Alaska Trip Reporting!

[Eagle5]

Hi Mike,
Six hundred miles per day driving is impressive; I couldn't do that much. You just might qualify to be the pilot on the eighty-day trip described below.
Rest well and have fun tomorrow!
Thanks, Eagle5

Around the Universe in 80 Days

[Ak Mike]

Drove the final southbound leg this morning to the dealer. We spent several hours going through everything to my satisfaction and got the little trailer hooked up. First, the obligatory Walmart stop, (wife has credit card, me & pup are out in the car with the air conditioner running). I’m hoping she leaves some $$ for gas! Then we’re down the road to a nearby campground to get acquainted with our new camper! Maybe I’ll get ambitious and scrub some of the bugs off the front of the Tahoe!

[Eagle5]

Hi Mike,
So the Trailer's roof air conditioner runs off the Lithium batteries, right? Very impressive.
The rig looks beautiful.
Thanks, Eagle5

We're Off You Know

[Ak Mike]

Yes it does. Once I fully understand the electrical system, I think this is going to work out fine!

[Ak Mike]

Two nights under the belt and so far, everything is great! Driftwood RV Park in Quincy IL Wednesday night and parked in the backyard of sister-in-law up in IA. We’re here until next Thursday then to Mom’s service and we’ll set off for the Great White North (home!) on the 9th. We went to a Woodworker’s Show in the Amanas this morning then lunch and yet another Walmart stop…more stuff! We did find the coolest ‘piggy bank’ made from an old post office box. We left the pup in the camper with the air running and he stayed cool and napped all day. Now time for my nap!😴

[Eagle5]

Hi Mike,
It is so good to hear that your trailer is working well. I hope your Mom's service will be comforting for all.
One of my favorite shows was called Due South, and the scene below is from that show.
Thanks, Eagle5

due south

[Marine359]

Good idea to camp nearby dealer AkMike. When we got our Micro Minnie, dealer wanted to rush through PDI. Had to slow him down, but I still forgot a couple of things. IMHO, any PDI less than 45 minutes on a TT is rushed. My bad for not making a checklist before arriving at dealer. Happy trails.

[Ak Mike]

Thanks Marine! We spent a couple hours with the dealer before I was satisfied and I took quite a few notes. I still have a lot to learn about the various systems but I’m pretty confident that I can manage the trip home. We’ve only had a couple little ‘glitches’ so far and those were pretty easy to resolve. It’s been hot & muggy here so the A/C has been getting a workout. We’re pulling chocks on Thursday afternoon for a short jog west then Saturday afternoon we start our journey back to Alaska; hopefully on the Cassiar Highway depending on the forest fire situation.

[Ak Mike]

At Pine Lake State Park for a couple days then heading off to the west…we’ll check the wildfire situation tomorrow and either head to Spokane then north or go north through Edmonton and home…we’ll see. Nice quiet park tonight but big game coming up so I’d imagine there’ll be some big screen setups nearby along with beer…maybe I’ll meet some of our neighbors!

[Gtekeepr]

@ AK Mike, with the Truma A/C when you start feeling too much humidity in the trailer make sure you use the dehumidifier setting on it. The Truma does a great job at removing it and it cools the trailer down even more. I just did this the past weekend in Savannah!

Keep the updates coming and have a safe trip home!

[Ak Mike]

Great tip Karl! Works like a charm! We left Pine Lake in Iowa on Sunday morning, just tired enough after Mom’s service that we didn’t feel like driving. Had a good drive Sunday, overnighted in Jamestown ND and drove up to Saskatoon today. Due to the fires out west, we opted to go the same route home that we came south on. Not much for scenery unless you like looking at farmland! Wind was against us yesterday and on our tail today, better mileage! �� We should get well past Edmonton tomorrow easily enough and hit the Alcan on Wednesday. Other than some rain squalls, weather has been decent and traffic is light. More to follow! Mike

[Marine359]

Glad it’s going well Mike.
Believe it or not, drafting behind semi trucks increases gas mileage 2mpg. The truckers don’t like it, but hey big buddy, you shouldn’t have passed me.

[creativepart]

Mike, I have to say we are all relieved that everything has worked out with your purchase. I was very concerned that a zillion things would go wrong and that just hasn’t been the case.

Enjoy the trip and travel safe.

[Ak Mike]

This morning we got our mulligan, the dreaded slide failure to retract! I spent about 20 minutes figuring out exactly how this critter worked after I found the controller hiding behind a little panel on the bottom of the slide. Naturally Kobuk thought it was great fun with me on the floor trying to read the tiny little print on the controller. So when I finally spotted the reset button and a pencil to push that small button, I read the rest of the ‘instructions’. Turns out, you don’t push the reset once or even twice. You push it six times and on the seventh time, you hold it until the status lights start to flash. Only it still doesn’t retract! So I unplugged the controller, waited 30 seconds and plugged it back in. Went through the silly multiple push reset and bingo! The slide retracted like it should. For insurance, I called my dealer and had the service manuals emailed to me. We’ll see how it works in the morning! We drove from Saskatoon to Valleyview today, 540 miles. We’ve made good time thus far despite losing 1/2 hr. this morning fixing the slide out. No rush from here, we’ll be on the Alcan tomorrow!

[Marine359]

Wow,
I’ve heard that the person at Scwintek who designed that reset protocol had escaped from an insane asylum. Same person who was the lead character in the movie “Saw” I think. He’s still on the loose, and no doubt will by laying additional traps for you somewhere near the border.

[Ak Mike]

Marine: I’m on guard now! A good perimeter trip line and Mr. S won’t get past the first wire! ��

[Ak Mike]

Late start & early stop today as we’re well ahead of schedule so only made 330 miles today and about the same from here (Ft. Nelson) to Watson Lake and 320 from there to Skagway. Weather is good (although windy) and traffic was pretty light. No significant issues; we did push one gas stop almost too far…I would have been embarrassed to have to hitchhike for gas! Minnie is working well and no problem with the slide out! Trip is almost over, wish it was longer!

[Marine359]

Great Mike!
Finish line in sight I hope. Not worth it to light up the low fuel lamp where you are. My DW would be beating me about the head and shoulders. She’s afraid having to walk more than 50 miles. I reassured her that if she would just stay with the camper, I’d go get fuel and be back for her within a couple of weeks.

[Ak Mike]

Watson Lake YT tonight and headed to Skagway in the morning. We woke up this morning and the battery wasn’t charging….hmmm. Turns out that all the power was out in Ft. Nelson! And we needed to fill up the Tahoe before we leave town as the next gas stop was about 10 kliks farther than I had fuel for! We went to three different stations and everything was closed! What to do? We could hang around town until 1900 and just twiddle our thumbs and lose a day of driving or figure out how to get gas. So I found a local who graciously pointed me in the direction of an Esso Commercial Cardlock off the main drag. And their pumps were running off generators so we topped off and headed down the road. I must say the traffic going out of Ft Nelson this morning was pretty sparse! Some construction and back on mountain roads so lots of up and down and curves. Some places had no guard rails so snoozing at the wheel would definitely be a last nap! And plenty of critters to make it interesting; deer, buffalo and bears. Some overcast later in the afternoon but mostly blue skies and sunshine! If the internet holds out, I’ll try and post some pictures! Mike

[Marine359]

Be safe Mike. Many of us living vicariously through your great adventure.