I am in the first stages of planning a trip from the SE US through Canada to Alaska for two couples. We'll be pulling a good sized camper trailer.

The plan is to take two months next summer and tow through Western US and tour AK then fly back. I have someone that lives in Alaska that will privately sell our truck and camper there once the trip is over.

The truck will be an F350 Crew Cab 4x4. Have not decided on SRW or DRW yet. ...Probably SRW.

My question is diesel or V10 for best resale in AK? Also, what about the availability of Diesel Fuel on our route via the Alaska Highway? Fuel costs in Canada?

Any advice on the gas vs diesel market in AK?

...just beginning to crunch numbers and make plans.

 

you will have a better chance of finding diesel then gas they both sell well up here. but on you way up it will be easyer to find diesel SRW seem's to sell better then DRW's

hope i helped

 

I just moved from Anchorage last fall to hot & humid Arkansas. I pulled a travel trailer down and had no trouble. It was a trip of a lifetime.

Ford tr man hit it well... You will see a lot of big pickups powered by diesel up there, and shouldn't have any trouble selling either the truck or the trailer.

Fuel prices are spendy in some sections of Canada. I have the V-10 & long bed 38 gallon tank and used fuel out of 2 x 5 gallon fuel cans I took with me. I picked up some Canadian $$ at a US bank before crossing the border just to have on hand. It came in handy several times. Some businesses will let you buy items with US $$, but the exchange rate will not be in your favor. I used a credit card to purchase most of my fuel and essentials in Canada. The exchange rate was OK and it helped to keep my sanity since I didn't have to constantly convert US to Canadian $$ in my checking account.

Get a "Milepost" at your local book store. It costs around $30 and is a great planning tool for a trip up to Alaska. It lists places to see and things to watch out for along your way. Additonally, it has phone #s to a lot of the local businesses as well as road conditions to expect.

Although it is almost all paved, I would still take a good spare tire (or 2). If you break-down it could be several hours of driving to get to a town which may have the required parts. OBTW, this is rural Canada... They may have to order it!

On my drive down we had 2 vehicles so I always had a backup means of transportation. However, when I drove up solo in '95 I carried 2 spare tires for my Jeep, a replacement belt, camping gear and supplies for a place to stay if I broke down, a spare tire for my boat trailer, and a complete extra hub/bearings setup for my trailer's axle. Obviously, I had the tools to change everything I took! Fortumately I didn't need any of my "extras", but they gave me peace of mind.

Firearms... Check with Canadian Customs if you will be carrying any along. They don't allow pistols and many other firearms we commonly have here in the US.

You are going to love Alaska!

Edmo

 

Edmo and ford_tr_man:

Thanks so much for the great info.

Looking on -line it appears that used truck prices (for newer models) are about the same in AK as around here in the SE US, so that part of my equation seems to work out OK for me.

One more question: Are there any special options that Alaskans look for in a truck; and that might help my resale?

(Things like undercoating/rustproofing or remote start?)

(Edmo: I especially appreciate the additional advice!)

 

Great reply Edmo. I can't think of anythin to add too it.

I doubt you could add anything to it to increase the resale value.

About the only thing that an auto start or anything else would do is make it more marketable and even then I wouldn't spend the money on it because you won't get a return on the initial investment.

Most cars here don't have anything more than cars in the lower 48 except different lube and more drivetrain heaters.

If you were to keep it I would invest in things like auto starts, heated seats.... But not if I were to sell it. Let someone else pay for it.

Just my thoughts.

 

Y2K350,

Thanks again to you and others. Looks if my "drop-off and sale" thing might be an OK deal.

Surely, I did not want to take such a vehicle up the trail, drop it off and loose all my money in the end.

Based on what you say and what I've heard, there should be a good market for such a nice truck and/or matched camper in AK at reasonable prices.

Thanks especilly for the info on desired features in AK.

The trip is looking better and more real every day!

Now to the homework on RV trailers and mapping the route, but I have six months to go on that.

Thanks again!