Traveling from NM to AK with wife, 3 month old and dog in January

I’ve got a kid, wife and German Shepherd and we’ve done decent road trips in our truck. A Camper shell is a must, just remember you’ll want to silicone the underside of bed rails to the composite bed insert. A ton of dust gets sucked in (witch you’ll never keep out completely) but more importantly the wheels kick up a bunch of water and it eventually gets into the bed. Another nice thing is get the factory Toyota bed mat. It keeps things from sliding but more importantly it’s got little bump dot thingies on the bottom and if you do get water running into the bed some of it will go under the mat and it’ll help keep your stuff dry. The less water you get in there the better, especially with a dog the entire thing fogs up in the winter. There are plenty of threads on how guys sealed up their camper shells/beds.

 

No none of that, I've already had a buddy of mine make it up there about a month ago and with military orders i dont think there should be any issues.

 

Just would like to know from guys who have taken long trips in the winter like this, what they did to prepare and what is a must when taking a trip like this. And any ideas/tips on how to keep a dog in the back warm.

 

it does not have the converter, but wondering if just getting a power inverter that connects to the center console and just run it to the back through the rear window. (a bit ghetto but should work right? lol)

 

Ah cool, still the border guards can be persnickety.

If you’re heading to JBER, you’ll be fine with just colder rated coolant and good tires.

If you’re headed to one of the interior bases (Wainwright, Eielson, greely, clear, etc) you’ll want to have the truck winterized. Basically a block heater, oil pan heater, and battery charger or blanket plus the lower temp coolant mix. Winter tires are a really good idea too. There’s shops that can do it in Fairbanks for about $400-500.

 

Yeah brother im headed to JBER thank god haha

 

That would work, though at that point a 12v pad might be a better option.

 

But you lived in Alaska for four years. Did you only live there part-time? Summers? Honestly, I would probably contact someone up there and ask them rather than the knuckleheads we have around here Especially with a 3 month old and wifey.

You are picking up the ferry in Seattle and it is dropping you off in Haines, should be a piece of cake.

I presume you and the wife know it gets really dark and really cold for a looong time up there in January. I was in Dawson City headed to Inuvik in early July and it pretty much never got dark, just twilight was about it.

 

Another thing, be prepared to not be allowed to stop anywhere except for fuel. There’s gas in Haines of course. In Canada there was only gas in Haines Junction, Destruction Bay, and Beaver Creek in winter. Not sure about the station just past the border, they were open the last time I went that far 8 years ago but with COVID who knows. Not sure if or where you’ll be allowed to stop to eat in Canada or stay overnight due to COVID travel restrictions in Canada. Make damn sure you’re out of the country before your pass is up, last I read it was a $500k fine for overstaying...

There’s gas in Tok, and then again in Glenallen, then Palmer.

 

I have a really good mannered 82lb chocolate lab, he loves riding on the back seat of my double cab, is there a way he can ride in the cab on the rear seat? Thats where mine rides, there should be room there for him if your other stuff you are bringing up could be in the bed. He doesnt take up a lot of room when hes laying down, he curls up in a ball. It may solve some problems.

 

Your the dude that rode your wr250r up right?!

 

yep, rode to Alaska from Maryland in March 2012, arrived in Fairbanks April 5th.

 

After 3,600 mile finally made it up to Alaska. Enjoy some of the pictures.

 

no dog pix?

 

Ya actually forgot to take a pic of the dogs situation, but he was in the back in the camper in the kennel with that cover which actually did very well. i made sure to insulate the bottom of it and just zipped it all up. When it got to the single digits i put one of my puffy jackets on him and he was good to go. He was never shivering everytime i checked. Also before leaving i blew hot air through the back window and that warmed up the back really good too.

 

For others doing this trip soon, how was the border?

Also did you just go straight through or stay in Tok/other? Anything even open now?


I've done the Haines-Anchorage drive probably 60 times, takes 12-18 hrs depending on weather/how fast you go.

For your time in Anchorage you'll be fine with ko2's or similar tires. Only a couple months you actually need studded/ice tires but if you take it easy you'll only skid through a few intersections a year.

 

At the border in sweet grass it was pretty smooth, they gave us 6 days to make it across and it was more than enough time. Only thing that sucked was once we got into the Yukon they gave us 24hrs to make it thru and not allowed to go into town.

We did stop in Tok and stayed at a nice little cabin. Fast eddys pizza was pretty good, definitely recommend it.

Weather was terrible on the glenn a straight up white out.

Yea current tires suck, i skid all over the place here in town super sketchy, and actually slid down hills in eagle river if i dont have enough speed on 2wd.