Was DRIVING TO ALASKA worth it? Fuel Cost + Must See Stops
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มิ.ย. 2024
- We end our incredible Alaska series with a chat about our best moments in Alaska, wildlife sightings, weather, expenses (including our total cost of fuel to drive to Alaska). Everything from the Dalton Highway to McCarthy, Alaska. We answer a few of your questions. We share our tips for your Alaska road trip.
You can comment down below if you have any additional questions, and we will try our best to answer.
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I watch a couple of your videos and I loved them .
Thank you
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the feedback 😃
We lived in Palmer, Alaska for 3 years and loved it. We just downsized from a 43' 5th wheel to a Host truck camper to go back to Alaska next year. We might stay for the winter. We say when we get back there we may never want to leave again.
Wow! I don’t think we could handle an Alaskan winter. I’m in awe of people who can do that. We had a difficult time with the gray dark days. We both need sun 😆 but it sure is gorgeous up there. That’s a big downsize! Are you thinking you’ll stay in the truck camper for winter? Or find a place? If you’re free to do so and you love it might as well stay 😊
Awesome video! I'm so glad you did this trip while you are young. Hiking and getting around are easier than waiting until the 70's. We are looking forward to you future videos. Always entertaining and educational. You have good standards, too!
Thanks so much! It’s been a huge blessing getting to do this and we don’t take any of it for granted 💛 we are glad you are here! wishing you & your family a Merry Christmas & a happy & healthy new year! 🌟
Another great video. MERRY CHRISTMAS. Can't wait to see more videos. That part of Northern America and Canada are SOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL. GOD BLESS!!
Thank you 😃 we completely agree 🤩 Merry Christmas! 🌟
Thank you Nick and Julie. Love the videos and chatting. I love truck camping. Yes Sasquatch exists more in Alaska Canada and Northern California, Idaho but just about everywhere they exist. Hawaii I look forward to more videos from you two.
How many gallons is your fuel tank? We have a f350 with a 48 gallon tank. We’re pulling a 5th wheel next summer from Florida to Alaska this summer. I might add an auxiliary tank before we leave. Your videos have been great!
Our fuel tank is 38 gallons. Thank you! Have an amazing trip!
I have really enjoyed all of your Alaska videos. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas 🎄
Thank you! glad to hear that 💛 Merry Christmas! 🌟
Thanks for the fuel cost breakdown, that's a big help. BTW, you can air down a little, even with a heavy load, for washboard roads where you're driving slow anyway. You just have to re-inflate before going high speed again.
No problem, glad it could be of help! Thanks for the tip! We’ll keep that in mind next time 😀
Thank you Nick and Julie, You produce excellent videos and I have enjoyed each one I have watched. I loved the music that matched the scenes, how beautiful. We will be going in May of this year , so your comments were so helpful. But what really is important, was that your Faith came through and God was honored. Bless you both and may God keep you safe. David and Christine
Thank you so much David & Christine! Your comment really came at the right moment and really encouraged us. Must be a God thing ☺️ May will be here very soon & we’re excited for you to go on this trip. The beauty is something else. Have fun, make lots of memories & God bless you as well🙂
Thanks,Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas! 🎄
Hey guys just found your channel and will be getting caught up! We are in the process of going fulltime and Alaska is destination next year. Love how you guys so the good and the bad. Keeping it real!
Looking forward to reviewing your trip!
Hey! 👋 welcome! The process of going full time can be stressful so hoping it’s going okay for you guys. It’ll get done and Alaska will be an amazing trip 🤩
Just found your channel while you were in Kennecott and watched the wrap up video. Loved it! Central Ohio natives, we are too. Stay safe out there.
@@thomasbridenstine5562 awesome! Welcome to the channel👋 excited to share our adventures in 2024 with you. Have a blessed new year!
I loved all yalls videos. Now that I've been up there and driven the Dalton a bunch, I have to say it's the greatest thing I'll ever do as a truck driver. The darkness gets old though. Summer cant come soon enough 😅
Good to hear from you! We were wondering how you were doing trucking on the Dalton. Must be really tough going out there in this weather. And yea the darkness must really get to you. Is the sun finally going to peak out in January up there?
