Moving to Alaska

[kwackkillncrew]

when i moved up we took the ferry to haines and drove from there. To be honest after haines its mostly open ocean until you hit PWS. The drive from haines is pretty cool

 

[hammy907]

The drive really isn't that big of a deal. It's honestly quite pleasant in the summer. I drove up in the fall of 21, and the biggest hiccup was not being vaxxed at the border entering Canada. I've heard they removed all of those restrictions now though. I mailed my long guns up through USPS, and FFL my handguns. Make sure to have the USPS receipt as the border crossing agent in Canada wanted to interrogate me about them for quite some time. They threatened to tear about the trailer, but never did. I entered through N. Idaho and drove through Banff/Jasper. It was gorgeous and well worth the drive.

Also, you may consider using Upack. I utilized their service when I moved from Alaska to Idaho, and then hauled everything back with a Uhaul.

 

[carsonkeys]

when i moved up we took the ferry to haines and drove from there. To be honest after haines its mostly open ocean until you hit PWS. The drive from haines is pretty cool

The drive requires crossing the Canadian border, no?

 

[carsonkeys]

The drive really isn't that big of a deal. It's honestly quite pleasant in the summer. I drove up in the fall of 21, and the biggest hiccup was not being vaxxed at the border entering Canada. I've heard they removed all of those restrictions now though. I mailed my long guns up through USPS, and FFL my handguns. Make sure to have the USPS receipt as the border crossing agent in Canada wanted to interrogate me about them for quite some time. They threatened to tear about the trailer, but never did. I entered through N. Idaho and drove through Banff/Jasper. It was gorgeous and well worth the drive.

Also, you may consider using Upack. I utilized their service when I moved from Alaska to Idaho, and then hauled everything back with a Uhaul.

We found the most cost-effective option to be a moving company that would take large items, guns, and taxidermy. The remaining question mark, for us, was the ferry.

To give you an idea, a uhaul was going to cost me ~$11k (not including a trailer to tow my wife’s car). After a few weeks of negotiation with the moving company, I’m nearly down to that number.

 

[hammy907]

We found the most cost-effective option to be a moving company that would take large items, guns, and taxidermy. The remaining question mark, for us, was the ferry.

To give you an idea, a uhaul was going to cost me ~$11k (not including a trailer to tow my wife’s car). After a few weeks of negotiation with the moving company, I’m nearly down to that number.

Sounds about right. Moving up here is quite the investment. You can also drive the vehicle to Tacoma and barge your vehicle to Anchorage. The timing of that is a little weird though. We barged my wife's car down to Tacoma, and we were there for a week or so before her car made it. In 2021 it was $1200 to ship her car Anchorage - Tacoma.

My dad actually barged his older rig from Anchorage to New Orleans for around $5k in 2020.

TOTE Alaska

www.totemaritime.com

 

[carsonkeys]

Sounds about right. Moving up here is quite the investment. You can also drive the vehicle to Tacoma and barge your vehicle to Anchorage. The timing of that is a little weird though. We barged my wife's car down to Tacoma, and we were there for a week or so before her car made it. In 2021 it was $1200 to ship her car Anchorage - Tacoma.

My dad actually barged his older rig from Anchorage to New Orleans for around $5k in 2020.

TOTE Alaska

www.totemaritime.com

Thank you for this. We’d rather drive together then caravan. However that is a want and not a need.

At that $1,200 (or anywhere around there) price, shipping her car is a real possibility. Much appreciated.

 

[carsonkeys]

$

Sounds about right. Moving up here is quite the investment. You can also drive the vehicle to Tacoma and barge your vehicle to Anchorage. The timing of that is a little weird though. We barged my wife's car down to Tacoma, and we were there for a week or so before her car made it. In 2021 it was $1200 to ship her car Anchorage - Tacoma.

My dad actually barged his older rig from Anchorage to New Orleans for around $5k in 2020.

TOTE Alaska

www.totemaritime.com

$2,905 from Tacoma to ANC this year.

 

[hammy907]

$

$2,905 from Tacoma to ANC this year.

Ouch! That is brutal

 

[Fatcamp]

Another vote for taking the ferry.

 

[Htm84]

Another idea that’s probably already been mentioned. Buy a trailer drive up with whatever fits. Ship anything that’s prohibited in Canada. Sell the trailer when you get here. You could probably sell the trailer for a profit. The roads through Canada aren’t nearly as bad as the roads in Alaska.

