Moving to Alaska in December, ALCAN or Ferry?

Good point that.

Sounds like good advice.
Some of them far northern towns unattached females are sorta thin on the ground.
The locals don't appreciate some stranger chatting up the few they have.

Srsly, a friend was going up that way and he said he was basically told at the border he could either pull his studs or get new tires.
Too long ago to remember exactly where tho.

I know all tires are compromises but I'm a firm believer in studs where legal.
Most of the advantage of chain without feeling like you are riding on square wheels.

Worked as an EMT. I admit chains rock when weather throws its worst.
But riding 24 hour shifts on chains feels like spending a day inside a cement mixer.
RA-TA-TA-CHA-CHA-TA-RA-TA-TA-CHA-CHA-TA-RA......

 

^Absolutely true. Even the studding advice lol.

Seriously though, I was comparing the difference between a studdable A/T (Duratracs) and a true winter tire. In most conditions the winter will have a bigger contact patch and have a much better grip on the situation, other than on pure ice. A studded winter is pure gold in any winter condition but illegal in parts up here.

Just FYI if you go through any mountain chains in BC you MUST have tires that are either M+S rated or have the winter tire symbol from October till May. I just got back from a trip through the Kootneys and the RCMP were checking tires and writing tickets.

 

That was some golden advice delivered to me while waiting for a bus in a very wooly West Virginia bar.
The girl who brought me my hamburger smiled at me and I smiled back.
4 guys at a table commenced to glowering at me while drinking from the bottle and studying their knives.
The guys shooting pool didn't look to friendly either.
"Fellers, I'm only here until the bus comes and then you'll never see me again.
How about a round for the house before I head back to the bus station.
I wouldn't want to miss my bus."

Bartender said, "I'll set these folks up, but how about I wrap your sandwich and you take a quart to go instead."

I tipped generously.

Agree. Studded Winterforce LT's are probably somewhat overkill but I love them. Ran them on my fwd 96 Caravan and got through
stuff that had many a 4x4 with no terrains hopelessly stuck.

I think it is Canadian EMS way of saying if it is that bad, we don't want you out. We won't be back this way until June.

 

i believe the ferry is closed for the winter

 

Unless things have changed a health certificate is only good for 10 days

 

This might be where a big chain like Petco or PetSmart vet services might be a good choice for the records portability.

 

I had a record of vaccination on hand but they never asked for it.

 

You have to be careful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0KdUpCnv-c

 

If I get his trailer I was planning on replacing all of the hubs/bearings and getting bigger tires. It has sat in his back yard for the last 2 or 3 years since he sold his Gold Wing that he bought it for.

And I'm glad that I took all my tools to my folks place instead of putting them in storage. So they will all be with me in the truck

I was just going to use the basic water jugs you get at the store. I won't fill them all the way up, but I plan to keep them in the cab and in the hotel with me so hopefully they don't freeze. But, worst case I'll use the MRE heaters in a bag to melt frozen water.

I didn't know that studding was illegal. I'm glad that I bought chains instead. I have the Grabber AT2s which are M+S rated, so hopefully I will be okay. I'm just worried about ice on downhill grades. But I'll probably put the chains on for the mountain passes.

I guess I need to avoid the local wildlife huh?

Hopefully I won't need the chains other than the mountain passes. I don't want to destroy the new tires I just put on the truck.

Ahh, well to play it safe I'll have my pup checked out in Seattle by PetSmart before I cross the border.

Don't call me Shirley. Great movie, and one of the few really good sequels!

 

Looks like you are pretty well equipped for the trip. I made it with my Good Year Weangler Duratracks without studs and no chains through a mountain overpass during a snowstorm, made it through ice heaves on the road, and everything else the road throws at you. I think you will be fine.
Just remember to keep the essential stuff inside the cab to prevent from freezing. I had my fuel cans in the back inside my camper shell, but after hours of driving, the backwas covered with a few inches of ice and snow, so when I actually needed to get them out, I realized my ice scraper was inside the camper shell, lol

 

http://stores.petsmart.com/all/us/washington
http://stores.petsmart.com/all/ca/british%20columbia

I like the smaller guys, but sometimes the bigger folks do have advantages.

