May and leave Alaska the end of August. There is so much to see and do. Most days we'd only travel 50-100 miles; sometimes even shorter. Distances between special things can be great. You sitesee as you travel.
Canada and the Yukon in some places are even more beautiful than Alaska. They should all be explored.
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You didn't mention the dealer.
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10 minutes ago, bigjim said:
Until I hear more credible evidence I will believe they crossed for legitimate reasons. I know people that cross for medicines or medical procedures even now. I used to cross regularly for dental work. Maybe they did not know the the risks or maybe they did not take them serious. Horrible situation whatever the reason.
I also think the best of people until known otherwise.
She went there a couple years ago for a 'procedure' so that turned out ok so she went back for another.
There are border towns that people cross daily for dental and meds. They can walk over; don't need to drive.
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I heard one report of the woman going for a facial procedure. That town hasn't been safe for years. I can't imagine anyone going there for anything.
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If you have the Milepost and Mike and Terry Church's book of Alaskan Camping (includes Canada & the Yukon) then you're set to go. Also get the TourSaver 2/1 Coupon book. One glacier cruise will pay for it. We did them out of Valdez and also Seward. The cat shouldn't be any problem. Don't cross into Canada until at least mid to end of May... still ice on lakes and possibly snow if any earlier. Sumas, Washington is an easy crossing. Plan to spend the first night in nearby Hope BC (awesome totems lining the street) and replenish fresh foods. We also went to the local bank and exchanged some money into Canadian because we planned to use Provincial parks & many have no attendants... just the iron ranger to put money. Go to Canadian web site for current crossing information on food, pets. Don't try to hide anything when going through check points.
Drive on the top half of your tank and don't try to price compare even though fuel will be expensive.
We boondocked or used public campgrounds for the whole trip.
The only reservations made were for the July 4 weekend and staying in Denali Nat'l Park. For those we made them only 3 weeks prior when we could better judge when we'd be in the areas. As it turned out we were a little early for Denali so on a whim we boondocked at a lovely place nearby and drove in early morning. We easily secured an additional 5 nights in the front campground - Riley Creek. We then drove to Teklanika campground for another 5 nights. We saw THE mountain for almost 7 full days. (Some never see it.) We saw every one of the big animals... more than once. We got the TEK bus pass so at Teklanika we were able to take a ridge deeper into the park whenever we wanted. Sometimes we just got off and walked the road in complete silence in the huge expanse.... just us!
If you want to do any hiking in Banff/Jasper parks plan to stop on your return otherwise the trails will be snow packed early in summer. Go up on the Alaskan Hwy and return via the Cassier in order to stop in Hyder, Alaska to view the bears fishing in mid-August.... a must!
We returned at the Roosville crossing near Glacier Nat'l Park - Hwy 93
Another trip we took the Alaskan ferry from Washington and rented a Class C so we could tour for a few weeks with friends who were flying in from Michigan. We enjoy driving the whole way much better.
Hopefully, you can spend the whole summer on this trip and don't rush it. Have a good one!
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8 hours ago, LindaH said:
X2.
Regarding pets on a cruise to Alaska: All pets must remain in the RV. You'll have certain times during the day when you can go down to visit and walk them (dogs). You will not be allowed to sleep in the RV.
You're talking about the ferry; not a cruise. 😉
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1 hour ago, kb0zke said:
Update:
We bought an F350 the end of December and a travel trailer the end of January. The current thinking is that we would start out at The Ranch this fall, then sometime in January or February go to Quartzsite for a bit, then head north.
A cruise is still a possibility. That would probably entail leaving truck and trailer somewhere in the NW. The big problem there is the cat. She is quite used to staying inside, but does get stressed by being in strange surroundings. We'll have to do some more research on this. If she could stay in the trailer she would be fine.
You don't want to cross the Canadian border until at least mid-May. Otherwise you'll still see frozen lakes and fast streams and very possibly snow.
If you can, drive to Alaska. You'll see a lot more than on a cruise and you can take your cat. Spend the whole summer for the trip and begin the return late August. Return via the Cassier and you can stop in Hyder to watch the bears fish. That's the time they are there.
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Wow! that bear pic had his ribs showing. 😟
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Hwy 16 from Buffalo is Powder River Pass EL9600'
Westbound from Buffalo: About 3 mi from the summit is steep grade for 18 miles - 5-7% Then 9 mi from the summit is 6% grade for 10 miles with a runaway truck ramp at 16 mi down from the summit. Then another 4 mi of steep grade. Many curves on this hill. Get into low grade before beginning down; not in the midst. Use brakes as little as possible.
That said.... take it easy & you'll be fine. Many RVers drive it.
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6 hours ago, LovinRVing said:
Two years ago while touring Florida to get away from WNY winter we stayed at a Florida state park. On their website, I think Reserve America, it said the max vehicle length is 30 feet. ....I saw a couple of 5th wheels that appeared larger than my 36' motorhome. So I took a flier and booked the site. ........ When we arrived at the site it was well over 40 feet long. Though the road was narrow and the vegetation heavy I made it into our site on the first attempt. One of the best campground experiences we have enjoyed through the years.
Yes, you really can't go by printed material as to if you'd fit or not. We volunteered and national and state parks and we found that they don't measure sites. They guesstimate! Plus, non-RVers usually state the size of RV that would fit. In fact, at Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park one of our gigs was assigning incoming reservations with a campsite for the day's arrival. They had an old list to go by for size. We knew from walking the campground often that there were many more big sites than what was on the list. We offered to measure each site and create a new list. The rangers were amazed at how many more big rig sites we found.
