Alaska Bound

[LLN]

Winter is sinking in and Spring planning is underway for Alaska. My dream trip has always been a roadtrek to Alaska. I have a 2010 Scamp 13ft (almost brand new), a Tacoma double-cab shortbed tow, and two Golden Retriever navigators. We are all getting to be older and waiting for next year to take the journey may not work for the whole team to go. I have followed advice and searched earlier trip reports out of this sight--outstanding. Still need to have a better idea of how much of the shorter Scamp will make the journey and what parts and pieces might fall off. Ergo, what parts do I need to have along. I am attending the 2012 Overland Expo in Flagstaff, Arizona (18-20 May). The Adventure Trailer company, Prescott, Arizona, is making modifications to the truck to include an ARB bumper, better shocks, and firestone airbag assists for the rear springs. Can the small trailer make it? Can it do the flying rock road to Prudoe Bay? Any advice for a fairly newcomer to the fiberglass world? Are there places you would recommend I make sure I see on the way through the Yukon? I appreciate the information about Milepost and a Camping book I have bought to really get a great start on route layout.
Linda

[Doug Backlund]

I did that trip in 2010, towing a 16 ft. Scamp and the same TV as you have. No problems. I took it slow when the roads got rough. There is a stretch of road in the Yukon from west of Whitehorse to Haines Junction that needs to be taken slowly due to frost heaves. Just when you think you can speed up, another big frost heave shows up. I towed the Scamp up the Dalton Highway to Coldfoot, parked it at the Marion Creek CG and then drove to Prudhoe Bay. I stayed at Marion Creek CG for two weeks, there's a well there with good water and a campground host. No problems on the Dalton, just go slow and pull over when you see trucks coming. Some it is paved now, but with pavement comes frost heaves from the permafrost. Go slow and you'll have no problems. I took two spare tires for the truck and the Scamp, didn't use any of them. If you go in early to mid summer, take plenty of skeeter repellent.

[jen b]

Oh, that's going to be a fun trip. My dad's planning a June trip there on a motorcycle - if you see a blue suzuki with PA plates, wave hello! I don't really have any parts advice as such, but I am hoping to take the Burro on the Trans Labrador Highway in 2013, so will have my pay-attention hat on, as it's also a gravel road (though with growing paved bits) in similar wilderness conditions.

[Greg H]

Take a lot of pictures.

[Donna D.]

And post lots of pictures!!! Some of us will live vicariously through your travels.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by LLN

I have a 2010 Scamp 13ft (almost brand new)

Still need to have a better idea of how much of the shorter Scamp will make the journey and what parts and pieces might fall off.

Can the small trailer make it? Can it do the flying rock road to Prudoe Bay? Any advice for a fairly newcomer to the fiberglass world? Are there places you would recommend I make sure I see on the way through the Yukon?

I did a site search for thread titles with "Alaska" and modified that search to find posts by Pete Dumbleton. He lived full-time in his 13' Scamp, and had very good advise for any trailerite, before he succumbed to tongue cancer.

[Donna D.]

I agree Frederick, Pete and Joy's information regarding Alaska travels in a 13 foot Scamp is well worth reading.

[LLN]

Thanks to all for the invaluable advice for trip planning to Alaska. I have the books this forum recommended: Traveler's Guide to Alaskan Camping (5th) edition, Mike and Terri Church; and the latest Milepost. Once again, the Fiberglass RV forum members come thru tonight with even more to review and pull together. I can smell the mud on the exhaust already. Jen, I made a Land Rover trip on the Trans-Lab HWY in 2001 to Goose Bay. Really gave me an appreciation for hydro-power, and glacier-formed geography. A big fan of Tim Horton's, I found one there at trails end. And I saw for the first time the dance of the Arctic Light, camping on the beach on the bay. I did not get photographs, I had no clue how to capture it, 360 degrees completely filling the night sky and in motion--ribbons of green. What a memory! This time I will indeed capture images of the journey to share. I do some photography and that is part of the purpose of the trip.
Linda

[Mike Magee]

I can't imagine needing any kind of helper springs or airbags on a truck for towing a 13 footer, but maybe you are loading the box with a lot of stuff?

