Overland Trip to Alaska - Follow For Updates

[K-Tall]

Its going to be a great trip looking forward to following along.
Thoughts on Inverter+battery storage? Similar to this Will Prowse build.
Cons: More $
Pros: Simple, 240v, charge with generator, solar, charge in CT bed w/240v while supercharging, very expandable. 5 versions varrying in power and weather resistance.

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[Doberbane]

This is something I would love to do one day. But with family, life, and work it will probably be years away. By the time I make it work there might be way more chargers for me to use lol.

 

[Kryptek]

Cooking from a 20 lb bottle. Charging from a 30 lb bottle. Although there are plenty of CCS and J1772 chargers available on the trip, there will be times when a charger is out of service or being used by another EV. That's when having a generator, even supplying only 24A (2880W), is nice to have.

Just a heads up, there are several chargers in alaska that have the ability to fit inside the cybertruck with adapters, but they still will not charge no matter what we do. They are the EvGateway chargers. Only FLO and SC works with the CT up here!

So around Denali park only the Cantwell FLO and in Fbx FLO at GVEA.

 

[Sousray]

When you get to fairbanks hollar at me, we can go out for dinner if you'd like. Ive had mine up here since December and there is only 1 other owner in Fairbanks.

Id love to hear about your charging solutions, ive seen your threads but its too much for my simple mind haha. I like how you got camping, solar and propane charging figured out. Goodluck! The views will be amazing so jealous! Hopefully we are not a smoke filled state from wild fires when you arrive. Either way we will be cruising around using our hepa filters breathing good!

My wife and I were just in Fairbanks for a week watching the Arora. snowed while I was there, but got 4 good nights out of 6. spectacular views. I would have meet up with you if I knew. Pike's lodge said there were 2 in Fairbanks.

 

[igoreka]

Amazing. Post pics!

 

[Gigahorse]

Following. Excited to see updates

 

[jf64k]

This will be a great thread!! Thanks for letting us tag along @Cybergirl !!

 

[BrockN]

I suspect you'll find the roads are much better than you expect. Other than the Dempster and maybe Alaskan routes (I know nothing about the Alaskan roads), it's going to be mostly asphalt, but I expect you've already figured that out. Gone are the days of driving with gravel screens on the front of your vehicle just to get to Whitehorse!

The frost coming out of the road base will likely be the biggest issue, if the maintenance crews haven't smoothed those areas over yet.

My neighbors did the Dempster a year or two back and reported it to be not very challenging at all. Even their windshield survived...(!)

Be prepared for some frustration with the BC Hydro charge stations. I've had hit and miss luck with my CCS adapter and their tech support had no idea what the issue was. Often just plugging into the unit adjacent would be successful. But overall, the Hydro sites are the most reliable I've come across (other than Tesla!).

Hopefully you will post some photos of your trip AND keep us up to speed on your experiences with the various charge locations. It should be a great trip. I know, based on the number of RVs that go through my area with American plates attached, Alaska is is a Mecca-like pilgrimage for many...

 

[Gene]

My favorite areas on these trips has been northern BC, Yukon (especially Dawson City) and NWT (especially the Dempster). Alaska can seem over crowded after the Yukon and NWT. Good things that Alaska has going for it is Eagle which is where I was married on the banks of the Yukon River, and Denali NP. I have traveled all over these areas and yet the best viewing for grizzlies and wolves has been at Denali. I guess I should be kinder to Alaska, the scenery is spectacular, it just loses its feel of adventure compared to the Canadian provinces. For me, I always take the Cassiar rather then the highly developed Alaskan Hwy.

 

[TexasRaider]

Looking forward to driving my CT around Alaska one of these days. So many features that will be beneficial up there.

 

[Urander]

Alaskan Cybertruck spotted in Cali?

