Truck prep for the Dempster Highway

[Hopeless Diamond]

While it is a remote and rough road, it is not uncharted territory. Having your vehicle prepared correctly is paramount but it is not necessary to have an extreme vehicle. Gravel roads will take their toll, and heavy truck traffic brings its own set of dangers. Being smart and prepared are the main things to consider.

The Alcan 5000 rally runs through out the entire region every other year, alternating between summer and winter. Lots of Subarus, Porsches, BMWs, etc run it The next one, winter 2020 up to Tuk, has a 66 Ford Cortina and VW GTI signed up. We're on the waiting list, #3 for now.

Tires and a mechanically sound vehicle and you should be good

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[J!m]

Re the mud flaps- just be sure they are durable and offer good coverage for the tires you run. Often stock ones are stiff plastic and too small.

 

[dnorrell]

RE mud flaps: I added Mopar splash guards (that's what they seem like, anyway, but maybe they call them mud flaps) on our PW when we bought it in 2016 and promptly added a set of these front and back: Plasticolor flaps on Amazon. I cut off the top and bolted them to the bottom of the splash guards to extend the length with some stainless hardware and a bit of black silicon to seal the seam between the two. They have worked brilliantly for 70k+ miles and don't look half bad. The difference between the stock splash guards on the PW and my extended version was night-and-day on gravel roads. Prior to adding the extension, the rocker panels would get absolutely peppered with gravel. No Dempster under our belts yet, but I wouldn't have any hesitation with this flap setup and the extension is still nice and bendy for most any obstacle they may come in contact with (within reason, of course). Hope this helps...

Before flap extension (Mopar splash guards):



Flaps after extension:

 

[73datsun]

Being from Minnesota I am well acquainted with Calcium Chloride; we like are roads well seasoned.

From MN as well. It’s a fun drive. Post your route and I can give you some must sees.

I was on a motorcycle, so slippery may have felt different to me. Probably closest to frozen lake. Fish tailing, fighting ruts, occasionally you’d encounter a random deep pit that would almost stop me in my track and send me over the bars.

 

[mep1811]

My wife and I drove to Tuk on our way back home from our three month trip To Alaska.

The Dempster is a superhighway compared to the Dalton. Everyone had good advice. Definitely slowing down and pulling over when big rigs are approaching helps on getting pelted with rocks. We made it home with a couple of rock chips after 13 thousand miles and a trip to Deadhorse and Tok. The provincial campground in town is nice , much nicer than the one just outside of town.

There is a liquor store in Inuvick if you need to resupply.

The Inuvick visitors center is a wealth of information and be sure to get your Certificate of Arctic Circle Chapter Order of Adventurers while there.

The visitors center at Tombstone is also a must with a another informative visitors center.

We camped at Eagle Plains, ate dinner and repaired to the bar and had a nice chat with the bartender from the Czech Republic.

I had two spares for the Land Cruiser and the trailer, extra belts, hoses, wiper blades, washer fluid. We carried our water in water tanks so we don't use bottled water. There is a fairly well stocked grocery store in Inuvick if you need supplies.

We did not drive very fast and were rewarded with sightings of Mountain Goats, Moose and Dall Sheep.

We spent four nights on the Dempster. Eagle Plains, Inuvick, day trip to Tuk, Inuvick , Eagle Plains . The day we went to Tok was a cold dreary windy rainy day so we decided not to stay.

In Tuk, be sure to get your " I made it to Tuk " sticker or you were never there.

In Ft Mc Pherson stop at Ft McPherson Tent and Canvas . They make bags and backpacks arctic use tents . . We picked of a couple organizer bags and zippered tote bags to use a laundry bags. https://www.fortmcphersontent.com/

Have a great trip.

 

[ulyist]

Depending on timelines and route plans I’d recommend using highway 40 (aka the forestry trunk road) from Coleman to Nordegg as opposed to the usual south east to north west highways. Or even all the way up to Grand Prairie if you are wanting to skip the national parks. Of course Banff and Jasper are 100% worth it but sometimes feel a bit Yellowstone busy. Just it’s such a shame most people drive Hwy 1/ hwy 2/ hwy 16/ hwy 43 and miss all the scenery in alberta. Similarly to using the interstates in the US.

 

[Explorerinil]

My wife and I drove to Tuk on our way back home from our three month trip To Alaska.

The Dempster is a superhighway compared to the Dalton. Everyone had good advice. Definitely slowing down and pulling over when big rigs are approaching helps on getting pelted with rocks. We made it home with a couple of rock chips after 13 thousand miles and a trip to Deadhorse and Tok. The provincial campground in town is nice , much nicer than the one just outside of town.

There is a liquor store in Inuvick if you need to resupply.

The Inuvick visitors center is a wealth of information and be sure to get your Certificate of Arctic Circle Chapter Order of Adventurers while there.

The visitors center at Tombstone is also a must with a another informative visitors center.

We camped at Eagle Plains, ate dinner and repaired to the bar and had a nice chat with the bartender from the Czech Republic.

