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The countdown is getting shorter.... Only 42 days left.
I've just about gotten the truck and trailer ready with a few little things left to do.
I replaced both batteries in the truck with Wally AGM's group 65. I also adjusted FORScan so it knows the FLA batteries are gone and to use the AGM charge profile. This was just preemptive since the FLA batteries were the original Motorcraft and had been outgassing for awhile. I didn't want to take 4+ year old batteries on that long of a trip.
I replaced the truck tires with Michelin Defender LTX MS2 and got the alignment done at the local Ford dealer. What a chore the alignment turned into. SEVEN hours I was at the dealer just for the alignment and that was with an appointment. Apparently, the Super Duty is a bit unusual to align and if the tech isn't familiar with how to do it correctly, it can go sideways in a hurry. The way the story was told to me, the tech wasn't very experienced, I always love it when I get to be the training experiment, he ran into an issue getting the steering wheel straight after he got the tires aligned, so he asked a different inexperienced tech for help. Between the two of them they about had the steering wheel adjusted into the back seat. After a couple more attempts to get it fixed and three more test drives to confirm it was stilled screwed up, they got the shop foreman involved. Two hours after that, and four more test drives, with me riding along on two and me actually driving one, it seemed to be fine. I never did get the before and after printout that I asked for so I could see what they started with and where they said was good enough. I'm still contemplating taking it to an independent shop that has a great reputation for SD alignments just to be sure they didn't get enough settings to offset each other to make it seem fine but at the expense of wearing my new tires out in a week.
I just installed the RockStar tow flap today with the extra heat shield. In hind-sight, I'm not sure I really need the heat shield but I'll wait until we've made the trip to decide if it's a needed item or not. When I was shopping the rock guards, I thought the portion of the tow flap being protected was not metal so the heat shield would be useful for the diesel exhaust. Turns out the portion where the heat shield mounts is a thicker aluminum than the heat shield itself. So not really protecting much unless I would spend a lot of time idling and doing static regens.
I upgraded the trailer battery system so it would be much more capable of sustaining multiple days of boondocking. I took out the two group 24 FLA batteries and put in three SOK 100AH lithium with BMS and heaters. The bonus to that is I even shaved 25 pounds off the tongue weight! Those lithium batteries are pretty nice. The trailer is basically in storage at this point so no battery usage but the lithium batteries are still at 13.3V (just checked this morning) from the initial charge I put on them when I installed them in February. I reset the solar controller so it knows LifePo4 is installed and added a separate solar shutoff switch so the solar panel isn't constantly trickle charging the battery bank while it's in storage.
I also swapped out the WFCO converter to one that is LifePo4 capable and bought a Dual Fuel Champion 4500W inverter generator for an extra charging source if my solar doesn't keep up. I'm not counting on every day being sunny in Alaska or the Yukon Territory. Even if the days are sunny, the sun angle isn't as favorable that far north for maximum charging efficiency. With my two 30 lb. propane bottles, I can run the generator almost 20 hours on one bottle (tested while breaking in the generator) and still have the second bottle for cooking, hot water and heat if needed. I won't need to carry a 5 gallon container of gasoline.
I also beefed up the fresh water tank supports so I can comfortably carry more fresh water without worrying about the notorious Flagstaff water tank support failure. Now I'll just be limited by the trailer's GVWR to determine how much water can go with us.
I did replace the trailer windshield because it already had a rock strike that caused it to crack from side-to-side. Next week I'm getting the new windshield covered with a 7 mil clear film to give it an extra layer of protection in case something gets past the Rock Star tow flap.
And while the truck was getting new tires, I had the tire shop install a new Goodyear Endurance tire on the trailer spare tire rim to get rid of the China made Castle Rock spare that came from the factory and make it 100% Goodyear Endurance on the trailer.
I'll take lots of pictures of these things in action (except hopefully not using the spare tires!) as we go. And I'll update this if something else gets done before we leave.
Just a quick update - we are about two weeks into the trip and have been in Canada for five nights, crossing the border north of Cavalier, ND on Hwy 32. We got the full search treatment at the border crossing with three Canadian border agents going through the entire truck and trailer! We didn't have anything except bear spray, and we declared that before the search started. Kind of quirky because bear spray is allowed but the guard said it was up to him whether he confiscated it or allowed it. We got to keep it this time but we have two more crossings into Canada from Alaska before we head back into the lower 48 in late August so we'll see how it goes next time.
A few posts mentioned mosquitoes. They usually don't bother me and if I get a bite it goes away quickly. Well, Canadian mosquitoes must have different spit because I got four bites and they all swelled up twice as big as a Florida bite and aren't showing any signs of going away quickly. Luckily, it will be cool enough going forward that clothing will cover most exposed skin except for my neck so a quick shot of Deet should take care of that.
