Class A vs Al Can Hiway

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Doc Roads

Doc Roads

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Joined
Jun 7, 2017
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175
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Southern Arizona
I drove part of the Al Can Hiway (Haines to Fairbanks) in 1990s ... given that experience, I almost lost a windshield to rocks flying off the road and other vehicle tires.  Now I?m thinking of taking my Class A up the Al Can to AK ... worried about losing a windshield or having other damage ... so it?s 30 years later ... have the road conditions improved enough to reduce my anxiety of losing a wind shield or vehicle damage?  Any comments appreciated ...
 
Hi Doc R,

I can't speak from experience but in the forum library, there are several forum members trip reports on traveling this stretch and their logs on their experiences. I believe there has been window damage from trucks throwing rocks. I am sure there will be others who will chime in and let you know about their trips and problems with this issue.
 
I went in 2017 with 21 other RVs in a caravan. Many had cracked windshields due to rocks including me. There are mobile units that can fix these up there. But I also had a rock chip in New Mexico just after getting a new windshield after Alaska. It happens...
 
Our experience is now 17 years out of date, but our towed car windshield took a rock chip on the Alcan near Tok, but the coach was fine until we re-entered the US Lower 48. Coach got a windshield hit shortly after reaching Montana!

Other than windshields, the coach and car got rattled with gravel regularly, and not just on the Alcan.  We used a bra on the toad but it still got some paint chips.  Coach front end got some dings too, but less so.  That suggests the toad damage was mostly stones thrown up by our own rear wheels.


Many of the roads in AK have gravel-patched areas and traffic doesn't always slow enough when reaching them. Do you part!
 
Thanks for the comments ... what I hear is the route has not gotten worse or better since I last drove the AlCan.  It?s still the AlCan!  So, I?m probably going up and down that road ... damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead ...
 
We took a trip from northern Idaho to Kenai, Alaska this summer.  All sections on the "Alaska Highway" (not the Alcan) (starts in Fort Nelson) route were paved, but....there were a LOT of spots where there was gravel and serious bumps due to road repairs.  Had to slow way down and eat dust over those, but all in all it was a smooth trip.  We didn't take the 5W, but instead took a cargo trailer so we could load the bikes, kayaks, etc.  I noticed that many of the campgrounds were full and most of the RV parks had No Vacancy signs.  Diesel fuel was at most stations, but prices per Liter were over $1.50 Canadian.  This was in July.  Be aware, (we weren't) that many of the border crossings close at midnight.  We hit one coming home at 11:55 PM.  I heard the Border guys talking about sending us back, but one NICE GUY restarted his computer and let us go through.  Got home at 3:00 AM.  Never again ;D  Definitely a beautiful trip, though. 
 
Doc Roads said:
I drove part of the Al Can Hiway (Haines to Fairbanks) in 1990s ... given that experience, I almost lost a windshield to rocks flying off the road and other vehicle tires. Now I?m thinking of taking my Class A up the Al Can to AK ... worried about losing a windshield or having other damage ... so it?s 30 years later ... have the road conditions improved enough to reduce my anxiety of losing a wind shield or vehicle damage? Any comments appreciated ...
Click to expand...
I lead my last caravan thru Canada to Alaska a few years ago. The thing is, the road is always changing, weather/traffic make a lot of difference. Check back here shortly before you head out.
 
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