Lower 48 to AK........

[dlor1]

Hey man, if I ever get my bus to where I want it, I'll go too. I'll supply the veggie oil. I'll be towing a snowmobile trailer too.

[swinada]

what do you wanna know about the trip? If your concerned that a skoolie wouldn't be able to make the trip, don't worry. Thousands of rich Snowbirds go up there every year with their few hundred thousand dollar rigs so your skoolie will have no problem.
The Alaska highway is paved all the way and they keep taking all the corners out and making it nice and straight for the snowbirds. (really cut back on the fun and scenic aspect of the Alaska hwy.)
Cassiar hwy still has some gravel sections but nothing your skoolie cant handle.
If your planing on driving the more remote hwy's like Dempster you might wanna make sure you got good tires and a spare.

[swinada]

Well for you it looks like the most direct way would lead you through Alberta to the beginning of the Alaska Hwy in Dawson Creek BC. If you want a small detour you can come and visit us 1hr west of Dawson Creek before you head up the Alaska Hwy.
Fuel is getting pretty pricey up here, Diesel costs more now then Gas, Diesel around C$ 1.28 per lt and of course for summer vacation time this will for sure go up more. They predict up to 1.5 / lt, as further North you get as more expensive it will be.
If you come up from Grande Prairie fill your tanks at the boarder crossing from Alberta to BC. BC is most of the time more expensive then Alberta.
Dawson Creek is cheaper then Fort St.John / Fort St.John is cheaper then Fort Nelson. You'll have a long stretch between Fort St.John and Fort Nelson (400 + km's) that will have the occasional small gas station only open during the day (or might be closed due to lack of business) at overpriced rate. Same between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake. The rule up here is, unless you have a huge tank that will get you 400 + km with whats left in it fill up if you got a chance to do so. Braking down, running out of fuel will be expensive because the next service station could be a few hundred km's away. Parts are kind of hard to get and will take a few days to get to you if your lucky.
I'm planning a trip up there myself either with Skoolie or motorbike this summer so I would be able to give you a little more up to date report later on. (last time i went up was last summer, only to Withehorse Yukon, and many of the smaller gas stations that used to be in business about 5 years ago are now abandoned)
Happy planning

[lapeer20m]

don't forget that you can rent a satelite phone online for pretty cheap. It'll work anywhere in the world that you have a clear view of the sky. I'd be tempted to acquire myself one if i were taking a skoolie to alaska.

[swinada]

don't forget that you can rent a satellite phone online for pretty cheap. It'll work anywhere in the world

yeah sure, that is what they try to tell you. Till your stuck way up north and your phone is just a useless piece of plastic with batteries.
there might be new ones out now, but Globalstar which used to be the best (not anymore) in satellite phones, has never properly worked as further up north you got. It already has problems in our area and I'm just barely in Northern BC.

[swinada]

Perhaps Swinada can chime in with more current info on cell coverage through Canada.

you're pretty well screwed when it comes to cell phone coverage. As long as you stay in the flats Alberta you're OK but as soon as you get in to the mountains, cell coverage is none existent. You can get some around the individual towns but only in a small radius.

[kotflb]

Speaking of driving to Alaska. Is anyone aware of a fuel max limit that one may bring into Canada? The reason I ask is bc many, many years ago, semi trucks coming into Canada were limited to the amount of fuel they could carry in their fuel tanks crossing into Canada, otherwise the driver would be charged a fuel tax on any amount over 30 or so gallons in the tank. I'm sure times have changed, but I was wondering about this. If my bus had a 200 gallon capacity and I filled up prior to crossing into Canada, would I be charged for carrying too much fuel, or do they even care? May be different for RVs, I just don't know.