thought exercise....

If you wanted to drive from the middle of the US to the northern most portion of Alaska that can be accessed by roads what would you build? No buying new allowed.

Me: 90 Suburban 1-T 4wd, transplant a LBY Duramax with allison trans, roof rack with lights, spare tire and fuel cans up top, 50 gallon fuel tank, 35" tires and the most comfortable buckets you can find. The rear section would be sleeping quarters for when there is no place to sleep, winch bumpers front and rear, brushguard up front and the entire truck stripped and soundproofed for sanity.

What's your thought?

Jeep Cherokee.

And I did exactly that. I also took a 36 foot motohome with me.

Well actually the motor home towed the Jeep, but you get the idea.

http://celebrating20.blogspot.com Champaign Il to Alaska (and the Arctic Circle in Canada)

Matanuska Glacier, Alaska:

I saved the article and don't know where it is. Some old dude had a Chevrolet crew cab + cap + camping trailer. He had all the trailer hubs changed to match the Chevrolet truck. All 8 wheels were steel wheels with matching tires. I thought that was pretty cool.

I just bought "The Milepost" book on Amazon and it has all the information on traveling to Alaska. I can spend hours traveling the map and making future plans. The only drawback is I need 4 weeks off work.

I would rock the Chevrolet pickup or Suburban.

The whole drive to alaska thing has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager.

my 4x4 astro

chevy parts are everywhere. i think you can even find small block parts in the woods.

Volvo 245 with a manual trans and a Detroit TrueTrac diff, light/brush bar up front (nothing stupid huge here, just something to mount some Hella's up high and with a little something leading to protect them) and BF Goodrich All-Terrain's. Maybe lift it an couple inches.

Honestly though I've crossed into the Artic Circle (just a couple miles though) in January in a Nissan Micra and aside from a fuel pump relay freezing up we had no problems, and that was a known fault with the car that should have been rectified before we even drove up there. We did have bladed roads to use, I don't know how far off the beaten path you plan on going but the Volvo should get you there from what you wrote.

Lancruiser, go for an 80 series 93-97, coil sprung suspension, straight six motor will last forever with proper care, plenty of room to sleep in the back

patgizz wrote: my 4x4 astro chevy parts are everywhere. i think you can even find small block parts growing on trees.

Fixed that for you.

Since I saw one today in the wild I have to say Unimog

I know it says drive, but if its Alaska, I'll take a true Alaskan truck: the Super Cub.

Buncha Costases. I'll take a KLR650.

alex wrote: I'll take a KLR650.

This was my first thought, then Jeep XJ. If I had to take three of my buds, or a double date, it would be a 'burb'.

84 4X4 1 ton dodge ram. 38 inch tires, cap on the back. lots of lights, good stereo, comfy bench seat. camping gear under the cap, and coffee on tap being warmed by the headers. (and i actually bought this truck from a guy that had driven it FROM the artic circle to SC when he was restationed by the air force. )

so, yeah, id drive it back. if i hadnt parted it out.

someday, though, im going up there. before the commies take over.

I'd probably do it on a dual-sport, or maybe an AMC Eagle with a FI 4.0 from a Cherokee.

Nowhere near the bragging rights of the guys from Car and Driver who did it in a vette, though:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/07q4/the_road_to_remorses_the_road_to_divorces-feature

I have a buddy who did it with his girlfriend on a pair of F650GS's. I mean, they didn't do it on the bikes, but they did travel together through Alaska to Barrow or whatever the hell it is up there on the north side. Long trip.

You're all pansies. I choose a 36hp VW bus.

Unimog with a camper body.

Or this:

EvanR wrote: You're all pansies. I choose a 36hp VW bus.

yup, I saw one that was way over loaded above the arctic circle

GAV: Grizzly Apocalypse Vehicle?

I'd love to do it in a replica of a Rothmans Porsche 911 rally car.

Oliver could do it

I'd take my E-150. It's been everywhere else, why not Alaska? I would fix the heated seat, though, or go in the summer.

Most likely a van by Advanced Four Wheel Drive Systems.

I dig how aggressive the Savanna's look, but I don't think you can get them with a diesel anymore. So I would go with an E250 with the Power Stroke.

I'd just take my subaru wagon on 26.5" all-terrains. It's pretty good offroad, and 30mpg would be nice when coving that many miles.

Might as well make a few bucks on the way