Alaska Trip Report and Forest River Service

[wdw0528]

Just back last week from a 90 day trip out west (from Atlanta area) to Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff/Jasper and on to Alaska. If you're thinking of making this trip I'd say "do it"...it was fantastic.

Thanks to the many posts I reviewed here, I was well prepared for the trip. Some observations I'd like to share:

Fuel prices were favorable this year and we were lucky to spend less than expected.

We traveled without campground reservations (except Yellowstone) and rarely had any trouble finding spots to camp. Sometimes we would call the day before we expected to arrive in a location.

The provincial parks in Canada are great (and cheap)

In Alaska there are many places (nice places) that boondocking is a good alternative....we did some but not a lot.

Roads were not near as bad as I had expected overall but there we some pretty bad spots....the key is to slow down for the conditions.

We had been warned about bugs (mosquitos) but never had any serious issues with them. In Fairbanks there were bugs but they were not biting and never really had any other challenges with them.

We traveled with another couple and I liked the idea of having someone else we could reach out to but wouldn't hesitate to head up there alone in the future.

No major maintenance issues but a few minor ones....our furnace went out - important in Alaska......with help from the forum I did the troubleshooting and have the problem pinpointed for self repair. And we had a problem with one slide out (dining table and TV side) that we ended up not using the last couple of weeks.

On the way back we went to the Flagstaff division of Forest River in Indiana (just prior to the rally) and those folks were amazing and treated us well. They fixed the slide and several other minor issues. Can't say enough good about those folks and how they treated us!

Overall a great trip!
We documented our trip on a blog here and there are about 35-40 different entries with photos, etc.... may be more than you want to know about "our" trip but there if you want to read it.

Thanks to the many folks that helped with answers to my posts!
If anyone has any specific questions about our experience I would be glad to answer them.

[MNtraveler]

Awesome. Thanks for the link!


Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R
Nights camped 2016: 19; RV to date: 22

[Blackrock]

Glad that you folks had a good time also. We probably passed each other somewhere on the road.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by wdw0528

Just back last week from a 90 day trip out west (from Atlanta area) to Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff/Jasper and on to Alaska. If you're thinking of making this trip I'd say "do it"...it was fantastic.



Thanks to the many posts I reviewed here, I was well prepared for the trip. Some observations I'd like to share:



Fuel prices were favorable this year and we were lucky to spend less than expected.



We traveled without campground reservations (except Yellowstone) and rarely had any trouble finding spots to camp. Sometimes we would call the day before we expected to arrive in a location.



The provincial parks in Canada are great (and cheap)



In Alaska there are many places (nice places) that boondocking is a good alternative....we did some but not a lot.



Roads were not near as bad as I had expected overall but there we some pretty bad spots....the key is to slow down for the conditions.



We had been warned about bugs (mosquitos) but never had any serious issues with them. In Fairbanks there were bugs but they were not biting and never really had any other challenges with them.



We traveled with another couple and I liked the idea of having someone else we could reach out to but wouldn't hesitate to head up there alone in the future.



No major maintenance issues but a few minor ones....our furnace went out - important in Alaska......with help from the forum I did the troubleshooting and have the problem pinpointed for self repair. And we had a problem with one slide out (dining table and TV side) that we ended up not using the last couple of weeks.



On the way back we went to the Flagstaff division of Forest River in Indiana (just prior to the rally) and those folks were amazing and treated us well. They fixed the slide and several other minor issues. Can't say enough good about those folks and how they treated us!



Overall a great trip!

We documented our trip on a blog here and there are about 35-40 different entries with photos, etc.... may be more than you want to know about "our" trip but there if you want to read it.



Thanks to the many folks that helped with answers to my posts!

If anyone has any specific questions about our experience I would be glad to answer them.

Just curious but what kind of pin box do you have on your fifth wheel?


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[CampingGator]

WDW0528 - my husband and I read your entire blog last weekend and totally enjoyed it! Your pictures were fantastic! We are looking forward to traveling to Alaska after we retire and your blog was most helpful. The armchair adventure was worth the time it took to read all your pages. Thank you for documenting your trip!!!