@FlourishEverAfter I got thru my training. I did 20 loads and came back home to KY for the holiday. I will be flying back up next week to get back at it. It's real cold in Fairbanks now so that should be fun. I seen -32 past Attigun but that's the lowest so far. Things are good. Glad that you guys are doing ok!!
@@truck_it_23 glad to hear all is well. Stay safe out there. Have a happy new year!
Thanks for the shout out .Absolutely loved the video. How can you top Alaska unless you drive the Gobi desert. Lol. Merry Christmas and have a very Happy NewYear. God Bless!
I don’t know if we’re brave enough to do the Gobi 😆 but boy would that be something. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you & your family 💛
The best weather we've found has been from midMay to mid June. Been there 4 times and the sun came out wherever we were.
Wow! Do you drive there every time? Good to know! We were supposed to get there in June but that whole tire situation took up a month 😢 What are your favorite things to do in Alaska?
Would you recommend the kayaking excursion to the glacier knowing how scary it was? That is probably my favorite video from your trip. My wife and I are heading up in April and staying through August. Very excited after watching y’all! Thanks for an awesome series!!
I would only recommend that on a beautiful sunny day. Don’t do it on an overcast day. Also start in the morning. I’ve read that the winds start blowing in the afternoon/evening. It shouldn’t be as scary as our kayaking trip was if you do it that way. Also there’s the Valdez Glacier Lake that is a good spot to kayak with icebergs too. That’s going to be an awesome trip! That’s a good long time to explore Alaska. Have fun😊
Thank You for all your Time...
Great to be younger and willing to do your Trip This young.. I hit 60 yrs.. really sucks for endurance...so I'm jealous Thank you again for all your Time..
We’re glad to share, thank you for being here 😃 oh yea time doesn’t stop for anybody but it’s also a privilege to get older. Not everybody gets to do it. You can definitely do this trip at 60 too!
Fly up and rent a motorhome is what I tell people that want to visit. The cost of what it takes to drive through Canada will pay for the rental and airfare. Our favorite times to camp is late August when most of the tourists leave. We spend most of June and July at our off-road remote cabin.
Wow just popped on my feed don't know how that works, but watched 3 of them in alaska really impressed, you must be newer on TH-cam I'm sure, to old to hike anymore so i loved taking me on that Glacier , dam your filming was awesome, best I've ever seen of someone traveling, watch a show years ago a old man was still living above that old mine wonder if he's still there, guy was trying to buy up the town and make it into a tourist attraction Neil was the name i thing , well show about McCarthy i guss
Thanks so much! Wow, that’s so kind of you to say! Glad you’re enjoying our videos. We’ve been on TH-cam for a while but sometimes it’s just a matter of when TH-cam decides to show our videos to people. We’re happy it’s finally happening after years 😅 we didn’t know about that show until people started mentioning it here. Sounds like an interesting watch. And it would be cool to see how much McCarthy has changed since 2014.
I've driven to and from Alaska a few times and I finally figured out it was cheaper to fly back and forth and then rent an RV to use while in Alaska. The drive is beautiful and worth it a time or two but it's not worth it every time.. I did enjoy your video, keep up the great work.
that is a great idea to save some cash. Yes I agree, after driving it once or twice to have that experience. Thank you!
I'm leaving for alaska May 10 24'. I also have a truck camper pulling an enclosed trailer with dualsport and ATV inside. Saying that, you guys need to look up happy valley/goose bay up in Labrador. Extremely remote. I went there back in 2018. Incredible.
Are you moving to Alaska or doing a summer trip up there? Just checked that place out- never heard of it before. Very remote kinda reminds me of the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. Pretty cool!