I had two spares for the Land Cruiser and the trailer, extra belts, hoses, wiper blades, washer fluid. We carried our water in water tanks so we don't use bottled water. There is a fairly well stocked grocery store in Inuvick if you need supplies.

We did not drive very fast and were rewarded with sightings of Mountain Goats, Moose and Dall Sheep.

We spent four nights on the Dempster. Eagle Plains, Inuvick, day trip to Tuk, Inuvick , Eagle Plains . The day we went to Tok was a cold dreary windy rainy day so we decided not to stay.

In Tuk, be sure to get your " I made it to Tuk " sticker or you were never there.

In Ft Mc Pherson stop at Ft McPherson Tent and Canvas . They make bags and backpacks arctic use tents . . We picked of a couple organizer bags and zippered tote bags to use a laundry bags. https://www.fortmcphersontent.com/

Have a great trip.
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Please post more pics of that rig! I love that setup!

 

[mep1811]

Please post more pics of that rig! I love that setup!

Thanks Here is a link to an article in TCT magazine on our drive to Deadhorse .

https://badlandsexpeditions.wordpress.com/2018/12/22/my-latest-article-in-tct-magazine/

 

[NMBruce]

For my trip up this past July, I put on new Cooper STMaxx tires, changed fluids and a thorough check over of the vehicle , made extra large mud flaps to protect the trailer, took two spare tires because the trailer used the same size, 15 gals of extra fuel, 10 gals of water and had a blast. Plan is to go again in 4 year.

 

[Dances with Wolves]

RE mud flaps: I added Mopar splash guards (that's what they seem like, anyway, but maybe they call them mud flaps) on our PW when we bought it in 2016 and promptly added a set of these front and back: Plasticolor flaps on Amazon. I cut off the top and bolted them to the bottom of the splash guards to extend the length with some stainless hardware and a bit of black silicon to seal the seam between the two. They have worked brilliantly for 70k+ miles and don't look half bad. The difference between the stock splash guards on the PW and my extended version was night-and-day on gravel roads. Prior to adding the extension, the rocker panels would get absolutely peppered with gravel. No Dempster under our belts yet, but I wouldn't have any hesitation with this flap setup and the extension is still nice and bendy for most any obstacle they may come in contact with (within reason, of course). Hope this helps...

I'm glad you posted pics of the extensions. I've had this idea for awhile. The tacoma flaps are hard plastic and way too long. I cut them down as soon as i purchased the truck. They were fine until I lifted it. I was going to purchase softer flaps but then had the bright idea of attaching an extension to my cut down stockers. Thanks for the pics!!!!

 

[JMacs]

Many moons ago (1990), a friend and I drove from Iowa to Anchorage / Coldfoot and back in an '84 Celica. We made one of our rear tires look like that too. It ain't hard. At the Anchorage tire shop, they first looked at us like a couple of idiots for letting our tire get destroyed like that. Then we told them we drove the Dalton Highway to Coldfoot. That was a perfectly acceptable excuse for them.

I agree with getting the Milepost.

Good luck and enjoy the drive.

 

[JaSAn]

Thanks again for the replies. Just got my 2018 Milepost so I will be starting to map out my trip.

Has anyone used any of the clinging film to protect your headlights and/or running lights? Or what did you use?
Has anyone used any film to protect windshield? How does that work with windshield wipers?

2nd spare tire is being considered, trying to figure out how to carry it.
Will be adding big mud flaps.

 

[JasmineHart]

Ok, answers are really great, so I will just ask some more questions. Do you guys know what are the requirements for a car ride now? Any covid-related requirements?Of course, besides tests and entry regulations, are there any OMS instructions relating car trips (like idk to have some oxygen balloon). I would appreciate your answers. Relating the question, I`d repeat about the importance of having high-quality mudflaps!! (you don`t want to repeat by sad story ). And always have a tank fuel. Two recommendations from my past road trips which almost ended very sadly (thx god there are always great people to help you).

 

[Superduty]

I am curious. There is always lots of talk about bringing multiple spare tires. For those that have done this drive using an off road tire like a BFG All Terrain or Mud Terrain or one of the many other All Terrain or MT tires how did you fare? The tire in post 7 above looks to be a BFG Rugged Trail tire, which I would put in a different category. My experience with modern day ATs and MTs (not all season) is that absent a driver error or a freak incident they will hold up to most anything you can throw at it.

 

[ytadvexp]

At the moment, u can only travel as far as the nwt border IF the yukon lets u in. The road is in fair shape, and as long as ur tires are in very good shape, and pack a decent spare or 2, u will be fine. Gas and diesel are available at the dempster crnr, as long as u have a credit card. Next gas stop is eagle plains podge, 370 km's up the road. Watch for semi-truks, this is not just a suggestion. If its dry and dusty, they will leave a dust cloud kilometers long. If its rainy, the road turns into grease. TAKE UR TIME! This is not a road to speed on!