I must be in the minority because getting into Canada was a breeze. They gave me more shit trying to get back into the US with an apple.

 

[Marbles]

Another idea that’s probably already been mentioned. Buy a trailer drive up with whatever fits. Ship anything that’s prohibited in Canada. Sell the trailer when you get here. You could probably sell the trailer for a profit. The roads through Canada aren’t nearly as bad as the roads in Alaska.

I must be in the minority because getting into Canada was a breeze. They gave me more shit trying to get back into the US with an apple.

That lines up with my experience.

 

[Ishisube]

Pretty set on driving the Alaska Hwy as opposed to taking the ferry

You didn't ask, but having driven both the Alcan and Cassiar numerous times, I'd take a left at Prince George and go up the Cassiar. It's my favorite route unless I'm catching the ferry at Prince Rupert, another favorite of mine, especially because it takes you through all of southeast and you'll disembark at Haines for a wonderful drive up to Haines Junction and one of my favorite roads in the whole state.
Lots of improvements on the Haines Highway recently and the Cassiar, despite anything else you may have heard, is fully paved and a very nice drive. If you go through Haines, try make a stop at 33 Mile Roadhouse for a bite to eat before continuing the new few miles to the border.

 

[Ishisube]

Take the ferry and bring anything you want.

That's a reliable way to go, but pretty damn expensive. Regular vehicle with driver is about 2k from Bellingham to Haines, then there's the additional cross-gulf trip to pay for still. You're right though; if someone goes from Washington to south central, they can bring anything they want without having any border hassles.

 

[Ishisube]

I've read lots of stories about their border officers, they may be biased, but I would rather drive through the Mexican/US border multiple times rather than the Canadian/US.

Some of them are an absolute nightmare to deal with, then there's the ones who you wish were at every crossing. It's really a toss of the dice when it comes to both Canadian and U.S. customs with good and bad sprinkled all throughout.

 

[Ishisube]

There has been a lot of work done to the Alcan in the past few years and it's a pretty good hwy, usually better than the Cassiar route.

I still prefer the Cassiar, and if the Alcan is now in better shape then it's better than it was four yeas ago. Still, somehow I just love driving the Yellowhead and Cassiar highways. Do wish they'd put in a card reader at Destruction Bay though so that I could still buy gas at night.

 

[Mangata]

The drive requires crossing the Canadian border, no?

Yes, you cross into Canada when you exit Haines. I have made the Fairbanks to Haines trip twice to pick up boats that came up on the ferry. Both times the crossing at all border’s involved was very low key considering I had large shrink wrapped boats in tow. YMMV…

 

[Ishisube]

...hadn't considered an air compressor.

My favorite compressor is the DeWalt 20v that runs on the same batteries as their hand tools and it's great not having to worry about snaking the power cord from the lighter socket to each tire. Not very expensive, especially if you've got any DeWalt tools, and the other thing to have is an inexpensive puncture repair kit.

With both these tools I've done years and years of driving with very few flats, and you will too if you let the road dictate how fast you should drive. Most people that get lots of flats try to drive as fast as they can and the roadway punishes them for it.

You probably already knew, but Canada has been completely open again as of last fall.

 

[Ishisube]

The worst road, at least on the Canadian side, is the section from Haines Jct, YT to Beaver Creek. Or the North Klondike to Dawson City

Not only is it still the worst, it used to be even worse than that over towards Koidern, but all straightened out now.

 

[Ishisube]

One tip is they want an address where you'll be staying in Canada. Well we didn't have one and it caused a stir. Apparently just pick a place and put that address in. That's what the grouchy lady told us at the border.

I've had to go through that grief, and the rest of their 'we know you're a criminal' interrogation mentality. You're right though, look ahead and just tell them the names of some properly spaced motels along the way just to get them off that subject.

 

[Ishisube]

Update on this: according to the agent I talked to today, the ferry is not traveling to Whittier this year. The closest port is Haines -which takes the appeal of the ferry away entirely.

The ferry is a wonderful experience in itself and you've got the option of starting either from Bellingham, or starting up into Canada and boarding at Prince Rupert for a good view of southeast. I never get tired of that trip and Eldred Rock Lighthouse between Juneau and Haines is everyone's favorite.