Wandering from Tennessee to Alaska, and back, 2023

[jb616]

Keep adding to this thread as you plan and during the travel. I have a very similar plan and will retire in less than 2 years. I have the same thought of the pop up truck camper. Looking forward to learning about your planning and travels. 

[OntarioAl]

You are doing my bucket trip
The Alaska Highway and the Cassiar Highway at least 2 years in the future.
Ok I am going to shout
DO NOT BRING HANDGUNS INTO CANADA
DO NOT BRING HANDGUN AMMUNITION INTO CANADA
DO NOT BRING BEAR SPRAY BRASS KNUCKLES SWITCH BLADE KNIVES OR AN ASP (STEEL BATON )
As previously stated you can bring long guns that haven't been banned provided you have the appropriate forms filled out.
If you are not bringing legal firearms with you make double sure no ammunition is accidently left in your vehicle  
Our gun laws are written by snowflakes but enforced by Nazis
Your fur babies need vaccination papers and should be chipped and have tags with contact information 
Hwy 16 leaves the Trans Canada Hwy 1 west of Portage la Prairie it will take you all the way to Hwy 37 in BC which will lead to Hwy 37a which ends at Steward BC and Hyder Alaska
Enjoy your trip
Cheers
Al Raman

[Magicman]

What I found in 2019 was that Bear Spray for Bears was Good
Bear Spray for People was Not Good.
People Spray was Not Good.

[Machinebuilder]

I think I have found an interesting route across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta

The Northern Woods and Water Route

The link is to their online brochure

There would be quite a few detours as I see something interesting

[Andries]

OntarioAl speaks words of wisdom.
The International Border folks (CBSA) are NOT to be trifled with.
.
I spoke last week with a friend that lives on the East side of Lake Winnipeg. The road that has recently been built to go North and then West around the lake is at present a “locals and construction” route only. Next summer it will resemble the original Alaska Highway of the sixties, with a reputation for devouring Airstream trailers. Think “Ice Road Truckers” but on gravel. Tough going, but maybe closer to ‘no going’.
.
Machinebuilder, the route from the brochure is perfect for you. The TransCanada Route is tabletop flat and was built for cost efficiency and not for boondocking. The Northern Woods and Water route keeps you in ‘Parkland’ wooded areas where the scenery and small town events will make it a fantastic trip. Keep in mind the distance between fuel stops and the fact that Canada has a population of one tenth of the US, in a land area that is much bigger than the USA. Also, if you have a flat tire or breakdown of some kind, the people that will most likely stop to offer assistance are Native Canadians. There seems to be a history and culture of helping fellow travellers that is still honoured today. Good folks!
As you get to BC, the population count goes way up and more of the touristy businesses are evident. It is nice, but a bit less authentic than the history of the fur trade and mining history of of the Prairies. It’ll go back to the real deal once you get closer to the Yukon border and small tree high latitudes. 

[firefighter ontheside]

Sounds like an awesome trip.  My parents talked about doing a road trip to Alaska when they retired, but that didn't happen.  I sure hope your trip goes well.  It looks like you are preparing well.  Nice truck.  Is that a 6.2 or 7.3?

[Machinebuilder]

I special ordered the truck, It's a 2021 F350 XL, Supercab, longbed, 7.3 (gas), 4x4 4.30 gears.
It will do anything I might want to do with it.

the only "luxury" option I got was the extra large screen and Sync3. I like haveing bluetooth.

[Magicman]

If you don't already have one, go ahead and put your order in for a copy of : Milepost

[firefighter ontheside]

Interesting.  I didn't know they would put 4.30 gears in a SRW.  I have a 2017 F350 SRW with 6.7 and 3.55 gears.  I like the bluetooth, SYNC3 and large screen as well.  Unfortunately with the price of diesel I haven't been driving the truck as my daily.  This will be the first time I have had a warranty expire due to years instead of miles.

[bigblockyeti]

I spec'd out a fairly spartan 2022 F-250 4x4 CCLB, also with the 7.3 and 4.30 gears but just didn't pull the trigger.  I want it (bad), I can afford it, I just don't need it and I do need something (as small as possible) to pick logs from the trailer and gently set them on the mill.  That's the priority now.  

I was looking at my last oil change on my truck and it was back in April, I've only put ~2K miles on it since, it only gets driven when I need to tow or haul something, beyond that, it's a want and not a need.

[Machinebuilder]

My truck is my only vehicle, other than a couple motorcycles.

When I had a truck and a car my truck sat most of the time, that's not good for a modern vehicle.

Now that I'm not driving to work my miles are going way down so it makes even less financial sense to have 2 vehicles

With the 10 speed transmission and the 4.30 gears my RPM's are just over 2000 @ 70mph. IMHO that's where I want a gas engine to be.

On the interstates 70-75mph I get about 13.5mpg, on a 2 lane at 60-65mph I get close to 15mpg.

[terrifictimbersllc]

I special ordered the truck, It's a 2021 F350 XL, Supercab, longbed, 7.3 (gas), 4x4 4.30 gears.
It will do anything I might want to do with it.

the only "luxury" option I got was the extra large screen and Sync3. I like haveing bluetooth.

Yours is the exact one we considered before going instead with a 6.7 dually, for our Arctic Fox 865. Great match for your setup.

[tule peak timber]

Just caught this thread and have enjoyed reading it. I look forward to your progress and seeing more pictures and posts as to how you are doing on this adventure!

[terrifictimbersllc]

Did you order it as chassis cab? What size is the fuel tank? 
Whats the GVWR?

[Machinebuilder]

I ordered it as a pickup, there are some things that a box delete or chassis cab don't include.

The Pickup has the spare underneath, the chassis cab doesn't include a spare.

As I recall the box delete had a different dash with less setup/monitor options.

My GVWR is 11800lbs Paylod sticker is 4800Lbs.

Loaded I am about 9800lbs, so i have lots of room to add stuff for a long trip. I don't like being near the max for long.

[Machinebuilder]

I've been studying my copy of the Milepost, and have gotten a lot of way points added to my GPS for the Northern Woods and Water Route.

There will be many detours off of it as it goes near several major Provincial and National Parks

I am going to try to take a screen shot and add it to the thread, I just have to figure out how to filter a bunch of older stuff out.

I also ordered Maps and Atlases for Canada, I like paper maps.

[Machinebuilder]

This gives a rough idea of the Northern Woods and Water Route




>
 

[Machinebuilder]

I've been working on getting route ideas entered in to my Garmin GPS.

The Milepost is unbelievable detailed, its hard to locate a lot of things on the computer.

I am now getting a better idea of how big some of these places are, I didn't understand how far it is from Dawson Creek, BC to the Alaskan border.
Many of the "towns" are much smaller than i imagined.

I am glad to be doing this without time constraints, I know I am going to be skipping many things but the amount I won't skip will be huge.

[Magicman]

Yup, Milepost 1 is Dawson Creek, BC and Milepost 1422 is Delta Junction, AK.  The  Alaskan Highway is now only 1382 miles but the milepost are still the same. 

Be sure to carry a sign for the Signpost Forest in Watson Lake, YT.


 
The mosquitoes will be bad during the first part of your trip but should diminish during July.