AK Flatbed: Flagstaff, Arizona, to the Arctic Ocean

Hi folks, we are working and playing our way from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyatuk in our Alaskan flatbed Camper. The first Alaskan flatbed built and the last tray XP Camper built. Follow along on Instagram at walkerab0ut ... the 0 is a zero.

Subscribed. Sweet looking dog!

PS. I sold the 2016 Ford 350. All was fine with the Ford for the AK camper, but we decided to go for a bit more room, for camera gear and dog and a smoother ride since we will be on 1000's of miles of dirt roads, including the road into our off grid cabin when we return. The 3500 crew cab Chevy, with the 7 foot flat bed is working great. A lot of locals up here have Chevys. Hmm.

We left Flagstaff June 15th and still travelling. We headed north on the Cassiar (awesome and not crowded), then Dempster to Tuk and now going south on the Robert Campbell. We are travelling slower than most, and on the roads less traveled, a lot of side wanders, and I can see how we could spend 5 months going north and south. Our 3 month plan may not be enough. Will keep posting when we can and till the end.

Congrats! Glad to hear your new ride is a winner! Sounds like you have enough time to be part of the landscape

[SIZE=14pt]Thanks for sharing our overland voyage! @walkerab0ut [/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]We are back in Flagstaff. Cut a wee bit short, but all is great when you have no expectations and the time to work and wander.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The trip to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT was a pleasure in so many ways. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=14pt]75 days and 10,500 miles. We had an unbelievable time watching incredible wildlife, meeting lovely people, and being bitten by large insects in the Far North.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Loved our rig, had no issues and for a fully loaded (11,000 GVW) gas 3500 truck, 12-16 mpg is not as bad, as I thought it may be.[/SIZE]

Looks like a comfy and capable rig! How do the Ford and GM trucks stack up against one another?
Where will the next adventure take you?

Yes the word is comfy for our Chevy. The Ford 350 was a fine capable truck mechanically and had 300 more pounds for payload. I don't like driving over the total allowable GVW, thus the reason for going 3500. The Ford was an extended cab and 8 inches shorter wheelbase, which was nice for turning in tight spaces. The Chevy 3500 is a crew cab, back seat made more room for our dog in a soft crate and camera gear. We also had the maxed out LTZ model, luxurious for us! We realized we were going to be living in the vehicle for months and the extras paid off. Leather was easier to clean compared to the cloth in the Ford.

All in all after driving both, they stack up evenly for the work(holding the weight, driving stable with no sway in huge winds, etc). Gas mileage similar. The trucks performed fine with out putting on any after market suspension.

The big difference was the ride on washboard roads, highway imperfections and rocky dirt roads. Chevy's front end was much more comfortable on the kidneys and spine, less jarring. The ride was one of the main reasons we switched and while were at it we went for a little more room and cab accessories. Chevy was a bit more pragmatic in their cab design with the options and features.

We did notice more Chevy/GMC's 2500 and 3500 trucks in the Yukon and Northwest Territory, much more than Ford or Dodge trucks. When we got back to Montana, WYO, the U.S. states we saw more Fords and Dodges on the road. I can only guess it is because most all the 1000's of kilometers of roads are dirt, ?? advertising in the U.S. ?? work tough trucks"?? cost??

I have driven all the top 3 brands of trucks(during my firefighting career). When driving 100 miles a day on dirt roads through the years they all would eventually break down mechanically and physically shake apart, even fall off the frame. In those conditions I would rank the longer lasting as; 1st Ford, 2nd Chevy, 3rd Dodge.

When it comes to a 1 ton or 3/4 ton truck for personal use I believe they all would do fine. Maintenance is the key and if comfy and capable is wanted and you aren't married to a brand, I would go GM. Most people don't drive that much dirt and rough roads daily for the year.

Not sure yet where the next long trip will be. So many choices. We definitely want to go back to more of the North. Maybe Yellowknife and boat up to find Narwhals and insects are frozen

Narwhals are awesome! A client had a 19th C sword from one and was cast in bronze what a beautiful object!!!

Thanx for the lowdown on your experience I would love to find my way to that part of the country sometime! Someone has to live the legend I’m glad it was you.

Thank you and fun adventure for all you wanderers.

I received a request to post the link of photos from our trip. An easier way for folks to (like my mom) that don't want an Instagram acct.

https://www.instagram.com/walkerab0ut/