Winter Alcan Drive

Getting ready to drive the Alcan in January to head south and had a few questions that I am sure can be answered as I am prepping my 2010 tacoma to head down there

I'll have all the important things, 20 gallons extra fuel, getting ready to re-stud my tires, set of chains (hopefully will not need them), spare serpentine belt, extra headlight bulbs, come-a-long, good set of tools, plenty of survival gear, little buddy space heater incase all goes bad, snowshoes, and my skis

-what temperature is ideal for covering the front grill on the tacoma?
-for a 4wd vehicle run chains on only the front or front and rear?
-may add a hood scoop led bar, any problem opening that area of the engine bay to the extreme cold?

Other thoughts from anybody that has done the drive in the middle of winter?

Appreciate the comments,

Jimmy

 

I wouldn't cover the grill unless you see the truck not at operating temp after 30 minutes maybe -20 or so?
For most vehicles I'd only do chains on the rear, but I doubt you will need them. I drove my Land Cruiser up in late Nov. a couple years back and towed a trailer with BFG KO2's.
I used a magnetic mount LED bar that was much larger than anything that would fit in a hood scoop, and I think this helped me miss a few animals on the drive, 3 deer were close calls. Bison and sheep were also on the road as well as a wolf too. After my Subaru stint with an open hood scoop I wont do it again.

Add a tow rope, D ring shackles, and a shovel. You probably wont need the gas cans at all, I'd only take 15 gallons max personally, that adds a lot of weight. I only got 8mpg and didnt need to touch my gas cans. And download a lot of songs.

 

Appreciate the advice

The last time I drove it was in May a few years back.... did zero planning for that one.

I'll definitely check out the magnetic mount light options... after nearly hitting a few Moose up past Talkeetna last year I've been intending to purchase one, just never got around to it.

The shackles are in the back seat already, but its probably time to upgrade the old tow strap

 

No need to cover the grille or use chains unless it's really bad. I've done it a few times in the winter with just your standard cold weather gear, emergency supplies and extra gas.

 

I drove the Alcan at the end of last January. Coldest temp I saw was -32, and everything kept operating fine on the truck. Maybe bring a piece of cardboard to cover the grill if you hit a particularly cold snap, but I doubt you'll need any special-fit grill covers. A remote start or block heater might be nice to give the truck a head start on reaching operating temperature in the morning. I'd also recommend bringing a battery jump starter in case your battery dies and no one is around to jump you.

I had ditch lights, which were nice for scoping wildlife along the side of the road, but ditch lights do not cast much light down the road in front of you compared to a light bar. Only saw a few moose, a couple herds of bison, and a lynx at that time of the year.

Pulling a big ass trailer, I got about 8-10 mpg as well, but was always able to make it to a station to fill up. Never needed to use the extra 10 gallons I had with me.

Even at that time of the year, I saw vehicles fairly regularly (no more than an hour of driving in between seeing another vehicle), so if something does happen, hopefully some sort of help will arrive in a reasonable amount of time. Just take it slow, be smart, have plenty of music/podcasts/stand up comedy to listen to, and do your best to enjoy the drive!

 

Last minute trip to a buddies cabin this weekend where lows hit -22F on the drive-in and -37F overnight.

No issues during the drive and the engine temp stayed good.

Plugged the truck in overnight after it sat for a solid day.... was slow to crank but did well, let it idle for a bit to get it nice and warmed up.

Incase anybody was curious -37F is apparently the temperature at which the standard toyota lube inside the door latches does not work, had one get a bit sticky and the door wouldn't latch, had to get it warmed up before it would function properly (was dreading the drive with a cargo strap across my lap to hold the door together). Forgot to be careful and cracked one non-winter extension cordt

Always thankful I spent the money on the Wet Okole seat-heater and my classic wool army gloves.

Can't wait for my SS3's to show up this week, would have been nice to of had them.

 

Appreciate the advice from everyone,

Got off through with no issues (other than the digital thermometer stopped at -22F), at Tok it was approaching -40F, covered the grill with cardboard and attempted to tape, but the glue wouldn't hold, so I moved to zip-ties and those held for the trip.

I think I got more damage from rocks hitting my truck in Calgary than on the Alcan.

Did some long days to push through Canada because they are pretty uptight with travel still. The coldest I saw was -51F in Watson Lake. Had no issues with the truck plugged in all night (norco on demand charger for a red top optimum battery, oil pan warmer, block heater, and internal cabin heater). The only bad day was Watson Lake to Ft. St. John where it was either socked in or snowing for around 400 of the 550 miles.

Again, I appreciate the advice.

 

I did this drive in December a while back. Slept in my truck had some cooold night. But the northern light while driving were something else