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16 is definitely the way you want to go. We've done it a few times with no issue.
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On 1/18/2023 at 6:37 AM, Kirk W said:
I have never seen the park rangers or employees of any park or campground measure an RV to check the length.
I am wondering about the holidays that you plan to spend in the US? If you mean Christmas and New Year's Day then you need to be aware of the snow in the mountains but if you mean a summer holiday then you should have no serious weather problems.
I hope he's not planning to visit Yosemite soon as it's closed because of heavy snow!
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/us/yosemite-national-park-closed-snow.html
We were measured at Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, AZ...... don't know if they still do it. They had lines marked on the pavement and you had to fit in them.
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Oh my! That's heartbreaking. I did see the home across the street with the upturned car on the news. She was right in the heart of it. Hopefully, insurance will help. Where did you end up staying? There might be claim adjusters in town taking up some spaces.
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4 hours ago, Anawilliam850 said:
One popular option is to take I-40 west to Albuquerque, NM, then head north on I-25 to Denver, CO. From Denver, you can take I-70 west to Grand Junction, CO, then head north on I-15 through Salt Lake City, UT and on to Bozeman. This route is relatively straightforward and avoids any particularly steep mountain passes.
I-70 west of Denver is not recommended. It has 11,000' elevation.... definitely a biggie!
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We've stayed at many fairgrounds and all seemed to have big sites. People stay there with long horse trailers so they need long sites. We found them good places to stay when there's nothing big going on.
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5 hours ago, BPepper said:
I grew up driving in Pennsylvania and West Virginia so I'm used to winter driving and hills, not mountains.
I really think the eastern 'hills' are worse than western interstates in winter. Shorter hills in summer in the Ozarks are worse than an interstate mountain pass. Short hills are always more difficult than a longer gradual stretch especially if they have curves.
The route I'd recommend to keep you south the longest is I-40, I-35N to I-70W to Denver. Then I-25/I-90 to Bozeman. If you take I-29 to Sioux Falls then I-90 you'll have a long stretch driving north and west.
You have plenty of experience with a big rig. You'll have no trouble. Hopefully, you can allow extra days to get there just in case you have to spend a night to wait out conditions. Monitor the weather carefully hourly.
You can do it!
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Although this Escapees forum is awesome and someone here may be able to help with your question you might want to post your question again on irv2.com
It has a special section for Alaska/Canada and there are a few folks who post on it who live in Alaska and travel back and forth. Hopefully, they will see your post.
Have a great summer!
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I guess flying is not an option since it's a 5th wheel.... you'll need a way to haul it home. Unless .... you fly and hire someone to put it in storage until you can drive there in better weather. Lots to explore in the Bozeman area so that would be a good place to break it in when you go and pick it up. Or.... try calling storage places & perhaps they can recommend someone to move it to a storage place. You don't need to be there for the financial settlement.
Yes, Montana uses salt on the roads.
https://www.uppermissouriwaterkeeper.org/roadway-de-icer-rubbing-salt-in-the-wounds/
Yes, you need to carry chains.
https://www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/mdt-faq.aspx
Here's the route:
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For full-timing I feel you should concentrate on the RV and then work around it. The attached outdoor kitchen takes away from storage space with a small RV which full-timers need. They are 'cute' but not practical. Instead, get a nice covered propane grill. Grilled food is also healthier than fried food. If you need fried then go out occasionally to satisfy your taste for it. You'll have less cleanup with a grill. Some have multiple uses. We carried a Weber Q and that was the first thing that came out once parked. We used it daily. It's not too large to store. One of us was in charge of grilling and the other the inside veggie/salad. Keep it simple.
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6 hours ago, LindaH said:
I think the point Kirk was making is that the OP hasn't been back here since April 2019, so he's unlikely to see Alan's question.
It didn't seem like it. Kirk asked him ..... "You don't give us much to go on since you didn't list any year" It seemed like Kirk was asking about his car..... not the OP's.
Oh well..... I'm out of here!
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3 hours ago, Kirk W said:
Last visited April 21, 2019
Yes, Scottie asked in 2019 about towing his Mazda 3 but Alan Carbo asked today if he flat towed the Mazda 3 which is what Scottie was asking about. That's why it seems like Carbo was asking Scottie.
Oh well...... I've been wrong before and I think you have, also. 😉
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5 hours ago, Kirk W said:
You don't give us much to go on ......
I think he was asking the OP.
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On 1/24/2023 at 3:38 PM, eiblanco said:
Very interesting discussion, and pertinent to my situation. My truck's max payload is 1415 lbs, and with a tongue weight of 750 lbs and the occupants weight of 400, it leaves 265 pounds of potential cargo in the vehicle. Food for thought.
Keep in mind that water weighs a lot. .. 8.34 lbs. / gallon
If you have:
40 gal X 8.34 = 333.6 or 334 lbs. rounded
30 gal X 8.34 = 250.2 or 250 lbs. rounded X 2 =500 lbs.
Of course, you don't have to drive with a full tank of fresh water but you, most likely, will have partial liquid in each of your tanks... fresh, grey, black.
So.... if you have partial in all 3 tanks you could possibly have 300 lb of liquid that you're carrying.
Your figure of 265 lb of potential cargo isn't going to go far. You're carrying food, dishes, cookware, clothes, toiletries, towels, possibly a few toys for the kids, etc.
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I don't understand exactly who your policy is with.... All you mention is FM... " I told her I guess FM was for the policies thru FMCA but I was thru Escapees." Is your policy thru FMCA? Escapees isn't an insurer.
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