Driving the Alaska Highway
Driving the Alaska Highway is high up on many of your lists of things to do so we thought we would go over what we have learned from 15 round trip adventures. We will look at routes, stops, safety, planning and the best in things to see and do when Driving the Alaska Highway is in your future.
Also included in this section is something most web sites seem to conveniently forget to cover, how to drive the Alaska Highway without braking every moving part of your vehicle. This road may be paved across most of it's 1377 miles but that pavement is nothing like anything you have ever experienced before. It's heaving and leaning, tossing and twisting every time you start to relax. Potholes are more like craters and the bumps will and did launch the front end of the motorhomes well into the air at just 30 miles per hour. Broken shocks, axles and tow hitches are common and by all means... Shut Off Your Propane before driving each day.
At right is the remains from one of the causalities associated with driving the Alaska Highway with your propane tanks turned on. This once proud Class A coach was totally destroyed along the shores of Kluane Lake in the Yukon. There is little around to help you if a fire breaks out along this highway. Any and all help is located miles away thus making diligence and caution the key factors in your daily trip activities.
Alaska by RV.
Shake, rattle and roll is the best description of the driving experience you are about to encounter if you decide to drive your RV to Alaska. There is just no way around the adventure and there is absolutely no possible way to prepare for what you are about to endure. What we do hope to get across is the need to add extra time to the drive for semi primitive road conditions, minor brake downs and frequent stops to calm the rattled nerves.
But before you do take off over the longest 1377 miles in North America, take a moment to read over our list of things to carry and some special precautions in the maintenance of your vehicles. This includes both trailers and coaches as they will need to be in top shape to survive the grueling adventures lying ahead.
To Majestic To Hurry!
You're on vacation, you're headed to Alaska; why not slow down and let your mind absorb the beauty of the region in all it's magnificent splendor. So many travelers just fly across this highway like there in a race to get to somewhere that is about to be shut down. Well, Alaska will still be there and no one is in this race but you.
Plan your days around the adventure by keeping it simple in the mornings and stopping before it gets dark or the driver get tired - whichever comes first. You'll enjoy the trip and see more of the unique life styles of the people of the far north. Read; Planning your trip mile by mile, Driving the Alaska Highway Itinerary.
