Tow vehicle range needed for trip to Alaska

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

You could always get a hitchrack for the rear of the trailer like this one from Harbor Freight.

That might be the way to do it. I'm reluctant to store gas in containers in the truck bed, as I use a bed cover and gas fumes might accumulate and be dangerous. Thanks.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

Here's one long stretch.

I wondered where that might be, but with the two highway names and distances suggesting it was about 38 km before a junction of the two, which led to the Alaska Highway departing northwest from Fort Nelson BC... and that appears to be it. The next gas stations are apparently in Fort Liard YT and between Muncho Lake and Liard River BC.

[jerryc]

We spent three months along the Alcan, and in Alaska, the Summer of 2018. We found that gasoline was much easier to find than potable water. We never had any concern for fuel after the first couple of days, but finding water, without an accompanying warning sign, became an issue more than once.

[kavm]

Alcan and most of the Alaska roads would be just fine. I’d not drive the Dalton Highway - not good with a trailer anyway and the distance between Coldfoot and Prudhoe Bay (the last two gas stations) is more than 240 miles. No comparison shopping either. Paid about 150 dollars to fix a flat. But, that’s the exception. Otherwise, there are enough options for gas...

[comsult]

My wife and I did this trip a couple of years ago. We drive a 2014 Taco. Had no problem with fuel stops. However we did carry a 20 lite jug of fuel with us. We never did use it on the trip, but it was nice just having it with us. I've found, that when filling up and driving right away, that I top up my tank to the brim. I can see the fuel in the filler tube. But, only when driving right after a fill up.

[gypsysouls]

Hi Mike:

We drove the Alcan in July-August of 2019. Our tow vehicle was a 2002 chevy Tahoe which came standard with a 26 gallon fuel tank. We were towing a 17 foot Casita. Our towing MPG averaged about 13. From fuzzy memory, the longest distance we traveled where there was no gas was about 150 miles. We followed some conventional wisdom and drove on the top half of the gas tank, and never had a problem. We carried a 5 gallon fuel can but never used it.

Don K.

[mike o]

I drove as far as the Yukon last summer in my Taco and 19’. I carried a five gallon jerry can. There was only once I almost used it going down the Stewart Cassiar Hwy. Just top up when you can and you you will be OK. Pay attention to your mileage between fills. Also the tourist centres have printouts of all the gas stops up the Hwy.

[Rangerduke]

We have made 3 trips to Alaska from the Osoyos rally. First trip was with a Nissan Frontier and the other two were in a Ford F-150. What I always do is that when my gas gage is approaching the half way mark I start looking for a service station . I can’t remember ever filling up when my gage was close to empty. Has always worked for me.

[Deva]

I tried for Alaska in the summer of 2019, but the heat and wide ranging fires had me turning back at Whitehorse. I beelined to Hyder and spent a very long week there. As I traveled (I have a Chevy Express campervan) I found at least a quarter of the gas stations I came across were closed or no longer in business. I would imagine summer of 2021 would see even fewer stations operating. Most of these businesses depend heavily on summer Alaska bound traffic, and the summer of 2020 may have been the straw that broke the camels back, unfortunately. I filled up at every station I came across, even if I had 3/4 of a tank. I carried no extra gas, but travel alone and didn’t want to run out of gas 10 miles from the next station. I errored on the side of safety.

[ForrestA]

Hi Mike - We pulled out Escape '19 with our 2008 Tacoma on a 6,000 mile round trip from Port Townsend through Canada and Alaska as far north as Anchorage and Denali. Absolutely no issues (wishing at one point when we were towing from start up a heavily graveled road that I had 4X) We recently sold the Tacoma and the 19' as a package to friends in anticipation of purchasing a heavier '23 when it is available. Feel free to contact us if you have questions.