Most people try to leave the workplace behind when they go on vacation. But Bill Rogers, owner of Wild Bill's RV Alaska, takes his with him.
Tips for RV camping in Alaska
• Alaska
highways have names as well as numbers. Also, watch for small signs with numbers along the roads -- these are "mileposts" that indicate mileage along the road.
• Be prepared. Major repair facilities for RVs are limited to Alaska's big cities -- Anchorage and Fairbanks. Some of the general items you should carry include spare tires, fan belts, a heater hose, electrical fuses, duct tape, extra oil, a tow strap or chain, a small water bucket and flares. Some repairs can be had in such RV-intensive towns as Delta Junction and Tok.
• Interested in travel by ferry? Be aware that reservations for RV space on the ferry system are usually required in advance of travel. If you are willing to travel counter-seasonally (like heading south in June or north in August), then you will find abundant space.
• Most dump stations located outside of the larger cities use a septic tank/drainage field system to dispose of waste. To prevent overloading these systems, please use the dump stations in larger communities that have sewage-treatment facilities. Facilities with dump stations may charge a user fee.
• To see a lot of wildlife, you will need to be up early in the morning or late at night. Watch the mountains for sheep and the valley meadows for moose.
(These tips are from the state of Alaska's "RV Tips: Trip Information Planning Booklet.")
(Hey, would you trust an RV salesman who didn't like to tool around in one himself?)
So when he and his wife decided on a family trip from Anchorage to Washington state last summer, of course they did it in their 37.5-foot motor home.
Rogers has long enjoyed RVing; he's even written poems about it. But during this excursion, even he was surprised at the magic the experience worked on his 14-year-old daughter, Tiana.
"It was our first really long trip," he said, and frankly, he'd expected her to pull the typical-teen act, plugged into headphones the whole way. Instead, Tiana -- unplugged -- enjoyed sitting in the passenger seat and was "just enthralled with what she was seeing," he said.
Four black bears. Mountain goats. Her first deer sighting (in Anchorage there are only moose). She even started a scrapbook of plants she'd never seen before. "We stopped every 10 miles literally just to smell the flowers."
"Watching her have fun was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had," Rogers said.
And though their wheels never left this continent, you wouldn't know it by the atlas of fellow travelers they discovered. "You get people from Germany, Britain and Asia that are out there RVing," Rogers said. "It was a worldwide experience, and all we did was travel from Anchorage down to the Seattle area."
Roughing it with amenities
"It really is a lifestyle," Rogers said. "It's a wonderful, wonderful escape, and it's a family activity. The best memories that children have will be out camping with their parents."
Of course, in the case of RVing, "camping" includes amenities such as a mattress, a full kitchen with a microwave and a bathroom with hot-and-cold running water. And the comforts are getting more comfortable every day, according to Rogers.
His 2000 Mountain Aire sported a ceramic tile floor and stackable washer/dryer. Central ducted air conditioning, sophisticated climate controls and a "slide" or room expansion that can add 40 extra square feet of living space when parked are among the more innovative features in new models.
Rentals may offer fewer of the latest innovations but they too are cushy and offer a retreat from the wild not afforded by a tent.
"It's a matter of respect for bears," says Rainer Leonhardt, of Alaska Panorama RV Rental Inc. "Also, tents are not mosquito-proof."
You can even rent a rig with a VCR and television, though Leonhardt's not sure why anyone without kids would want to.
International pastime
Leonhardt seconds Rogers' observation that RVing in Alaska is an international pastime. The company caters to a large European market, including many who come here exclusively to fish and others who are simply adventurers.
"If they could, they would drive up to Prudhoe Bay and Canada," Leonhardt said of the hardy Europeans who troop here.
Expect to pay between $150 and $170 per day for the typical motor home rental. Some balk at the price at first, says Gary Buretta, owner of Alutiiq RV Adventure, but the cost works out.
"Add up the expenses of a rental car, a hotel and eating out a minimum of your two dinners a day and you will easily exceed $200 a day," he says. In an RV, "You can make your own meals, you don't have to unpack and pack, and you can pull over anywhere you want and camp for an evening."
Your rate will vary depending on how large a vehicle you choose and what amenities you desire. Be sure to ask what the fee covers, counsel those in the know. Be sure you aren't comparing one company's stripped-down rate (linens and silverware extra) to another where the fee includes everything.
Camping in parks
One of the extras included at Alutiiq RV Adventure is an annual Alaska State Park camping pass, Buretta says. With it, travelers don't have to worry about paying daily $15 camping fees at state parks. On the other hand, one of the charms and conveniences of Alaska RVing is the availability of free roadside parking.
"The beauty up here is that you do not have to go to a campground as long as there are no signs saying 'Private Property' or 'No Trespassing,'" Leonhardt says.
Be careful that you are not blocking a private road or trail access, though.
Even in this land of almost unlimited parking, however, "RV parks do serve a purpose," says avid camper Shari MacGregor, who owns Sleeping Lady RV Park on the north side of Big Lake. When she's out on the road, she looks to state and private parks for their access to electric, sewer and water and a feeling of security.
"If you want to stay in a certain area for a while, it feels better to leave your motor home in a park, because there's always someone there."
For those who enjoy the camaraderie or other comforts of a campground, RV parks range from urban to riverside to oceanfront, with water, sewer and electric hookups. And several advertise computer modem-ready campgrounds.
State parks are inexpensive but don't offer reservations. You can reserve in advance at private parks, but should do so as soon as you can; the midsummer months especially (June through August) book quickly, and repeat customers often secure their places months in advance.
Where to go? Luda Walton, owner of Clippership Motorhome Rentals, has ready destination recommendations for her travelers: "If you like fishing, you definitely have to go to Homer. If you want to see glaciers, go to Seward. If you like to see wild animals, it probably will be Denali Park."
Buretta prefers to stay away from the more heavily trafficked areas; his favorite spot is in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park near Copper Center. But if you insist on Denali, he recommends the last week of May and first two weeks of June as the least-crowded summer visit times.
On your way home, if you find you just don't want to hang up those keys, you might stop in and visit someone like Rogers, who may have redefined the term traveling salesman.
He has sold rigs to vacationers hailing from as far away as Indiana, Florida and Texas -- "RVers are not as closely bound to their homes as everybody else," he says -- and invites the curious to drop in while they're up here. You may, he suggests, drive away with a new passion.
