Driving to Alaska

If you do end up going, remember the following for Canada:

1. 14 days logs required.
2. Use Cycle 1; 70 hours / 7 days.
3. 24 hours consecutive off-duty in the last 14 days.
4. 36 hours is a reset.
5. You can drive a maximum of 13 hours a day with 14 hours total on-duty in a 16 hour period (work shift). That is south of 60 degrees latitude (the border between the southern provinces and the northern territories--you'll cross it multiple times between BC and Yukon on the Alaska Highway). You can drive more north of 60, but it really is only practical if you're staying in the north. The continuous section of Alaska Highway through Yukon is only about 700 km (435 miles) so just keep it simple.
6. 8 hours consecutive off-duty plus an additional 2 hours (that can be taken in periods of 30 minutes) per day.
7. Include your start and end mileage on your logs.
8. One trip inspection per 24 hours (Standard 13 Schedule 1); include location, time and odometer reading.

I think that's all the high points.

 

^^^Views from my old office in Alaska.^^^

I lived in Alaska for about 5 years and I lived in Colorado before that. There really is no comparison between the two. Alaska is Colorado on copious amounts of steroids. Alaska is very beautiful, yet it can be a very unforgiving place if not taken seriously. If you break down you very well could be several hundred miles from the closest town or person.
In the summer I did some intrastate driving and construction and in the winter I got to play and work as a snowcat operator for a back country skiing company. Often times after a storm I'd be in the backcountry on my own in the snowcat getting the roads open and doing avalanche control before we took clients skiing.
Along with everything else people have mentioned such as the obvious, clothing, blankets, satellite phone, tires, etc. I would most certainly bring a pair of yellow lensed safety glasses or goggles. These are a godsend when it comes to seeing in the winter in flat light conditions which is the case in Alaska 99% of the time. They help with your depth perception and allow you to see much better. I swear by them and still wear them during storms today.
Otherwise, good luck!

 

Border towns fuel pumps are closed. No more fuel. Next stop is Tok, AK about 85mls

 

Wow. There is some terrible advise in this thread. If you have any specific questions post them. I just got back from Anchorage. The road is a bit greasy at times, but not bad. Not sure on the Alcan South of Junction 37 since I run the Cassiar. Coldest on this trip was -27. Just remember the colder the better the road gets.

Watch out for the Caribou since the herds are travelling right now. I am still picking junks off after having it washed today. Everything flash freezes to the truck at minus 10.

Back hauls are not easy to come by. I just brought back a $750.00 return load from Anchorage to Tacoma, WA. It was a partial and all my customer had. I would say 90% of the produce trucks are coming back empty right now.

 

A barge or ship out of Seattle.

 

Yep-when it is cold enough that you hear your tires "squeak" the traction is usually pretty good

 

Yeah that's bad-### when you see a guy with the AK plate on the front of his rig next to his base plate.

 

I wouldn't imagine. Oil is the primary export out of there but I don't think that will go in your van trailer.

 

Yeah, anybody who's had the pleasure of delivering anything to Lake Placid or Saranac Lake (me a few times) knows what a cold level of hell those parts are.

 

And what of the terrible advice?

Since you have the experience most of us do not please clarify which advice is terrible? We are here to learn. You might save at least one from making really terrible mistakes.

As far as the snowcat work, that looks like something I could get into too. Although the heavy equiptment I have is either a front tracked dozer or a Four wheel CAT 936 loader feeding a ready mix plant I considered that play time rather than work. I can imagine snow to be somewhere between stone and sand in weight and mass.

We used night glasses quite a bit, it does have the yellow lenses to fight the blue light and glare that is a problem, the only issue with them for us is they are also shooting glasses and give us away to the Law locally here at home when we are concealed carry. I do have a box of 255 grain bear loads in .45 super to use for polar bear if that ever becomes a problem up there. Not sure if 1300 fps is enough to penetrate that kind of animal. (And really don't want to be around to find out. Not even with hardcast lead flatnose...)