Advice on taking an Amerilite 21MB to Alaska

[roundman]

Hello Friends!! We have a 2004 Amerilite by Gulfstream light weight tag-along. We wish to travel from SC to Alaska next summer with this camper. Last year we did the West coast without any problems (I replaced the suspension components with heavier shackles and busings with sert fitting, brake system, wheel bearings and purchased new Maxxis radial tires before that 9000 mile trip). We have had problems with this camper leaking causing rotted wood and have repaired it all....I think....but I am also concerned about the structural integrity....somewhat....

My main concern and question relates to the overall ability of this camper to withstand a trip up the Alcan Highway and the Alaskan roads....specifically related to the pavement dips that seem to cause so much trouble for RVers. This Amerilite has two 3000lb axles on 13" wheels and 7" brakes which is supposed to allow a GVWR of 4340lbs. I am confident that when we fully load this camper with water, both full LP tanks, food, clothing and all of the other camping items necessary it will be at or over that max GVWR.

Obviously, my choice would be to upgrade to a better built heavier camper, but our budget simply will not allow that. We bought this Amerilte in 2005 because our Ford Explorer could handle that weight. We now use a Ram 1500 with the 5.7 V8 as our tow vehicle so we could easily tow a better camper, but like I mentioned, it ain't happening in the near future....not if we make our bucket-list Alaskan trip next summer....and since we are retired and already have some health problems we feel like making this trip is now or never....so an advice is surely appreciated!!!

[campigloo]

Passin Thru wrote:

Do not take any potatoes as they will be confiscated. Canadians hate potatoes.



Coming into the States near Glacier their thing is tomatoes. Someone
Gave us the prettiest home growns you'd ever want to see. Had my taste buds all set for a sandwich. At least the border agent was nice about it. He laughed all the way to the trash can

[_1nobby]

Passin Thru wrote:
Do not take any potatoes as they will be confiscated. Canadians hate potatoes.

What?

Ridiculous.

Same rules apply...doesn't matter which direction you are crossing the border.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

From learning from my dads trips there I would take:

2 spare tires for the trailer.
1 spring for the trailer.
1 set of axel bearing for the trailer.
Mud flaps that go full length of the rear of the truck.
Make sure your windshield insurance is paid up with 0 deduct.

This was 20 years ago and it sounds like the roads were a lot more nasty up there then. He said hard ball size rocks would come out of truck tires.

Have fun, my dad did.

[BC4277]

I went to Alaska this past May & June, with my Coachman 192 RBS, TV was a 2003 Toyota Tundra. My TT weighted 4300 lbs. when I had to stop in Alberta for a watercraft inspection on my kayak. At road construction areas, I would pull over & let traffic go by, then proceed at a safe speed. A 18 wheeler is a small truck up there, Canada has 26 wheelers. I found the biggest bumps to be were the asphalt ended & the gravel road started, some of these were very abrupt. The frost heaves in the asphalt were fairly well marked. I entered Canada at Abbotfords, BC. & went up Hwy. 1 & the Cassar Hwy. This road was in very good shape. Stop & get gas every time you get down to 1/2 a tank & carry a couple of 5 gal gas tanks. We really didn't need bug juice (used REI Jungle Juice)until we got to Fairbanks in early June. Also needed air conditioning as it was unseasonably warm (±90°). We left Fairbanks on June 11, there was a steady stream of traffic going north as we were going south. Some of the worst roads we encountered were between Ft. St. John & Edmonton, a lot of oil rigs beating up the roads & bring mud on to the hiway from the side roads. Be sure to get a copy of the book "Milepost" available at Amazon. This book is invaluable. That time of year we only needed a light polar fleece in the morning. Also carried a rain jacket. Do it, you will never regret it.

[arkie_guide]

I have done the trip there and back more then once. No trouble on any road, just use caution at all times, go slow and enjoy, packing extra gear is not needed.many places along the way to stock up and buy parts. Just use what you have carefully,go enjoy.