A spare tire for each is a must. Take a tool box, and of course duct tape.

[keekers]

Linda,
Great trip you have planned. I lived in AK for a few years, six winter months in 372 SF homestead cabin, no running water or indoor plumbing. Loved it! If you need a place to stop on your way to AK just PM me and I would be happy to have you stop by.
Patti

[Bruce H]

Find a place in your truck bed for one or two spare 5 gallon gas cans. You may not need them but the peace of mind is priceless.

[DirtDawg]

Originally Posted by LLN

Winter is sinking in and Spring planning is underway for Alaska. My dream trip has always been a roadtrek to Alaska. I have a 2010 Scamp 13ft (almost brand new), a Tacoma double-cab shortbed tow, and two Golden Retriever navigators.

Linda, what an adventure you have planned - one that I'd like to do too! An issue that would be of significant concern to me is trailer tires. If I'm reading Scamp's website correctly, only 13" Load-B trailer tires are available from the factory on your model? I tend to overkill things (**), even with consideration of using my Casita 17 on pavement as well as unpaved access road to campsites. If hauling all the way to AK and back, perhaps determine if a larger 14" wheel and tire combo will suitably fit (centered and without rubbing) within your Scamp wheelwell? When I owned my former Casita Patriot 13 many years ago, I replaced similar OEM 13" wheels with a set of 14" steel zero offset (trailer) wheels and BFG All-Terrain tires of same size in the link below. These are rugged enough such that likelihood of failure other than from normal road hazards would be greatly reduced. BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO

(** - 235/75-15 (29" diameter) "D-range" LT-rated all terrain tires are now mounted on my Casita trailer wheels)

[RichardinBC]

Hi LLN

I am planning a trip to Dawson City in middle of June and the best website that I have found is Sues RV adventures to Yukon and Alaska.

Check out suethomas.ca she has lots of pictures and information about many campsites.

Richard

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by DirtDawg

Linda, what an adventure you have planned - one that I'd like to do too! An issue that would be of significant concern to me is trailer tires. [/COLOR]
[/COLOR]

Good advise to make sure all your tires are in good condition and carry spares of the same make and size. If the tires on your trailer are 3 years old or close to it I would replace them before leaving. I recently had a tire that was close to 3 years old fail (delaminated) on a long trip on a paved but rough road, even though there was lots of tread on the tire, no cracks on the side walls, no history of pressure lose etc. It looked almost new. In a perfect world the spare should be the same make & type as the other tires on the trailer - turned out mine was not. It can be a bit frustrating to find yourself no where near a large urban center where you have tire stores with lots of options to choose from and a good spare but not good enough to get you as far as you need to go for the replacement tires you want. LOL If you have to buy tires in a small town you may end up with replacement tires that under a different situation may not have been your first choose. The tire store I ended up at (only one for several hundred miles) showed me a newspaper story they had clipped out that indicated you should not expect more than 3 years out of a trailer tire no matter how good it looks due to the amount of time trailers spend parked.

I would also carry my rivet gun and a few rivets of different sizes as its not uncommon for a rivet or two to fail on rough roads - if a rivet snaps while on the road its a good bet you will not even need a drill to get it out in order to replace it. Also fuses and spare light bulbs for the trailer as well as the main lights for the car would be a good idea as well. Recently had a light fail on the car and it was a number of days before I came to a town with an auto parts store or dealership that was open & that actually had the bulb I needed. A tool kit with screw driver, pliers, a couple of feet of thin wire, a roll of duct tape, small tub of caulking, a couple of feet of water pipe, connectors and clamps, will do a fast dirty fix on almost anything.

I would also carry a real big bag full of camera gear!

