Driving to Alaska

Wouldn't a truck GPS like Rand McNally work?

 

It should work. There is no reason why not outside of Space Prediction Centers detection and monitoring of Electrical Magnetic Storms via the Sun as the source that might disable satellites and disrupt GPS signals among other things.

I myself have the Rand from the early 90's that works well with the disks for the laptop and serial port for the reciever in the back. It's a really dated technology compared to what is possible today with that smart phone and google earth.

I don't like GPS too much because one morning in Delaware it put us and our truck inside a cell tower facility that was built onto a roadway which was covered over and a new bypass built about a mile east of the property. We were following the GPS signal onto the road turning as we went in that thick fog and ergo, found ourselves inside a compound. They do not update very quickly. A blind man would have done better with his red and white stick tapping the curb as he went.

And follow up with stories of stupid people following GPS over the preventable cliff, running into low clearance bridges and so on it's not that reliable for trucks. It does help a little bit when you have access to the actual physical address that is accurate of where you are going to get loaded or deliver a load or find another driver and his trailer for interchange purposes. No more asking parasites where such a such a street is.

It would also be better for truckers to gain access to heads up displays backed by cameras capable of viewing in Infrared vs deer at night and other wavelengths to find the pavement under the ice and snow at night as well and during whiteouts see other cars in time to stop. No more pile ups. But like most anything it might be 30 years before that is common.

 

Well, I was in my early 20's, but I guess that still makes me an old guy! LOL

 

Looks like you got two more days to go. Steam boat and a lot of other grades ahead of you. Muncho Lake has some tight corners make sure you look way ahead so you don't meet another big truck in a tight space Look behind you and let the Canadians go by that run Ft. Nelson to Whitehorse switches since they know the road and run pretty fast.

If you brought your swim trunks stop at Liard Hot Springs. It's about 5min from the rest area on the Southside off the highway to walk in there.

Watch out for Bison after Toad River North to Watson Lake. They will block the road or even sleep on the road. I almost hit the herd a couple winters ago on a dark lonely x-mas night in a snow storm. The herd had bedded down on the highway and was almost completely snowed in.

Cheapest fuel in the Yukon is at Tags Northend of town in Watson Lake. Also stop at the sign forrest in Watson Lake. People have been hanging signs there since they started building the Alcan.

There is fuel in Teslin at Nisutlin Trading Post or Yukon Motel and both have showers. Petro in Whitehorse you can fit a truck and trailer on the out side lane. Make sure you have enough fuel to get to Tok, AK from there. Otterfalls 20mls south of Haines Junction has diesel and showers and they are open 24hrs a day. The Three Bears Shell usually has the best price in town and has truck pump with Satelite. Buy enough fuel to go to Anchorage if you need fuel. About 30 cents cheaper then Glennallen.

Stop at the pullout at Tetlin Jct before you enter Tok about 1300mm. Clean your tail lights and front and rear license plate. When you pull up to the scale stop and wait for green light before you drive onto the scale. They enter your plate manually and get reaaly excited when you pull onto the scale with the red light. Then be ready for an inspection and to buy permits. If you there during ten and three you can buy plates at DMV in Tok.

In Tok hang a left at AK-1 and head for Glennallen. Watch out the Tok cut off has miles of terrible roads in there. You can break your equipment pretty easy if going through to fast. After you pass Eureka summit you will see Tesoro station on your left you will be on your way to Glacier View. Big glacier on the left, but keep your eyes on the road lots of windy roads and steep grades ahead. Take your time if you miss a turn it can be a couple hundred feet drop to the bottom. There are no shoulders or guard rails in lots of places. Watch for big rocks in the road as well. When heading down Caribou it's 8% grade with a narrow bridge on the bottom the makes about a 180 degree turn Lots of trucks wreck in that corner. Try to hold your speed at 30. I'm usually in five direct and full jakes when I'm between 85-90,000.

I should be loading today and will be up there Thursday night. Remember no truck stop in Anchorage.

 

somewhere before whitehorse...was just a walmart load to there...nice road

 

That depends, my GPS isn't programmed for Canada.So I bought maps everytime I had to go to Canada.

 

I just finished trying to examine the alaska road by Google Earth up there and they wont provide on the ground views. It's almost there was never camera cars sent around Canada to record everything at all.

 

Street view works in most of the highways in Alaska thou.

 

I don't know what you're looking at, but Google Street View is available for the entire Canadian portion of the Alaska Highway except for two very short stretches near KM 536 and Coal River, BC. There is another short break just into Alaska, but for all intents and purposes, it's all there.

 

I don't know about RM, but Garmin is excellent. In fact, Garmin has an incredible database of not only main/public use roads, but also backroads, lease roads, unnamed roads, seismic lines, etc. I did a lot of well site, pipeline right-of-way, mine, etc., deliveries and I was very surprised at all of the detail. I could often enter the lat. & long. coordinates for a site that is way back in the bush and my GPS would take me right there 90% of the time or better. There were a few times when I had to manually enter via points to get the correct routing, but given the number of crisscrossing lease roads and seismic lines, it was truly amazing. I carried my detailed backwoods map books, but almost never used them once I got a GPS.

It really made navigating a snap as I no longer had to be concerned about watching the odometer, or looking for some long-ago faded, missing or over-grown signs, as is often the case when doing those kinds of deliveries.

The GPS was nothing special either. It was just a garden-variety consumer model that I think I paid about $30 for on sale at a retailer. I only ever loaded the standard road database on it. I know they have other models more oriented for the backwoods for hikers, etc., but I never found the need.