@NickandJulie . Short answer. No, not moving up there. I'm a travel nurse (RN)who also has a CDL. Finishing a nursing contract in NM. I will head to Alaska and look for a trucking job...need a break from nursing. Stay until September than back to nursing. The contracts allow me to take as much time off as I want. 2021 I bought a sailboat and went solo to Alaska on the inside passage. I had no boating experience:)
Looks like the new wheels and tires held up over the long journey. I'm getting a set of method 305 hd wheels for my truck camper set up, and it looks like that is what you are running. My camper weighs about 4k fully loaded on my F-350 so I'm not super confident in the OEM wheels for long trips. Hope to drive it up to Alaska some day as well. Safe travels!
Yea we had no issues with these new wheels. We drove the Dalton and McCarthy Rd and they held up well. Our tires are Nitto Ridge Grapplers and we had no issues with them as well. Definitely worth buying them for this trip so you don’t have to worry about them. The HD is the way to go. We have 18” wheels and 35” tires.
Loved your video
I retired march of 22 left July 18 my wife and I drove from Arkansas to Fairbanks then to the west coast north California to Las Vegas then home. PLAN 11000 miles would do it again
Wow what a trip! Good for you for getting out there and doing the trip! Which stops on your journey stood out to you the most?
Also, Merry Christmas and a blessed 2024.
Merry Christmas! May God protect you on your journey in 2024.
We drove to Fairbanks in late June 2023 (our son and his family live there) from upstate New York. We were only on interstate highways until we got near Toledo and then we took two lane roads from there, up through Michigan and the UP, across Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and then cut up north into Canada to Banff and Jasper. Jasper to Grand Prairie and then westward to AK. The worst road was the last 90 miles or so in the Yukon to the border crossing, that part was full of potholes,frost heaves, & mud (it was raining in that section 21:58 ). We spent 9 days in Fairbanks, then down towards Cantwell and then across the Denali Highway then down to Valdez for a couple days. Then back up and into Canada and then down to Haines for a couple days. We had never been to Haines and it was great. The drive to Haines was spectacular. We took the Cassier hwy down through BC before crossing east to Jasper again. Then down into Montana and then back east. Weather was good most of the trip. This was our first time driving to Alaska, we have flown there when visiting before this trip. We’ve taken one cruise from Vancouver up to Skagway, Glacier Bay, etc. Next time we visit that part of Alaska it will be on the ferry system. Our road trip was our eighteenth trip to Alaska. McCarthy and the mines are on our itinerary for next trip. We loved Homer, had a blast there. Just over 11000 miles for the trip. Nissan Titan pickup truck with an ARE cap, we had it set up for sleeping in there (very comfortable btw), averaged 20 mpg. Saw lots of wildlife along the way.
Incredible itinerary for your trip! We did the Cassiar going up to Alaska and then the Alaska Highway back down so we know your route exactly. We were driving up to Alaska at the end of June too! We were considering going to Haines at Haines Junction but kinda got put off by that border crossing to it. How did that border crossing go for you? Maybe we’ll go next time. It would be so fun to do a cruise around on the ferries too. Highly recommend McCarthy and going out to the mines and Root glacier if you can hike out there. You had an epic trip! Anything planned for 2024?
@@NickandJulie The border crossing going to and from Haines was a piece of cake. Just the usual questions, border agents were nice too. As far as 2024, our Alaskan family is coming east to visit in early March and fly back with our grandson who attends a hockey academy outside of Boston. They may return in May but that’s not a sure thing yet. We haven’t made any plans yet … kicking around a road trip into maritime Canada with a ferry ride over to Newfoundland. We’ve been to NB, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island before and loved it. We shall see!!
@@adkkev good to know that the border crossing to Haines is an easy one. Hope you have a wonderful new year with lots of adventures whatever you decide to do. Stay safe!
Enjoyed watching your trip along Alaska, could you please share with me your stops and recommendations.
thanks! I haven’t written anything out yet but everything we did is here on our videos. Except Seward, we didn’t make a video from there. Our favorites in this video is what we would recommend. If I write it all out, I’ll let you know!
Just found your channel and we are enjoying the Alaska videos. We are planning our trip there for this coming summer and will be driving there as well with our diesel truck and pop up truck camper. In your video you talked about the availability of diesel fuel but we were wondering how difficult it is to get DEF. Thanks.
