roadtrip to Alaska in '97 xlt

I am considering something really crazy and that is to road trip to
Alaska from Georgia in my '97 xlt. Is this a death wish for my vehicle?
It is in good conidition with about 230k miles on it. Maybe Ford
would sponser this madness, probably not though.

Hell, I'd go for it. Have you ever been to Alaska? If not stop in Sitka,
beautiful town!

Searcher1

"fog-dog" > wrote in message
...
>I am considering something really crazy and that is to road trip to Alaska
>from Georgia in my '97 xlt. Is this a death wish for my vehicle? It is in
>good conidition with about 230k miles on it. Maybe Ford would sponser this
>madness, probably not though.

Do a VERY complete bumper to bumper inspection, what you will find is
that to get the vehicle in shape would cost about what the car is worth.
I have put more money into my XLT than it is worth, but that is because

a. no $500 truck payments
b. decreased insurance payments
c. no obsessions about people banging into a $35,000 truck

But in the course of the last two years, I have renewed everything but
the engine, and it passes compression tests. For a 13 year old SUV, it's
in great shape. But to take on Arctic conditions? No way.

fog-dog wrote:

> I am considering something really crazy and that is to road trip to
> Alaska from Georgia in my '97 xlt. Is this a death wish for my vehicle?
> It is in good conidition with about 230k miles on it. Maybe Ford would
> sponser this madness, probably not though.

I mapped it from Atlanta to Juneau. You have 3891.84 miles one-way. Do
you trust your truck to go another 8,000 miles trouble free? If you are
confident that it can, then why not? Highway miles are easy miles, and at
least half of the distance there will be relatively flat, depending on your
route. Take it easy along the way, enjoy the scenery, pay attention to the
regular and scheduled maintenance along the way, and you shouldn't have any
problems.
I drive old vehicles. I have all of my life. I have confidence in my
abilities and my vehicles. If you have doubts, don't leave home. If you
really want to make the trip, check the price of a rental. I'm not sure I'd
want to make the trip during the winter unless I was absolutely certain the
vehicle was top notch condition.

"fog-dog" > wrote in message
...
|I am considering something really crazy and that is to road trip to
| Alaska from Georgia in my '97 xlt. Is this a death wish for my vehicle?
| It is in good conidition with about 230k miles on it. Maybe Ford
| would sponser this madness, probably not though.

"fog-dog" > wrote...

>I am considering something really crazy and that is to road trip to Alaska
>from Georgia in my '97 xlt. Is this a death wish for my vehicle? It is in
>good conidition with about 230k miles on it. Maybe Ford would sponser this
>madness, probably not though.

I took my '96 xlt to AK in 98, 99, 00 and 02 from AZ complete with a
season's worth of PC, food, personal papers, clothes, uniforms (NPS),
camping gear, bicycle, etc. But then, mine had only around 100k miles then.
No problem with the Cassiar, Taylor/TopOfTheWord, Dempster and other
highways--just stay around 35 mph for much of the Dempster to keep from
flatting tires and watch out for oncoming 18-wheelers and their habit of
spraying rocks onto your windshield. My travels were also out of the
ordinary tourist seasons: north in April with snow on the AK Hwy a lot,
south in lateSep/Oct.

Check yours out beforehand, but go for it. Have a dip in Liard Hot Springs
and definitely try to alter your route south from what you took heading
north. Variety is the spice of life.

Klondike Craig

"Searcher" > wrote...

> Why 35 for flattening the tires, what is the cause?
>
> Searcher1

The Dempster Hwy, especially around Eagle Plains, I think, uses crushed
slate as a road surface. This surface is particularly good at piercing
tires. It's also a bit slipperier than gravel when wet. Still, the Dempster
has gotta be my favorite northern road.

Craig

Yikes, you are as crazy as I am. I crossed into MX with 125k on my old 88
F250, which I maintain well. No problems after 5k miles in MX. Getting
things fixed there is much worse than Alaska.

Now Alaska. Been there done that too in same F250. Lots of gravel roads. I
did it starting in late May-too early. Ran into lots of snow in N BC and
Yukon. Many long lonely stretches. Gas up each opportunity. But no bugs ie
mosquitos.

Bottom line. If you maintain your Xlt like I do I would do it. And, yes in
my 97 EB. Take money and warm clothes. Don't smack a moose-hard on front
end.
r/Jerry

"fog-dog" > wrote in message
...
>I am considering something really crazy and that is to road trip to Alaska
>from Georgia in my '97 xlt. Is this a death wish for my vehicle? It is in
>good conidition with about 230k miles on it. Maybe Ford would sponser this
>madness, probably not though.

Gerald Riggs wrote:
> Yikes, you are as crazy as I am. I crossed into MX with 125k on my old 88
> F250, which I maintain well. No problems after 5k miles in MX. Getting
> things fixed there is much worse than Alaska.
>
> Now Alaska. Been there done that too in same F250. Lots of gravel roads. I
> did it starting in late May-too early. Ran into lots of snow in N BC and
> Yukon. Many long lonely stretches. Gas up each opportunity. But no bugs ie
> mosquitos.
>
> Bottom line. If you maintain your Xlt like I do I would do it. And, yes in
> my 97 EB. Take money and warm clothes. Don't smack a moose-hard on front
> end.
> r/Jerry
>
> "fog-dog" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I am considering something really crazy and that is to road trip to Alaska
>
>>from Georgia in my '97 xlt. Is this a death wish for my vehicle? It is in
>
>>good conidition with about 230k miles on it. Maybe Ford would sponser this
>>madness, probably not though.
>
>
>
I am gonna wait till summer for this activity. I don't think the ole
mule could make it this time of year.