Lessons from the ALCAN

Blueespy

We recently completed a four month trip from FL to AK with our 2019 t@b 400 BDL.  This was our second trip and one that while memorable, presented us with a few challenges. 

I kept notes on those challenges and I've attached it as a tiff.  I hope whomever reads this sees the humor in things as we eventually did. 

den1jen

@Blueespy, we went to AK (we are in GA) this summer for the 1st time. One thing we should have done is taken more time as we did it over a 2-month period. Overall, we really enjoyed the experience; but the weather was at times was cold, wet and windy especially in the Denali area.

We might go again in 2026 and will take more time, probably try to spend at least 2 nights if possible per stay. 

I will say the Tab was awesome and we did take some seriously rough roads. We tried to take backroads as not big fan of the interstates. We only had minor issues like latch adjustments, exterior step vibrating loose. 

We saw references about gassing up on the Alcan and heck I thought it was worse in Montana taking the backroads (glad we had the additional fuel tanks I installed).

Also, jeez the fine AK powder gets into everything! I spent $15 cleaning the truck in Valdez and by time got back to campground it was just as dirty...

It did give some ideas on some mods for future trips as well. 

MNtabernacle

Sounds like a great adventure! How did you find water/dump access?

den1jen

@MNtabernacle we really didn't have access problems, even on the Alcan there were plenty of facilities.  We did have to back track one point to get water when we wanted to head down the Cassier Hwy (went to Watson Lake, BC)

Ma_Pa

Summer 2024 Alaska trip from central Florida (3 months).  This was our third trip to Alaska, but first one with 2023 Tab 400 Boondock.   This time the major jaunt was to the Arctic Ocean to dip feet in the freezing water.  The Dalton Highway (414 miles long) was MUD which made for a harrowing trip (4 days in each direction) but it was wonderful to take the oilfield tour in Prudhoe Bay.   Roadside camping for the entire Dalton Highway.

The Tab performed perfectly -- The muddy, potholed Dalton did cause one stove burner to self-destruct (a difficult fix) and the outside step jarred loose and needed fixing.   As for the car, we got a broken windshield from a passing truck's cast-off.  

In Summary
Drove North a far distance....
Got smashed windshield....
Wallowed in mud:   car, trailer, selves....
Busted stove burner....
Swatted mosquitoes.....
Froze toes in Arctic Ocean....
Saw musk oxen....
Great success in making new car old....
Had the best time ever!

See below roadside campsite in Deadhorse, Alaska just below Prudhoe Bay.  Still haven't gotten all the mud from the crevices on both vehicles!

ColleenD2

I really want to read this, but I feel like I'm not smart enough. I'm not even sure what a tiff is. But when I try to look at it on my phone, it ends with the word starlink of your prep. Any chance you would just make it a PDF? I am on an iPhone and also have an iPad at home but no computer. Perhaps this takes a computer or a Microsoft product.

Blueespy

ColleenD2 said:

I really want to read this, but I feel like I'm not smart enough. I'm not even sure what a tiff is. But when I try to look at it on my phone, it ends with the word starlink of your prep. Any chance you would just make it a PDF? I am on an iPhone and also have an iPad at home but no computer. Perhaps this takes a computer or a Microsoft product.

My apologizes, here is the PDF version. 

Blueespy

Ma_Pa said:

Summer 2024 Alaska trip from central Florida (3 months).  This was our third trip to Alaska, but first one with 2023 Tab 400 Boondock.   This time the major jaunt was to the Arctic Ocean to dip feet in the freezing water.  The Dalton Highway (414 miles long) was MUD which made for a harrowing trip (4 days in each direction) but it was wonderful to take the oilfield tour in Prudhoe Bay.   Roadside camping for the entire Dalton Highway.

The Tab performed perfectly -- The muddy, potholed Dalton did cause one stove burner to self-destruct (a difficult fix) and the outside step jarred loose and needed fixing.   As for the car, we got a broken windshield from a passing truck's cast-off.  

In Summary
Drove North a far distance....
Got smashed windshield....
Wallowed in mud:   car, trailer, selves....
Busted stove burner....
Swatted mosquitoes.....
Froze toes in Arctic Ocean....
Saw musk oxen....
Great success in making new car old....
Had the best time ever!

See below roadside campsite in Deadhorse, Alaska just below Prudhoe Bay.  Still haven't gotten all the mud from the crevices on both vehicles!

How the heck did we miss each other.  Our time frame for our 2024 trip was July to Oct with all of Sept in Alaska.  We did Deadhorse on our 2019 trip and enjoyed the Arctic Plunge.  We stayed at what I thought was about a five star level hotel owned by one of the oil companies. 

den1jen

@Ma_Pa our step worked loose as well, and I have since replaced the lock washer/nuts with stop nuts so hopefully won't happen again. 

andytabrv

I so enjoyed your writeup!  I love how creative you were in some of your solutions.  I think I can make up a spare parts list to pre-order and have on hand from your experience (definitely including several door hinges.). So many good tips in your recounting.  Thank you for taking the time to (and including pictures!)

I love your truck!  Tell me about the rack along with extra storage bin on top?  Did you find that extra space helpful in addition to the truck bed (looks like you had a bed cover).

Do you think moving the spare to the top of the tongue made a big difference in protecting the spare?  I can definitely see how it would make access easier and you really don't lose any storage space.  How did the whole bottom of the trailer fare?

andytabrv

@Ma_Pa love the picture!  What are you using for your extra metal storage bins on the left/right of the main front bin?

Ma_Pa

@Blueespy:  We DID see you!   There was no missing that beautiful flamingo on the TAB.   We were heading South (probably on ALCAN) and you were stopped in a pullout (headed North) with some other RVs.  We were not so muddy then, having given the rigs a washing in Fairbanks.