All of the trailer mods are working as expected. The WFCO Auto Detect converter is a bit disappointing so far. The batteries have been staying pretty topped off just from solar and driving and we've only boondocked one night so far but the AD converter has not gone into the LiFePo4 profile at all based on the LED indicator and it keeps trying to charge the batteries from shore power when they are at 99 or 100% charge when on shore power in the evening. I've started turning the battery switch Off when we arrive so the converter is forced to provide all DC power and the batteries get no overnight charge. The 3 lithium's have a full charge when we leave in the morning and solar takes care of replacing anything used during the drive day. I'll be contacting WFCO, when we get back, for the hardwire LiFePo4 jumper.
The RockStar rock guards are still in the truck bed. The roads have all been paved and for the most part in relatively good shape. I'm sure that will change going forward.
The longer days are crazy. Sunrise just after 5 a.m. and tonight sunset is at 10:23 p.m. just west of Grand Prairie, Alberta. Tomorrow we cross into British Columbia and time changes to Pacific time but there is still about 18 hours of daylight.
Glad to hear it's going reasonably well. My experience with Canadian customs is that the law is whatever they say it is, period. In their defense, I've been told we often treat Canadians at our border the same or worse. It's always shocking though, because Canadians are just about as friendly and gracious as it gets, once you get in. Safe travels, and post a picture or two when you have time!
As a retired long haul Canadian trucker, as long as you smile, and have a sense of friendliness you'll be ok. I used to cross the border 2 times a week.
Now where you cross is slightly important, Cavalier is a tiny port of entry, if you had used portal ND/ sk it would have gone faster and no searching.
As a retired long haul Canadian trucker, as long as you smile, and have a sense of friendliness you'll be ok. I used to cross the border 2 times a week.
Now where you cross is slightly important, Cavalier is a tiny port of entry, if you had used portal ND/ sk it would have gone faster and no searching.
Yes sir, attitude does matter, in just about everything! And in my experience point of entry difference holds true at airports as well. Toronto and Winnipeg are two different animals altogether.
As a retired long haul Canadian trucker, as long as you smile, and have a sense of friendliness you'll be ok. I used to cross the border 2 times a week.
Now where you cross is slightly important, Cavalier is a tiny port of entry, if you had used portal ND/ sk it would have gone faster and no searching.
I think we were both pretty friendly to all of guards throughout the entire initial questioning and the search. We realize they are just doing their job and would rather be safe than sorry. There are a lot of people doing bad things while pretending to be good guys.
We had originally intended to cross further west but our plan to stop at Devils Lake SP was changed because that CG was full over Memorial Day weekend and Cavalier still had openings. Just the luck of the draw.
I think we were both pretty friendly to all of guards throughout the entire initial questioning and the search. We realize they are just doing their job and would rather be safe than sorry. There are a lot of people doing bad things while pretending to be good guys.
We had originally intended to cross further west but our plan to stop at Devils Lake SP was changed because that CG was full over Memorial Day weekend and Cavalier still had openings. Just the luck of the draw.
Yeah i don't have any experience with Cavalier crossing, its not a commercial port, or its not on our routes.
This is at the campground where we stayed in a little place called Toad River on Hwy 97 (AlCan Hwy) in British Columbia heading towards Watson Lake, Yukon.
This is a grass runway to the right of the highway. Blue markers define the sides.
Saw a big moose on the far side of the lake feeding and wading out into the lake the next morning. Wife got all the moose pictures.
I've started my list of things I should have done!
First item - I should have gotten Starlink. Being in Canada has basically taken us offline with our normal T-Mobile service. We have phone and text, but only where cell service is available and because we are out of our domestic service area (the lower 48) we are now on the International data plan which is limited but also unavailable where cell service is unavailable. We've been pretty lucky with using the various campground's WiFi but that is hit or miss and will probably get progressively worse the further north we go. I might see if I can get the hardware in Anchorage.....
Yesterday's travel was full of wildlife - both live and unfortunately two hit by vehicles. We saw multiple deer, two bear - one DOA, two moose - one DOA, and a caribou. I think we also saw a young eagle. Wildlife is hard to get pictures of as we saw all of it while driving.
Finally hung the RockStar tow flap. Seems to be doing its job nicely. This was at a lunch stop on the AlCan Hwy at around the 510KM post. This was also about 5 KM after we saw a bison on the side of the road. We could have spent the night right here if we had been so inclined.
I've started my list of things I should have done!
First item - I should have gotten Starlink. Being in Canada has basically taken us offline with our normal T-Mobile service. We have phone and text, but only where cell service is available and because we are out of our domestic service area (the lower 48) we are now on the International data plan which is limited but also unavailable where cell service is unavailable. We've been pretty lucky with using the various campground's WiFi but that is hit or miss and will probably get progressively worse the further north we go. I might see if I can get the hardware in Anchorage.....
Yesterday's travel was full of wildlife - both live and unfortunately two hit by vehicles. We saw multiple deer, two bear - one DOA, two moose - one DOA, and a caribou. I think we also saw a young eagle. Wildlife is hard to get pictures of as we saw all of it while driving.
But the scenery is starting to get good.
We just took the first trip with the Starlink mini sitting on the dash. We covered it with a dark towel to cut the glare, 5 1/2 hours from Lakeland to the panhandle up 98 in heavy rain, tree cover and never lost signal.
I'm sure you can find one in Anchorage. Lots of Home Depots in Alaska.
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