Towing the Alcan

I would like to get some opinions from people on here about towing a travel trailer down the Alcan highway. I have a 2012 Tacoma off road with the towing package and i am looking at pulling a 21FT travel trailer. With persons and gear total weight would be around 5100-5300LBS. I have pulled the trailer about 20 miles around locally and the truck seems to do just fine except the truck feels slightly underpowered. I have some experience towing but none ever in a Tacoma. As far as the braking and stability the truck did better then i expected. I would not hesitate to travel across the lower 48 with this setup but the Alcan is a whole different animal. So i guess my main question is this something that some of you experienced towers would consider doable or should i look for a bigger towing vehicle?

 

Ive driven the Alcan 6 times. Never with a trailer. But i gotta say, 3 spare wheels with tires, extra gas and I would hit it with my Tacoma and a trailer.
The gas milage on the tocoma I think will be the main factor for you. You need to be able to go 300 miles between gas stops. Then you gotta pay those Canadian prices.

The plus, once your trailer enters Alaska its value jumps.

 

I am going the opposite way; to the lower 48. I towed my 13 footer all over Alaska and feel confident it is the right vehicle for the job.

 

Yep, buy as many spare tires as you think you'll need, then buy twice as many as that. And make sure you have a compressor and a very good, capable patch/plug kit.

Your truck will handle the weight, just make sure you have fresh brakes for the trip and confirm your trailer brakes are good.

 

I was actually off by 1000 lbs, the trailer weighs more then i thought, the total now would be between 6100-6200 ready to roll. This seems a little excessive in my opinion. I myself will be heading from Alaska to the lower 48.

 

Truck has a 6500 cap. Dont tow that much

 

I towed a 9,000lb trailer about 300 miles. It wasn't too bad, but that was on regular highways. Either way, I'd think you'll have an interesting trip.

 

I just towed a small 5x8 trailer (about 2000 lbs) down to Montana. I went through a set of tires on the Alcan. I would bring two spares. It only takes a little swaying back and forth to wear down the tread.

The road from Destruction Bay to the Alaskan border is in very bad shape. I got airbags (would highly recommend) on my 2005 but there are dips that are 2-feet deep that will launch you if you don't see them (they are not marked). In addition to that, bring extra gas (at least 10 gallons). You might get into a head wind and watch your tank empty in 150 miles. Some fill ups cost me $120

Go slow, watch out of buffalo!

 

Do you have sway bars and trailer brakes?

 

No lie. That stretch of the road has serious frost heaves. I rode most of it on the footpegs on my motorcycle. The RVers were having a tough time. I'd bet they had a lot of damaged stuff inside.

It's not true that you need to be able to go 300 miles between gas stops, but you do need to pay attention to where gas is available and top off. I had no problems on my motorcycle which has about a 200 mile range.

 

Thanks for all the input, after taking everything into consideration I've decided on purchasing a bigger truck.

 

Not really sure yet, keeping my options open to anything i find a good deal on.