Ma_Pa

@andytabrv:  There is a story to those diamond plate bins.   The dealer installed them (at our request when we purchased the new TAB).    They were wonderful for the extra storage BUT we had to take them off after Alaska.  Even with an extra long 13" draw bar, any tight turn caused a crunching contact between the back corners of our new Jeep Grand Cherokee and those boxes -- damage to both!   The boxes were just a little too "deep" front to back.   Recently we have replaced them with two bolted-down IGLOO coolers that are a better fit and still give a little storage.

Blueespy

andytabrv said:

I so enjoyed your writeup!  I love how creative you were in some of your solutions.  I think I can make up a spare parts list to pre-order and have on hand from your experience (definitely including several door hinges.). So many good tips in your recounting.  Thank you for taking the time to (and including pictures!)

I love your truck!  Tell me about the rack along with extra storage bin on top?  Did you find that extra space helpful in addition to the truck bed (looks like you had a bed cover).

Do you think moving the spare to the top of the tongue made a big difference in protecting the spare?  I can definitely see how it would make access easier and you really don't lose any storage space.  How did the whole bottom of the trailer fare?

The storage box on top of the rack is from ROAM and we purchased the rack from CarID.com.  After we installed the rack, my son installed lights on each side plus two pointed rearward.  I can operate all from a remote switch or from a manual switch installed near the tail gate.  No issues with the spare on top of the fork.  Our 2019 t@b has a full rubber sheet on the underside that did a great job protecting the underside of the trailer.  As for removing your extra boxes - did they extend beyond the bottom of the front platform?  Our two boxes were custom (hand made) and constructed to not extend over the sides of the front platform. 

Blueespy

andytabrv said:

I so enjoyed your writeup!  I love how creative you were in some of your solutions.  I think I can make up a spare parts list to pre-order and have on hand from your experience (definitely including several door hinges.). So many good tips in your recounting.  Thank you for taking the time to (and including pictures!)

I love your truck!  Tell me about the rack along with extra storage bin on top?  Did you find that extra space helpful in addition to the truck bed (looks like you had a bed cover).

Do you think moving the spare to the top of the tongue made a big difference in protecting the spare?  I can definitely see how it would make access easier and you really don't lose any storage space.  How did the whole bottom of the trailer fare?

Have you read the PDF on tools/fuses/etc. a t@b owner put on the forum?  It's an excellent source.  I don't think you would need door hinges if your bathroom entrance has the white aluminum trim.  If it's the black plastic style, I suggest you remove it and order the aluminum replacement.  It's an easy install and one we had planned to do ourselves, had we not been stopping at nucamp.  I am adding replacement valves for our black and gray tanks.  I'm also going to try and reinforce the handles.  My wife really likes the snappads we installed.  Her job was putting the lego blocks down when she lowered the stabilizers.  Now, she just uses the Dewalt drill and is done in no time. 

Blueespy

andytabrv said:

I so enjoyed your writeup!  I love how creative you were in some of your solutions.  I think I can make up a spare parts list to pre-order and have on hand from your experience (definitely including several door hinges.). So many good tips in your recounting.  Thank you for taking the time to (and including pictures!)

I love your truck!  Tell me about the rack along with extra storage bin on top?  Did you find that extra space helpful in addition to the truck bed (looks like you had a bed cover).

Do you think moving the spare to the top of the tongue made a big difference in protecting the spare?  I can definitely see how it would make access easier and you really don't lose any storage space.  How did the whole bottom of the trailer fare?

Because we were going to be gone for four months, much of it in Canada and Alaska, we had six gear boxes in the truck bed that held vehicle repair stuff, two held water/drinks, several held expendables like toilet paper, and such.  Those fit nicely stacked across the width of the truck bed up against the cab.  In Idaho we stopped at one of the largest Military Surplus stores I've seen and found two nice cases that we added to the truck.  Ended up using them for storage for all the stuff my wife bought along the way.  In addition, we had a aluminum folding table, two camp chairs and an EcoFlow Pro Solar Generator.  In the ROAM box we initially had our emergency tools - Goodyear Tire Compressor, impact wrench, 1 ton bottle neck jack, various tools to remove the spare and a medium pelican style box with fuses etc.  I eventually moved all of this to under the rear seat and used the ROAM to hold the table and our nucamp awnings (we had two, a large and small versions). Lastly, we had two REI waterproof duffles that held extra clothes.  Just before the trip I had replaced the stock rear shocks with heavy duty ones to help with a bit of sag when we had the truck loaded.  They helped a bit but we are having air bags installed on the rear so we can adjust the ride a bit more when hooked to our trailer. 

Ma_Pa

We are the ones who had to remove the dealer-installed diamond plate boxes.  When purchasing the new TAB, saw those boxes at the dealer -- they were installed on a used TAB next to our new one.   We asked if we could have them put on ours and include them in the deal.   It seemed like a win-win but they DID extend a tiny bit beyond the front platform which caused them to make contact with the back of car in any tight back-in situation -- crunching dents to boxes and scrapes in car.  They had to go.

Blueespy

Ma_Pa said:

We are the ones who had to remove the dealer-installed diamond plate boxes.  When purchasing the new TAB, saw those boxes at the dealer -- they were installed on a used TAB next to our new one.   We asked if we could have them put on ours and include them in the deal.   It seemed like a win-win but they DID extend a tiny bit beyond the front platform which caused them to make contact with the back of car in any tight back-in situation -- crunching dents to boxes and scrapes in car.  They had to go.

Had we not crafted our own boxes, I was going to purchase two Rubber Made (black bottom/gray top) containers that had side latches that we could attach a lock to for security.  Our other option was 5 gallon buckets with screw on tops.