Just to be safe, plan to buy some in bigger cities/towns like Fairbanks/Anchorage. And stock up on extra there so you don’t have to worry about it when you head out to more remote places. Have a fun trip! It’s going to be epic.
Thank you for your quick response! We are very excited about the trip. Your videos are informative and nice enjoyable to watch.
Oh my, we went to AK in July this year from KY...up thru Oh, MI into Ontario all the way across Canada. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Aberta, British Columbia, Yukon to AK. Then...from AK, down thru Yukon, British Columbia, into WA, Oregon, CA, AZ, NM, CO, TX, MO and Im sure I missed some. 35 days pulling a small off-road type camper with a larger suv. We had a ball. I would never do it that way again. Too much driving..... we will go back again, but I would fly in and explore, then fly home. Or a cruise to see the coastal regions. I loved Banff and Johnston Canyon in Canada almost more than AK. I agree that planning is a pain.
Wow all of that in 35 days??! That IS a lot of driving! 😮💨 what a trip though! We kinda did something similar but started in South Florida drove across country to CA then up the coast through British Columbia, Yukon. Explored all of Alaska that you can by road. Then back down through Yukon, BC, Alberta, into Washington State then across country to Ohio to visit family. But we did all that in a year not 35 days. Glad you guys had fun! Any cool trips planned for 2024 yet?
Fly. Rent a vehicle. Kayak. Float plane excursions. Hike. Fish. Camping. Lodges.😊
That’s another way to do it! Not sure which way saves you money, driving there or flying and renting there 🤔 but we do recommend driving there at least once to experience that. Then fly in after that.
Thank you for the fuel breakdown, I was curious on the prices of the food prices (restaurants and cafe's) that you stopped and liked.
I don’t remember off hand the exact prices but expect Pacific Northwest prices. We’re from Ohio so everything is a few dollars more at restaurants in Alaska.
@FlourishEverAfter well, I'm not far in Michigan. We go and get our new smaller travel trailer tomorrow. Been tent camping and it was time to upgrade.
Loved Homer and the mine. The Boggy Creek Monster lives in Fouk, Arkansas.
Oh yes Homer was beautiful and the mines are so cool! What’s the story behind that one? We’ve never heard of it!
@FlourishEverAfter Look up a movie called The Legend of Boggy Creek. Based in Fouk, Arkansas. They have a store and some other things about it. We visited on our way to Fort Hood, Texas to visit our son. He also did The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
$3600 of diesel is less than I expected but it sounds like it was well worth it.
Oh yes for two months in Alaska- definitely worth it. It would have been almost three if our tire problems didn’t take up a month.
What about taking the ferry from Washington to Alaska ? I heard that was a great ride.
Yes I’ve heard that too! Definitely another awesome option to get to Alaska. Maybe we’ll try that next time 🤔
We have been following all of your videos. We are getting ready to purchase a vehicle for a truck camper and intend on making a 3 month trip to Alaska from Georgia. My question is do you have a 3/4 ton or a 1 ton vehicle and I think you have the Lance 990 truck camper. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Hello! 👋 We have a Ford F250. The only difference between an F250 & F350 of the 2016 model that we have is a few suspension components. But our f250 came with the same suspension as an f350. So basically it’s like an f350 but badged as an f250. I also had to add more leaf springs in the rear. So no matter what truck you get 3/4 or 1 ton or what make, if you have a full size truck camper you will most likely need to add more leaf springs or air bags in the rear. Because the truck will squat in the rear when you load the camper on. What truck are you looking to get? So excited for you guys!
We are looking at the F 350 or the 3500 trucks. The 1 ton trucks will give us more options on the truck camper.
How many miles?
I'm looking at driving out of Alaska and would love to get any advice I'm moving to nabraska and just want to know what you expect
The Cassiar Highway is more remote than the Alaska Highway so for a move, I’d stick with the Alaska Highway. Move in reliable vehicles. Have some fuel with you just in case. Any specific questions?