[WildBirder]

Check out the book "Camp free in B.C." available online at Hiking Camping Guidebooks | Home Of The Opinionated Hikers I've found it invaluable. The sites aren't all free but are cheap. They're boondocking only. Each site has specific directions on how easy or difficult it is to reach. Recommending trailer size accessibility. The book is broken into regions. You will save the cost of the book in your first few nights.

Cheers,
Mark

[Marv]

I can't help you with Scamp-specific stuff as we did it in a Casita last year. Here is some general advice. Carry at least one complete set of wheel bearings (pre-greased is best). Plus, whatever commonly breaks on a Scamp.

Take your truck and trailer to Discount Tire. Ask them if the tires are good for another 20,000 miles. If not, change them out. I found the tires wore twice as fast on the trip. Take the batteries to an Interstate dealer for testing.

RV parks seemed to be few and far between. We mostly dry camped. If you use solar, be aware there are a lot of cloudy days there. Many Provincial parks have water that must be boiled before drinking. Gas stations can be 50 miles apart but if one is closed (common occurrence), that's 100 miles to the next one.

Have fun!

Marv

[DirtDawg]

Originally Posted by Marv

I can't help you with Scamp-specific stuff as we did it in a Casita last year. Here is some general advice. Carry at least one complete set of wheel bearings (pre-greased is best). Plus, whatever commonly breaks on a Scamp. <snip>

+1
I agree with Marv. I carry two complete sets of Timken (made in USA) inner and outer bearings, as well as replacement Dexter inner and outer seals and quality grease too. I figure if something fails "in the boonies", cost of buying in advance will seem plenty cheap. Multiply that tenfold in AK, I suspect. You don't need to know how to install - just have new parts with you.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by WildBirder

Check out the book "Camp free in B.C." available online at Hiking Camping Guidebooks | Home Of The Opinionated Hikers I've found it invaluable. The sites aren't all free but are cheap. They're boondocking only. Each site has specific directions on how easy or difficult it is to reach. Recommending trailer size accessibility. The book is broken into regions. You will save the cost of the book in your first few nights.

Cheers,
Mark

Thanks for posting that... never heard of it before and it looks like a great resource. I've bookmarked the page for future reference (in anticipation of getting up there some summer).

[honda03842]

On our trip to Alaska we covered the bottom and sides of our gas tank with one inch foam to protect it from stones.

On our trip to Labrador with our trailer I covered our protruding grey tank
with the same foam.

The gray tank's foam was peppered with stones on the Labrador highway and looked like swiss cheese. I did this because some other trailer users had their tank punctured by stones.

The gas tank's foam on the motorhome took a number of hits.

For subsequent trips I have extended the length of my mud flaps on the tow vehicle.

As well on the next trip to Labrador I plan to cover the front of the trailer with vinyl from Oracal My plan is to use Oracal 970 Gloss White Vinyl. The stuff is flexible and can be wrapped around curves. It is also removeable if taken off within a few years. It is available on EBay.

The Milepost book is mandatory and well worth the small price. My navigator read the book as we drove.

[LLN]

Norm & Ginny thank you for the advice on protective foam and vinyl. I know I need to do something since the 13ft Scamp has little ground clearance. I am having some mods done to the Tacoma in Arizona, Old Man Emu Shocks, and an ARB bumper with brush guard. I do have some skid plates underneath with the Toyota off-road package, but not the gas tank. I was going to at least carry an extra-water pump, some hose/and clamps for the trailer, and those covers for black & grey water outlets. Like this idea of foam. This technique would well apply to other locations. When I traveled on the Trans-Lab, the Land Rover had plenty of underneath protection. I kept well to the right and clear of the flying logging trucks. They throw rocks and dust that reduce visibility. I managed to bring my original windshield home in tact. I read Pete's link and now want to include Top of the World & Chicken, AK in the trip plan. Have you traveled any of these routes? In addition, I have a good friend who is related the Carmack who started the Gold Rush in the Klondike. So, I want to go through Carmacks, Yukon to take photographs to bring back to Val. Appreciate your advice and recognize you have travelled a great deal. All the best in your future travels.