Hey all, so I’m getting ready to make the move from Alaska to Arizona here in September. Be traveling through Canada via the Alcan. The trailer I’m towing is a 7x16 enclosed with tandem axles rated at 3500lbs. Just looking for any tips/tricks or advice from people who have made a similar trip while towing. This will be the farthest I’ve towed anything and the most weight. Trailer will be holding our household items, my motorcycle, tool box ect. No furniture or anything though. My truck is equipped with the tow package, 3.92 gears 8 speed trans, and air lift 1000 helper bags FYI. Appreciate any help you could offer or suggestions! Thanks everyone.
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Towing from Alaska to Arizona
- Thread starter Akram
- Start date
NordicNevs
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Take your time
Carry extra fuel with if you can
Pay attention to your tires (trailer)
Carry a spare (trailer)
Grease your wheel bearing before you leave
Remember some crossings don’t operate 24hours so make sure you plan your arrivals
Truck will be fine
How much weight are you planning on putting in the trailer?
You’re going from amazing and green to amazing and desert so prepare for the slow landscape changes lol
You’ll be just fine oh and post pictures
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Carry extra fuel with if you can
Pay attention to your tires (trailer)
Carry a spare (trailer)
Grease your wheel bearing before you leave
Remember some crossings don’t operate 24hours so make sure you plan your arrivals
Truck will be fine
How much weight are you planning on putting in the trailer?
You’re going from amazing and green to amazing and desert so prepare for the slow landscape changes lol
You’ll be just fine oh and post pictures
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
ColoradoCub
Ram Guru
Driven that road a half a dozen times, and to be honest the Alcan used to be an adventure, bad roads , few service stations and long distances in between towns. But it really has transformed. The road is much better now and rough sections are limited. Keep an eye on your trailer tires and bearings at each stop and it wouldn’t hurt to have at least one trailer tire spare. Beautiful drive full of scenery and wildlife, love making that trip. Almost got my dogs eaten by a grizzly bear one trip so be aware that you really are in the wild in the Yukon.
Glenn54
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a great trip. I have only been to Alaska once but it was awesome. You may want to consider getting a TPMS to monitor the tire pressure on your trailer easily. I'd be carrying a handgun if allowed, considering the bear story above. Take pictures and share with us.
ColoradoCub
Ram Guru
In case you didn’t know, Handguns are illegal to be transported through Canada. You do not want to show up on the border with one! Rifles and Shotguns with barrels longer than 18” are allowed, gotta fill out a form or two and pay a fee to transport them.
Glenn54
Well-Known Member
Note to self: Don't move to Canada.
Tundralag
Active Member
Seems like the original poster hasn't been back here.. but I will tell you I have made that trip a few times.. best one was in 2007 I had a 2500 Ram with 5.9
24' trailer. Truck had the onboard fuel tank plus a 100 gal tank in the bed, 50 gallons in fuel cans in the trailer and two spare tires for the trailer and tools..
trailer was packed with most of my needed household goods the rest to be shipped, Had my son, my dog in the back seat, 12 gauge shotty between the seats and the rest of my long guns in the trailer..(pistols got shipped like above poster said not legal in Canada) stopped at the boarder paid some money filled out some forms and pressed on with no issues.. We went from Fort Richardson to Quantico MCB in 5 days I slept in the truck when tired and pushed the 5.9 to the limit.. Back then gas/fuel was sparse in some areas but I got fuel when I could. Some places back then had Fuel at 6 bucks or more a gallon, Thank god for the spare tank and fuel cans.. Best trip of my life.. me and my now grown son talk about it all the time.. Just made the trip again about 2 years ago, Flew to Anchorage picked up the same son who is in the AF, and was moving from JBER to Peterson afb Colorado.. this time it was with his dog and his Subaru. Wow what a difference, roads were WAY better, way more places to fill up and just a great trip, took our time and had a blast..
24' trailer. Truck had the onboard fuel tank plus a 100 gal tank in the bed, 50 gallons in fuel cans in the trailer and two spare tires for the trailer and tools..
trailer was packed with most of my needed household goods the rest to be shipped, Had my son, my dog in the back seat, 12 gauge shotty between the seats and the rest of my long guns in the trailer..(pistols got shipped like above poster said not legal in Canada) stopped at the boarder paid some money filled out some forms and pressed on with no issues.. We went from Fort Richardson to Quantico MCB in 5 days I slept in the truck when tired and pushed the 5.9 to the limit.. Back then gas/fuel was sparse in some areas but I got fuel when I could. Some places back then had Fuel at 6 bucks or more a gallon, Thank god for the spare tank and fuel cans.. Best trip of my life.. me and my now grown son talk about it all the time.. Just made the trip again about 2 years ago, Flew to Anchorage picked up the same son who is in the AF, and was moving from JBER to Peterson afb Colorado.. this time it was with his dog and his Subaru. Wow what a difference, roads were WAY better, way more places to fill up and just a great trip, took our time and had a blast..
Hey sorry I haven’t been replying. I appreciate all the feedback though you guys! Just getting ready to Start our trip. Have the truck and trailer loaded down. Combined weight with the truck and trailer fully loaded is 11,360pounds so I’m figuring the trailer weight to be just under 5,000 pounds. Went from Kenai to anchorage yesterday, about 150 miles. And the truck pulled the trailer with ease. Honesty forgot it was back there a few times lol. I definitely noticed a huge hit to my gas mileage though. We’ll be headed for the border in the morning!
AndreiV
Well-Known Member
Have a safe trip.
Glenn54
Well-Known Member
Drive safe and take pictures when you can. FYI, tripple check your trailer hitch. My wife's cousin recently moved to Florida towing a trailer with a car on it. It came unhitched and took out a couple of signs. He says the "Jesus bolt" came out, whatever that is. I'd use a lock.
JJRamTX
Ram Guru
Be safe and check your connections... I had my 7 Pin Round connector pop out on me twice on 1000+ mile trips and dragging (Sanding it down on the road) it is no fun.
mpurkey
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One time while stationed in Alaska I submitted a written request to Canadian authorities to transport a hand gun through Canada when we moved back. It was, of course, denied so I mailed it via licensed dealer. However, I showed up at the border and spent hours as the interrogated me and looked through my vehicle and camper. Left a sour taste in my mouth for Canada that has never gone away. So morale of story don’t ask for permission either.
ColoradoCub
Ram Guru
Those Canadian gas prices suck huh?
Hey Akram, thanks for sharing your truck/towing experience. I've been waffling between a 1500 with your specs vs a 2500. I will be towing a similar size trailer with similar weight, towing on average twice a month, with travel time of 4 to 8 hours roundtrip each time, and with some hilly and occasional mountainous terrain. I was curious if based on your trip, and if you were going to do "your" AZ trip on a regular basis, have you found the 1500 enough of a truck to not feel like you are working to manage the trailer all the time? Thanks.
Hey man, to be honest with you, if I was to do similar trips like that I would for sure be going the route of a 2500. On flat cross country ground with no wind the truck was great towing the trailer but climbing any sort of mountainous terrain it was a little bit more work for the truck then I would have liked. There were times where I’d be as low as 4th gear and revved out to 4500-5k rpms for long periods of time climbing and I wasn’t a huge fan of that. Also whenever the wind picked up it would be really tough at times to keep the truck and trailer in synch. Especially during bad cross winds. Am I still happy with the way the truck pulled and handled it, absolutely. But if I was doing regular towing and long distances I’d for sure go with the 2500.
Glenn54
Well-Known Member
Great pics Akram! Thanks for sharing.