591 thousand square miles and 99 % unoccupied
Isn’t that incredible?! If you want to get away from people, Alaska is the place to go 😆
I worked along the Dalton Highway for 15 years. The job I had I spent a lot of time driving in all weather winter and summer maintaining communications for the pipeline. I also worked in Prudhoe Bay starting in 1980.
Wasilla has about everything Anchorage does except Costco. Gas and alcohol are less expensive because Anchorage puts a 10 cent per gallon tax on fuel and also taxes alcohol more than other places in the state.
Wow 15 years? What an experience! Other than the big rigs, we saw workers driving around on white pickup trucks on the Dalton. Did you enjoy working there? Any cool stories and wildlife encounters? We didn’t spend much time in Wasilla, Nick did an oil change there and we kept moving. Thanks for the tip about the cheaper fuel there!
@@NickandJulie it was a good job with good time off. After work we would fish, hike and snowshoe in the winter. Except for the last six years before I retired going to work meant going to the airport. I also did work in a lot of other places in Alaska including the remote military radar sites.
@@Chris_at_Home sure beats a desk job! 😆 I’m sure it had its challenges as well but just being in Alaska is a dream. Have you ever seen a polar bear during your time in Prudhoe Bay?
@@NickandJulie it sure did beat a desk or factory job. I’ve seen polar bears In Kaktovik which is a village about 150 miles east of Prudhoe Bay. I have a short video of flying along the Dalton in a helicopter. We would fly to mountain top communications sites along the pipeline in them all the time.
@@Chris_at_Home wow! I just saw the video- what a view up there! 🤩
For 2023 the Annual Alaska distribution is $1,312/resident
Is that a little bit lower than usual?
🐻🐻🐻
The second time is more relaxing
Becareful going there to much!might start thi king like me and not want to leave!
That's true. Driving this route the first time is intimidating because of the sheer distance, remoteness, and the unknown. Next time we'll know what's up. We both need the sun & warmth but never say never😉
@@NickandJulie yea thought that being from Pittsburgh but just the lifestyle up there
Thought about moving to Florida when I was younger before I went up there
And was like it suck being sweaty all day everyday ha
My 11,500 mi round trip to Alaska was $6,200 was more expensive than this year.
Where did you start and end from? We started keeping track of fuel expenses from Vancouver.
from my home base to just to fairbanks and return, would cost me a good $4000,USD est. that's just gasoline. forget seeing anything, going anyplace, at this cost.
so i will not ever get up there as i am not rich.
I had planned on 5000,but do to covid I never went
Oh we hope you get to do it! Summer 2024?
Thanks so much for the information. I didn't know you were from Ohio. I'm in Dayton myself. I have ordered the 2024 Milepost, so if you have additional information and have some spare time, please feel free to share the link to the sheet. I plan to share my experiences on TH-cam, so please feel free to subscribe. Thanks again...
Yes! We drove through Dayton a few months ago to visit family. We used to visit the Air Force museum there. And a park in Yellow Springs. If you got the Milepost then you’re all set. It’s very thorough and has everything in it. Looking forward to seeing your adventures 😃
One thing you may not know is that every person who lives in Alaska get part of the oil revenue from the goverment. Last I heard it was $5,000 to $10,000 per-peraon. So Family of 4 it could be as much as $40,000. The Natives (indians, get even more).
Sorry those amounts are way off.
I heard about that! That’s a nice help especially since everything is priced $1/$2 more than the east coast. So it kinda evens out with that help I guess.
Really wow, my wife and I got cheated this year as we only got $1312.00 each. Since the PFD started over 40 years ago it has paid out on average a little more than a $1000 a year. The Alaskan Natives do not get more from the PFD. Someone sure filled your head with BS.
I’ve lived here 45 years and I have seen many people move here believing the BS you posted and then they end up broke. I have no sympathy for anyone that moves here then fails. It is a tough place to live and it you don’t make $100,000 a year you won’t enjoy it. It was -27F at our house yesterday but warmer today and we will be riding our snowmachines and lighting off fireworks at midnight.
4000
Pretty close!
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