Make sure you have plenty of Fido's regular dog food and consider bottled water for him for the trip instead of whatever flows out of the rest stop faucets all the way across the country.
You are covering a lot of miles in a short time.

Give him one dish of dodgy water at some truck stop....
...4 days later...
...there you are at the border showing your paperwork and explaining to the BC Customs guy just how healthy Fido is when the dog unloads a gallon of runny stool, yaks up his breakfast and otherwise imitates Ol'Yeller now with added Ebola.

 

Sounds like this years new hit Christmas toy. It even includes a toy shotgun to take care of business.

 

Get winter tires pinned for studs, run them studless through Canada, and when you get to where you're going in AK get them studded ASAP.

When in Whitehorse (Yukon) stop and have a meal at the Burnt Toast Cafe.

Are you running armor in the front? The critters are EVERYWHERE on the alcan. I've made it in 27 hours from Mt. Hood to Anchorage. Oh and Tim Hortons takes VISA now. Just make sure you call your bank and let them know you're going across the border or your card(s) might not work. Fucking Canadians. Fucking Canada.

 

Haha, I learned my lesson about truck stop/rest area water a few years ago on one of my many trips from Nebraska to Atlanta. Since then, it's only store bought bottled water for my pup when we are on the road.

I have a set of General Grabber AT2s that are M+S rated on the truck now to include the spare. Also I have a bulletproof fab skid plate and Avid light bar on the front of my truck with plenty of lights in the hope that I'll see the critters before I hit them.

Also, I'll check out the burnt toast. I plan on spending the night in Whitehorese anyway


I'm thinking that I am ready for this drive, and that nothing will happen. But if it does I'm ready.

 

Just FYI route one looks like it puts you up the Coquihalla in BC at one point, which regularly shuts down in the winter due to snowfall. It's also prone to accidents and is not a fun drive if there's ANY ice on it. Route 2 runs through Alberta and should be passable 99% of the winter. Out here in Alberta the snow comes then melts quickly in a cycle of storms then Chinooks (warm dry winds from the mountains.) In BC the snow tends to stick around in the passes and ice over. Also the gas in Alberta will be at least 10% cheaper than gas in BC.

I've drove route 2 all the way from Utah to Dawson Creek. There's only one major mountain pass and a few minor one's on that route. It should be far easier going than route 1 IMHO.

 

Yeah but then you're driving through Alberta

Boring

 

It's only about 12 hours at most of his total drive. The only really boring road is from Great Fall, MT till Calgary, AB. Actually another good point is that the Coutts/Sweet Grass crossing is not nearly as busy as the one on Route 1 (Davis I think it's called, I've only been there once and it was hell) so he'll get in and out a lot faster, especially with his pup. Plus there's a fair sized or major city every 2 hours on the Alberta route. Once you're past the sprawl of Vancouver it gets pretty lonely on the route 1 he's choosing.

For a guy who seems concerned about bad driving conditions, option 2 is the far better go of things. It all depends what he wants to do.

 

I'm talking about coming up the US coast and BC would be a way nicer drive for sightseeing than up through the middle

 

True dat . The drive up the coast is hard to beat though it can be a slow go.

He can side track to Yellowstone, Glacier, and Banff via route 2 as well though. I think those places have a pretty good reputation to right?

 

I just cut and pasted this info right from the BC government transportation website. I was curious about the laws in my own province! Because I have been running studded tires for years during the winter.

Studded tires
These tires may be used on BC highways from October 1 to April 30, but must have mountain/snowflake or M+S symbols to be considered winter tires. Use of studded tires outside of this period may result in a fine.
Regulations limit tires to 130 studs each for vehicles weighing less than 4,600 kg, or 175 studs each for vehicles weighing more than 4,600 kg.
It's important to note, you should only use studded tires on front wheels if you're also using them on rear wheels. This is to prevent the vehicle’s back end from sliding.