 

[Cybergirl]

We've set off on our epic adventure to Alaska in our Cybertruck AWD. Our first stop was Zion National Park, Utah. It was basically a drive-thru experience for use. Beautiful rock cliffs surrounding the paved road from the west entrance to the east. We camped north of the park on BLM land off Hwy 9.

 

[65SoYoLO]

UTAH is unreal! I went through there in a motorcycle and almost crashed many times from staring at the scenery! It is like another planet.

 

[RM Rilke]

I wish I had known. I have a house right by ZNP. Could have brought by a cold beer or two. Exited about the trip updates. Plan to do it myself. Love your setup.

 

[Cybergirl]

I’m disappointed to say that we cut our Alaska trip short. Traveling to Alaska in an all-electric vehicle, and especially driving a single Cybertruck in the month of May, was challenging for us. Despite our decision to abort the trip just north of Banff, BC, I think the attempt was valuable for the lessons learned.

To be clear, we could easily have gone on to Prince George, BC making use of Tesla Superchargers present in the southern half of British Columbia, but the discovery that we couldn’t charge our Cybertruck at BC Hydro and Flo DCFC CCS1 charging stations using the Hansshow CCS1/J1772 combo to NACS adapter meant having to replan the trip making use of Level 1 and Level 2 charging methods which was not practical from a time and risk standpoint.

Another factor is our decision to not continue was the weather. It was cold, and only getting colder traveling further north. For someone acclimated to Arizona climate and who is not used to temperatures in the 30s and 40s combined with predominantly cloudy skies and intermittent rain, I struggled to overcome mild hypothermia. I underestimated the effect that cold weather would have on us. We purchased gloves, stocking caps, and some good rainwear which helped marginally. Thermal underwear is definitely on my list of clothing to bring on our next spring or fall camping trip.

It was smart to take along two electric blankets because one failed early on. Sleeping in the rooftop tent worked out well with a functioning electric blanket, but CO2 levels rose to headache levels if the windows were not opened widely for good ventilation. Insects were not a problem at all this time of year, one positive that we much appreciated.

Another factor in our decision to head for home in Illinois was that the battery of our Tesla Model Y which was garaged over the winter in Illinois, was losing charge. The Universal Wall Charger faulted, and for some reason, Sentry Mode kept turning on and draining the battery at a rapid rate. The battery was at 20% SoC when I checked, and I was afraid the battery could be permanently damaged if allowed to fully discharge. Later, I learned why Sentry Mode kept turning on after I’d turn it off with the Tesla app. I had “Exclude Home” checked for Sentry Mode. I later changed home to be my Arizona address, so the Model Y in Illinois thought it was no longer at home so it turned on Sentry Mode.

I want to try again to make the trip to Alaska, maybe late this summer, but only if I can figure out why I couldn’t charge at the BC Hydro and Flo fast chargers. Was my choice of an adapter (Hansshow) the reason I couldn’t connect to these chargers? Would the A2Z adapter have worked? The Flo Combo connector doesn’t fit all the way into the Hansshow adapter which has the same latch opening shape as the A2Z adapter. There are no BC Hydro or Flo chargers within reasonable driving distance from me to test other manufacturers’ adapters.

Alternatively, I could plan around using Level 2 charging available at electrified campgrounds, and allocate more time to cover the long travel distances in northern BC and Yukon. I have to also consider the reduced range of my Cybertruck equipped with the Urander bed rack and Inspired Overland rooftop tent, and weighing 8400 lbs when fully loaded. I was getting 1.5 to 2 miles per kWh depending on road and weather conditions. Reduced range means more hours of charging between stops. I don’t remember having to wait more than 30 minutes between stops at Tesla 250kW Superchargers. Having to take 6 to 12 hours to charge borders on the absurd.

On the positive side, traveling through the mountainous regions of BC was a total delight. FSD handled all the driving beautifully allowing time to take in the majesty of the surrounding wilderness. That is, after all, the reward for the time and expense of taking an overland adventure to Alaska.

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