DH is really wanting to visit Alaska. However, he feels our rig - the 36foot 5er - is just too big and expensive to drag up there (cal).
But, I really like my rig.
So, maybe we'll fly up and rent a small mh for a couple weeks of exploring and skip the drive through Canada this time.
OR, he wants to buy a used camper for the trip and sell it when we're finished. But the cost of traveling will remain the same as the 5er.
Except he thinks we can boondock much easier.
BUT with diesel at possibly $6 a gallon in Canada, I'm leaning toward the flight/rent option. But I know very little about the cost of renting a mh. Unfortunately, money is a deciding factor now that we're retired.
Suggestions?
KampingKris,FiremanSteve,DaughterCara
Jada - American Eskie princess
2003 GMC Sierra 3500
2006 Alpenlite Limited 34RLR
If I didn't take my 5er with me and stay three months, I would fly to Alaska, rent an SUV and motel, hotel, or lodge it if I only had a couple of weeks. There are not any great rv destinations in Alaska worth the hassle of renting and supplying a MH.
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2004 Ford 350 Super Duty 2W Dirve Long Bed PU
2008 327RLT Montana Mountaineer 35 ft. 5th wheel 2005 Alaska and other Trip Logs
You can take the ferry to Alaska to avoid the driving costs through Canada.
You need to look at your projected costs for each of three choices:
Gas plus camping expenses for the drive period if you drive
or Ferry fees plus expenses while on the ferry if you choose that
or Airplane or boat tickets to Alaska plus any travel fees due to that plus the cost of renting the MH.
If you know the potential MPG for the MH versus your current rig, you can also adjust for that in comparing the rent versus drive or ferry.
Since most rental motor homes are gas, there may be extra fuel cost during the time in Alaska if your diesel miles are high enough.
There's no way around it, you have to do your homework. We drove up last summer for 3 months in a 38' diesel pusher & stayed in RV parks every night. We were too big & heavy to take advantage of most boondocking areas. A class C or better yet, a truck camper if you want to get off the beaten path. Even from Ca. your looking at 6,000 miles round trip( approx.), that's a fair amount of wear & tear. Flying or cruiseing & rental costs seem to be about the same as driving & fuel. You can do a search here on the forum, many people have documented the costs of the different methods of traveling. The one & only thing you can be sure of is-- It won't get any cheaper! LOL I for one will never regret the expense, it's worth every penny!
We are in the same boat only besides money we are short on time. I have spent many hours researching this topic. For our family of 4 and a total of 3 weeks allowed in alaska it would cost us 4520.00 to rent the motorhome (24ft) add gas of 1000 for about 1500 miles, mileage cost is 315.00/ unlimited mileage costs more. Flight is about 800. 00 ea. regular price ( I used frequent flyer miles and spent 872.36 for 4 tickets) We are going to fly in and rent a small suv cost 1725. and tent/cabin camp. Gas estimate for car $350. Camping fees will be the same and other costs are basically the same. We included eating out once per day and more than likely will not which we would not do with the rv. When we broke down the cost per day for each option we have Car/tent camp $278 per day / Rent Rv $368. per day . The car camping option has much more leeway in the budget for savings and the Rv budget was pretty set. I looked into towing our trailer to Alaska and back to San Diego and the gas cost estimated at $4.25 per gal alone was close to the cost of renting a rv. If we had the time I would love to drive all the way there I imagine it would be very pricey.
We did the trip in 2007 (May-July) from upstate New York. Spent about 4 weeks in Alaska. Drove 12K miles in 10 weeks. We had a 2002 Chevy diesel with a truck camper. Total cost was $7000 (fuel, campgrounds, attractions, meals and gifts). That averaged out to $100 a day. Truck averaged 15mpg. Great trip, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Canadian Rockies, Yukon Calagary Stampede and seeing western states and Canada. Plan to go again in the net few years. Ron Day
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