[DownTheAvenue]

I made the trip in 2015. There are some rough roads, to be sure, but if you just slow down, you will be fine. The frost heaves could be jarring but they are well marked, so just slow down. You will find everything you need at the towns along the way, so no need to carry to many supplies with you. I think you will be fine; the roads are mostly paved, except in construction areas, and there are plenty of campgrounds and great boondocking places. I was lucky-I found only one spot where the attack mosquitoes were bothersome. I just moved on to another campground a few miles down the road. Be sure to get the "Milepost" guide.

[roundman]

Passin, you mention "no-seeums". I HATE those things and they LOVE me!! We find them in Florida...nothing I use in the way of sprays seem to help. What is your best defense against them? Do bug hats really help? What about the rest of your body? I expected Mosquitoes but I was not aware that no-seeums had made that trip north.... I was a hunter most of my life and I can tolerate most bugs but those things are from Satan himself!!

[Passin_Thru]

They call it the Oil Can Hwy. Lots of big trucks, road trains. They WILL take their half. We like screened bug hats due to the No-seeums. Hope you like green and dirt colors. All you see for 3000 miles is trees it seems like and you'll get dirty. It's fun. Make it an adventure and carry enough money to buy Ft Knox. Do not take any potatoes as they will be confiscated. Canadians hate potatoes. Put an aluminum sheet on the front of your TT. Don't worry about a wash job until you reach Mt.

[snowedin]

Far too much concern is made of the roads for a trip to Alaska. Yes, there are some frost heaves between Destruction Bay & the Alaskan border and then again occasionally in Alaska but as others have said, slow down. I found the roads to be good on my trip in 2016, much, much better than 30 years ago. There are modern towns along the way, nice grocery stores everywhere. I only experienced bad mosquitoes in one place, a state campground south of Delta Junction. By all means go. Never experienced a rock chip, flat tire, trouble of any kind on my two trips to Alaska. Two of the most worthwhile roads in Alaska for me were Hwys 8 & the road to Kennecot, were rough (but more than worth it). If going to Kennecot I would advise leaving the camper at the RV Park near the Chitnia airport. The scenery around Skagway, Haines, Valdez, Kennecot, Homer & Hwy 8 was especially spectacular to me. Allow time to enjoy it all.

[roundman]

I will take another look at upgrade on the axles. Would E-Z Flex system really help? I have not really looked at that system. Last year, after taking measurements and getting some advice from the Forums I determined that the wheel wells on this trailer were not large enough for an axle upgrade or 14" wheels.

Back in 1971 when I was 17 my Dad took all four of my family up the Alcan in his '66 F250 with a truck camper and pulled a utility trailer with two dirt bikes on it. Because that utility trailer did not have an axle up to the challenge it kept bending and due to the road heaves in Alaska it finally broke. I realize that that old Alcan Hwy was all gravel and much rougher but it was the heaves on the paved roads in Alaska that dealt the death blow to that trailer. We had it welded and patched up but it did teach me the importance of not overloading axles...thus these inquires. I love this Forum as I always get good help and advice!

[TurnThePage]

How about some upgrades on the axles. Shock absorbers and/or Dexter E-Z Flex, or similar.

[roundman]

I do appreciate the advice! I did look into replacing the axle/wheels but it appeared that the clearances would not work, also it appeared to be rather expensive and as such would be good money after bad...so to speak. I think that we will just plan to proceed with this rig and take it slow and easy....which is our preference anyway.

We plan on being Alaska 3-4 weeks and any advice on what time of the summer to go would also be appreciated....arrive around May 15 or July 15??

[westend]

You may wish to price out an axle and wheel replacement for your trailer. Getting away from 13" wheels will provide a large upgrade in running gear.

The advice to take it slow and not have to push yourself over the bad stretches is the best.

[_1nobby]

I drove to Whitehorse in 2015 with my 1983 280SL.
At that time...Fort Nelson had the worst stretch of road due to construction.

For the most part it was trouble free.

But yes....I ended up with a cracked windshield a broken head light lens by the end of the 21 day 8000 mile trip.