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AlCan Highway in a Westy?
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Tomswesty
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 9:24 am    Post subject: AlCan Highway in a Westy? Reply with quote

Has anyone taken the AlCan in their Westy? Just thinking about it one of these days and was wondering if anyone had experience driving this road and if it's worth the trip.
Thanks - Tom
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seans67
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been on and driven the Alcan over 20 times. The first was with my parents in a late 70s westy around 1980 or so. The last time was this last January in a recently purchased Syncro. I did 3000 mile in 4 days on that trip.

It is a great trip and I highly recommend it. The road today is in great shape mostly with hardly any gravel sections except where they may be doing construction.

You should get a copy of the "Milepost", it is a detailed travelogue of the highway.

If you have more specific questions I may be able to answer
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wbx
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

seans67 wrote:
I've been on and driven the Alcan over 20 times. The first was with my parents in a late 70s westy around 1980 or so. The last time was this last January in a recently purchased Syncro. I did 3000 mile in 4 days on that trip.

It is a great trip and I highly recommend it. The road today is in great shape mostly with hardly any gravel sections except where they may be doing construction.

You should get a copy of the "Milepost", it is a detailed travelogue of the highway.

If you have more specific questions I may be able to answer


You may have a few more trips under your belt than i do (first was probably in '85, given that the vanagon is an '84), but my little westy has done the alcan round trip probably every other year since then (with only a few exceptions).

Something to consider would be doing the Stuart Cassiar highway (#37), which is more west of the true AlCan highway. It is an "unimproved" road, which means a lot of chipseal. It is a lot more remote, but IMO, waaaay more scenic. It is rougher on the van, so take that into consideration if you want to do it or not.

My little westy is about to return from Alaska in a month (my dad is driving it back from where he has been storing it for me). It will be nice to be reunited...

-Damon
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Alaska Brent
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought my 1980 Westy (now named Ferdinand), in Boise, ID last August and, against the advice of many, drove him up the Alcan. I was prepared for many mechanical emrgency scenarios, but, thankfully, had no difficulties. I only used about 4 quarts of oil in all, which still seems a bit of a miracle to me. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to get through the Canadian Rocky Mountains. In my aircooled Vanagon I was frequently taken down to 2nd & 1st gears. You don't want to hurry through that beautiful part of the world anyway. While in the Rockies I spotted caribou, bison, black bears, deer, and some other critters that all looked up as I drove past as if to say, "Keep going little camper! You can make it!" The road was in excellent shape last fall with a long stretch of road construction near the Alaskan border (the Destruction Bay area). My only regret is that I was short on time. A friend and I drove around the clock for 3 1/2 days back home to Anchorage.
I will gladly answer any specific questions about taking the Alcan.
To make it without mechanical difficulty was a great blessing. If you do take the trip, prepare for the worst.
Cheers!
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bunker108
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I drove from Albuquerque to Anchorage and back in 1999, solo in my 1985 Westy. It was a wonderful trip. I took my time on the way up camping all over the Pacific Northwest and Canada. I ran out of money at the end of my week long stay in Anchorage so I pointed my van towards home. I did Anchorage to Albuquerque in 108 hours...by myself...that my friends is trucking...I did become a long haul truck driver after that too!

I had to spend a day in Kamloops, BC fixing a stripped out exhaust bolt...the one right behind the water pump. I took everything apart in front of some VW shop, and the owner drilled and heli-coiled the hole for me...didn't even charge, though I gave hime a generous tip. Put it all back together and was on my way. No mechanical issues the rest of the trip.

Oh, and I forgot my locking gas cap on a pump in Bellingham...
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psych-illogical
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ran up there a year ago albeit on my BMW motorcycle. Great trip and a great road. I agree with the suggestion about considering the Casiar highway. Very do-able in a Westy. The Alcan is a very good road though and is 95% paved. The 5% that's unpaved is always shifting around as it's due to road reconstruction. They'll tear up part of it to re-pave, get that done and then move on to another stretch the next year. Had some folks in a great big motor home really complain about the frost heave. Made for some good whoop-de-do's that where actually a lot of fun on a motorcycle. Shouldn't be very irritating in a Westy either. Have fun.
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Tomswesty
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, I'll look into ol #37 and see what it looks like. I am all for more senic but then again, look where you are.
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wbx
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

psych-illogical wrote:
Made for some good whoop-de-do's that where actually a lot of fun on a motorcycle. Shouldn't be very irritating in a Westy either. Have fun.


That reminds me of a funny story a few years back. I was hauling back home to Anchorage and on the final stretch, an hour or so outside of Wasilla, and there was some sort of little Winnie with a bunch of MTV Road Rules kind of looking people. Somehow, we managed to start racing... and as you can imagine the American iron was faster on the straights, but the german camper took the corners way better. It was a twisty bit of road, so i eventually lost him. Needed an alignment after taking some of those frost heaves a little too fast, though Rolling Eyes . Amazingly, the original suspension is still in perfect shape!

-Damon

p.s. not in monterey, yet. Still in ecuador... 3 weeks and i'm back in the states Very Happy
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r39o
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bunker108 wrote:
Oh, and I forgot my locking gas cap on a pump in Bellingham...

NOTE TO SELF: Take a spare gas cap.

I did the Alcan as a youngester in the early 70's I guess. We drove a 64 Corvan converted to a camper. (A family tradition is to convert brand new bare vans to campers; the exception is the 85 Westy I got.) It was good to go. We did it on mostly gravel. Not too many problems. Broke in a brand new 110HP crate motor that time. It was fun for a dad and his son. Maybe someday I will do it again (with my son.)
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TWD
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 2:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I made the trip many times in the 60's. At the time, there was about 1,000 miles of gravel. Broken windshields and headlights were the norm. It was a better drive in the winter when there was snowpack over the gravel.
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klucz
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Couple years back I drove up in the summer in my 84 and the northern highway was shut down from fires, the whole landscape was covered in smoke anyway. Made it there and back, down to the Kenai and Valdez, even up and down the Dalton hwy with only one new driveshaft (road to McCarthy claimed it), couple rocks in the windshield, a turn signal, and about 100lbs of dead insects in the grill. Saw an a/c vanagon heading toward Deadhorse, and the guy didn't look happy. Best trip I ever took.
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seans67
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2006 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Casiar is a scenic stretch of hwy and I too would recommend going that way if you don't mind a little gravel. The real bummer is that you miss Liard hot springs unless you back-track a little. Those hot springs are sure nice after those long days of driving.

When I drove the hwy last May I was driving the biggest Uhaul you can rent and pulling a car hauler with my 914 on it. Those frost heaves around Kluane lake were unbelievable. I thought that poor little car was going to launch right off the trailer.
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