I am a new TD owner in GA and hoping to have a lot of fun experiences with it very soon. There is a lot of assistance I will need from you professionals, and I will repay you in good karma, not my dog(her name is Karma), and plenty of pics of my trip
Here is my introduction and info about my plans. Sorry if some info isn't relevant. I had to copy/paste/quick edit so I can run out to try to get my passport before trying to go skydiving before I have class later.
Onto my introduction. I am a 26 year old senior engineering student and Air Force ROTC cadet. Just like many of us, I have dreamed of an Alaskan adventure since I was a wee little lad. My best friend and I even "ran away" to Alaska when we were really young, but we didn't make it more than a few miles from the house before we reached a very steep hill to climb. Since we were drastically over packed, ill prepared, and ad just stumbled down a steep hill dropping supplies the whole way, we decided to cancel our plans for leather tramping to Alaska. Luckily we got our wits about ourselves, and we weren't abducted into the young boy sex trade, because we were very ill prepared loaded with with pans, canned food, spray paint, snorkel and goggles, and other random crap we wouldn't need. Well, like most of my friends he married, procreated, and settled down. From past experiences growing up, I am a very independent and introverted individual. I find my pleasures not in attending parties, clubs, and such, but rather immersed in the wild, playing with my dogs, or deep in thought as I work on my many projects(Mazda RX7, rebuilding mountain bikes, etc.). Well, that little boy still thrives inside of me, grows like a raging fire, and is evident in many aspects of my life. So, inherently the desire to venture to Alaska has been growing ever stronger over the years and thus results in my current plans.
Last Summer I completed Field Training, a major stepping stone in my Air Force ROTC career, and I have been completed dedicated to school and ROTC since I started. This has resulted in a lot of sacrifices over the years. So, to reward myself I decided last October to plan to take an adventure out west during Summer 2013. It's the only Summer where i have no obligation to the Air Force, since I could be called to active duty immediately following graduation/commissioning Spring 2014. So it had to be this Summer and I had to finally let myself live. Alaska was my first choice, but after doing lots of research I determined it wasn't logical, mainly due to apprehension for such an endeavor, so I turned to the Midwest (CO/UT/WY). I initially wanted to hike the whole CO Trail, but determined it wasn't feasible with my pups, and not bringing them isn't an option. So, after months of general research I didn't have a solid plan, but knew I wanted to just spend as much time in the backcountry as possible, an opportunity presented itself. I am a skydiver, human flight is a huge passion of mine, and a fellow local jumper invited me to a temporary dropzone, where you jump from, they are opening in Fairbanks for two weeks in July. It just seemed something is trying to tell me that my Alaskan adventure needs to happen, to overcome the fear, don't "settle" for an easier endeavor, and the time to live is now! So after hours and hours of research I have determined to make the drive from Atlanta to Fairbanks Summer 2013. I have been compiling folders on my computer with places to see, separated my continent, so I feel this opportunity presents itself with the capability of knocking off a few places in North America, but I will get into more details on that later.
I know this will be a huge challenge, but also an adventure of a lifetime. Me being me, I try to plan as much as possible and plan as preemptively as possible. I don't want this to be a overly planned trip. I want to take the adventure as it comes. That kind of presents a some slight issues, but it'll all work itself out in the end. Instead of making the long drive there, spending a week or so there, and driving back, I want the drive to be part of the adventure and am allotting the whole/majority of the Summer to the trip. I am toying with the idea of finding a job in Fairbanks to keep be from digging too far into my savings for the trip, but I refuse to let that hinder this once in a lifetime opportunity. I have been extremely responsible with money my whole life so I am willing to be a lax for the first time for this. That being said, being completely self sufficient and on my own for so long I am inherently really frugal and expense conscious, so expenses will be strongly considered at all times.
Ok, onto the important details.
Vehicle:
1997 Toyota Rav4 AWD Automatic with 114K miles
- Trailer weight capacity of 1,500 lb, but hope to stay below 1,000 lb
- During the coming weeks I plan to do: a timing belt/water pump swap, coolant system flush, brake fluid flush, rear brake over haul, and install a transmission cooler.
Crew mates:
Me - Sir Capitan, driver, and experience inducer
Karma(smaller female and dedicated squirrel chases) and Apollo (dedicated attention absorber and optional copilot)
I spent ENDLESS amounts of hours researching, and searching all over CL, forums, etc., for campers. Then I decided a hard-sided camper would be better for the dogs, which is the whole reason I am getting a camper in the first place. If I were going solo, I would utilize my tent and hammock only. A good looking deal popped up on a TD locally, so I contacted the seller and we set up a date for me to check it out. This was my first experience with a TD by the way. I got there and did what I do, inspected it like crazy and asked a million questions. It looked good, was at a decent price, and the seller/builder was an awesome, and very honest, guy. Since he didn't need the money, but would rather see it go to a good home, he even offered me a very generous deal on the TD and 2-3 weeks to research and see if it would work for me, but I have to send him a pic of the TD in AK. Needless to say, I spent a week researching, and realized I was wasting time and just needed to pick it up, so I did last Sunday.
Here is the dog house on wheels:
I will be taking all of my hiking gear(tent, bag, stove, water filtration, etc.) as I plan to do some backcountry hiking during the trip. So all of this can be utilized for day-to-day activities as well. For food I plan to take a lot of musli/granola I make now, other dried foods, and as much fruit/veggies as I can accommodate. I will also be bringing enough dog food and treats to last the duration of the trip. I don't want to have to swap my dogs to random food during the trip and upset their stomachs.
There is still a lot of preparation I have to do. Here is a small list:
Get passport
Determine / purchase a good GPS
Route / Campsites for GA to AK (return trip will be planned in AK)
Acquire lots of remaining needed gear
TD specific prep:
Axle swap / brake installation / wheel and tire upgrade
Acquire and install vent fan
Enclose / vent battery
Fix door
Secure A/C unit
Replace lights / bulbs with LEDs
Design / Purchase / Install tounge box
Design, or buy, some form of TD tent
Design and install puppy run system
Solar panel install (maybe)
Whelp, that's the gist of it. I plan to make a blog since numerous sources want to follow the trip.
