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The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
experienced lots of BUMPS AND GUNK |
| The two RV Gypsies say "DON'T
DO IT - DON'T DRIVE THE ALASKA HIGHWAY UNTIL ROADS ARE FIXED."
Their car windshield got cracked and pitted in several places
and the front of the car looked like it was sand blasted. The car got totally
pitted and in need of a whole new paint job. The decals were completely ruined. It
is probably un-sellable now. The motorhome has also taken a beating, not
to mention the stress on both vehicles and the two RV Gypsies. Another RVer asked the two RV Gypsies "Why are we all doing this?" Good Question! |
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For about the last 350 miles on the Alaska
Highway in the Yukon Territory, much of the roads were dirt/gravel, mud
or just full of bumps and dips called frost heaves. The two RV Gypsies
found this to be extremely stressful. The worst frost heaves were marked
with red flags, but many frost heaves were not marked. The motorhome shook,
bounced and rattled like you would not believe. Clothes fell off the closet
rack and sweaters fell from their shelves making it almost impossible
to open the closet doors. Covers to ceiling lights fell off. And when a car was in front of the two RV Gypsies; or passing them on the dirt/gravel roads, the dust
was so heavy they could barely see the road. These roads were watered at times and
that kept the dust down somewhat, but then the road became muddy.
Have you ever
written "wash me" on a dirty car? Of course you have! But guess
what? When the mud dries on the cars and RVs after driving the kind of roads described above, one cannot write on the vehicle because
it cakes and becomes thick like clay. Scroll down below for photos of
this event.
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The car's headlights do not
have a cover - that is caked-on dirt.
A regular car wash does not help.
It had to be pressured cleaned off with a
very powerful pressure cleaner.
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In The
Milepost book (which is a must for anyone driving in Alaska)
- it says "Tok is known as the Sled Dog Capital of Alaska"
and "Judging by the number of Alaska Highway travelers cleaning
their cars and RVs in Tok each summer, it may also qualify as the Vehicle
Washing Capital of Alaska as well." - an Understatement!!!!! |
- DRIVING THE ALASK HIGHWAY
2009 -
WE ARE DOING THIS BECAUSE......................?????? |
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| The tiny
pieces of gravel got thrown onto vehicles - this is how the windshield got
cracked in several places and the paint job got pitted. |
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An RV passing the water
truck on a hill - not smart!- |
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The frost heaves were
hard to photograph because they just don't really show up in photographs.
Actually some of them are hard to see until just before you hit them, and
some you don't even see in time. The dirty muddy roads above caused the
filthy cars and cracked windshields, but the frost heaves are really stressful
on the vehicles. |
| Permafrost
101: Permafrost is ground that is frozen year-round. The roads
ripple like waves on an ocean. Permafrost causes the most trouble when it
melts under the road and the road sags - thus called frost heaves. |
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| The ferry back (which
was booked on the way here) costs about $8,000. So the two RV Gypsies will
drive through this area on the way back to the lower 48. Hopefully, some
of these roads will be fixed by then, but since the work on these roads
started in 2008, it's almost certain to be another stressful trip back. |
THERE ARE SEVERAL NAVIGATIONAL CHOICES BELOW:
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