Whaddaya think? Snow?

[crazybill]

OK Alaskan owners.
One of the reasons I am looking for an Alaskan, apart from the pop up configuration, is it's usability in harsh weather, Specifically snow.
I don't mean at a snow park, I mean in the boondocks, in a snow storm. It seems to me that the Alaskan is perfect for this, rounded roof, hard sides, very stout lifting system etc.
Have any of you Alaskan owners experienced this, and what pointers can you offer?
I hunger for the desert in a snow storm.
-Bill-

 

[PackRat]

You are going to get many opinions here, even though this is the AK forum, the soft-sided camper owners probably read it as well. Hard sides are generally warmer than a soft side but a heater can alleviate some of that. Insulation is a key element here so an older camper of either type with less efficient insulation will be colder or need a heater more than one that is well insulated.

The snowstorm issue is two-fold though; if it snows enough your truck isn't going to go anywhere anyway so you have to decide when to leave an area when the weather report calls for blizzard conditions. If your question is about how much snow can the roof of either type safely support, I think if you have the top UP on either type and you have a few feet of WET and heavy snow on the roof it is not a good thing. Raising the top with that much snow on it probably isn't a good idea either but you should remove a heavy snowfall prior to raising the top anyway. The thing is...if you are in that much snow, traipsing around outside will be very difficult and even moving the truck may become impossible even for a 4x4.

I think the soft sides have solved the air leakage problem but an AK with new Pirelli seals should keep the worst of the cold out anyway. The problem of condensation is an issue here as well. You will want to vent your camper when cooking or running a heater or perhaps the fridge propane unit anyway so some air exchange is needed anyway.

The WTW has proponents of both the AK hard sided units and the soft sided units and they all have their reasons for favoring them. It would be a good idea to read the forums for each type to see what problems/solutions the members have run across and see if those discoveries influence your decision more.

Me, I'm prejudiced toward an AK....I had an old slide in hard side/no raise/cab high unit which was kinda cool, then an 8' NCO AK. The AK on its first trip endured one of those Memorial Day night time downpours that drove out nearly all the tent campers there. The next trip up near Yosemite with the wife we found off site camping spot late one evening and I got out in another rainstorm and raised the top and we both snuggled in that first trip together happy to be off the ground and not subject to any drips or leaks. That put an end to any kind of tent camping for us.

 

[crazybill]

PackRat, thanks for your response. You are right in many respects.
My truck is a 96 Dodge dually 4X4 which sits pretty high although it is stock. My current camper is a Hallmark popup with canvas/vinyl sides. It is a pain to have to go around tucking everything in while lowering the top. Lower it a bit, tuck, lower, tuck, it is a real pain even in the best of weather. Winter requires additional insulation on the inside which adds to the steps for setup/teardown. Rain adds to the misery.
I have also had a standard hard side camper but they get real "tippy" off road.
I love the lower center of gravity with a pop up and the lower wind resistance is a bonus.
Back to the issue of snow......
I would never raise any pop up with a snow load on the roof. But the issue comes with lowering the roof with snow on top. I feel that the Alaskan lift system is just a stronger design. Lowering it controllably with a load on the roof would be a lot easier with the hydraulics than it would be with the scissor lift in my Hallmark. Not having an Alaskan I can only go by observation but it just looks like a stronger system. In my Hallmark I would have to pop in the hinged rear bulkhead then race to the crank and hope for the best.
The issues of condensation and "getting around" rely more on my own ability and vehicle than which camper I have.
My plan is to travel into the desert and get set up ahead of a forecast snow storm and just ride it out. Snow fall rarely exceeds 10 inches or so but I kinda lack the faith in the Hallmark with it's thin uninsulated walls, flat roof and manual scissor lift. Since I am usually solo, faith in my equipment is important.
How well are the Alaskans insulated? Would I be able to access the limited water system that an Alaskan has to insulate it better? Do the fold out panels of a cabover model have a history of sealing well or do they tend to leak?
Sorry if I seem to meander a bit. The issues are hard to explain.
-Bill-

 

[enelson]

Bill, we went from a Hallmark to a new Alaskan for some of the same reasons you describe. For us, primarily it was to be more comfortable doing camping for ski weekends in Colorado. We found the soft wall on the Hallmark insulation very poor and the thermal conduction created a draft inside the camper. The Alaskan is much better but is still a ways away from an ideal ski camper. We optioned our Alaskan with double pane windows which work well and makes it much quieter too. We have a non cab-over and I'm not a fan of the way Alaskan builds their cab-over, but I don't want to delve into that topic. Our Alaskan is configured similar to the Alaskan Mini but is an 8' unit, so just have two small bunks/benches, one on each side. When it's really cold, we lower the top just before going to bed and it's very well insulated with the top down! We have a Plat Cat heater instead of the forced air furnace which allows us to run the heater with the top down.

 

[PackRat]

The on-board water tank in my old NCO was located right behind the front wall of the AK in a pocket. It should be OK and not freeze if you are regularly in the AK and warming it up. I suppose if it was parked in sub-zero temps for any length of time it too would freeze solid just as any camper might do. Our routine up in the Sierras where it was about the mid-high 30s at night was simply to open the windows and let the heat IN during the day and then close 'er up when the sun went down to hold the heat. Before going to sleep each night I made the coffee in my drip pot and then when I awoke I only had to light the fire under it and by the time it was ready to go, any chill in the AK was gone. That was about 10 minutes! We slept with the roof vent cracked open a hair for circulation and to avoid condensation.

Look at it this way; if you've survived in a soft side in bad weather you will be cozier in an AK as long as the Pirelli seals are good. Aks have their own problems, mainly with having to replace the old material at the front/rear and drip aluminum screws due to leaking water that ruins the interior paneling and even worse, the wooden framing if left too long.

next time you are out camping look around for an AK. Most owners are proud of the cool rig they have and will be happy to discuss it and perhaps show you around it and how they set it up.

You've got "enough truck" so now all you need to do is to decide if an NCO or a CO suits you and if an 8' or 10' will do and if a front dinette & bed vs. side dinette and bed. I believe a propane/110 volt fridge is a necessity for trips longer than a weekend, an oven vs just a 3-burner stove and those are some of the basic options. Based on the Hallmark you probably have answered those questions for yourself already.

Good Luck!

 

[crazybill]

Thank you guys for taking the time to answer. I got a few good points from what you had to say. PackRat, your coffee solution was one that hadn't occured to me. I currently heat water and have instant. Starbucks Via is very good for instant coffee but it's still instant coffee. I'm going to try your method.
I have owned every standard RV possible, trailers, campers, etc. We moved from the hard sided Lance to a class A Safari Trek motor home. But we are boondockers at heart and the motor home just doesn't lend itself to that. I got the Hallmark out of desperation for my desert trips. Our plan is to sell the Trek and Hallmark and get the best Alaskan we can then afford, New will still be out of reach but we should be able to get a pretty good used one. (when we can find it) They aren't exactly plentiful but that just shows how much their owners like them.
PackRat and enelson both gave me things to consider and I thank you again for thoughtful answers.
-Bill-

 

[enelson]

Our Alaskan wouldn't have any trouble with the fresh water tank freezing if the interior was kept reasonably warm. One thing the Alaskan doesn't have that the Hallmark does is bypass valves to winterize the water tank while still able to use the water system. Overall the water system installation in our 2016 Alaskan is not as good as our 2014 Hallmark was.

 

[flyboykev]

all
I have a 95 10' CO, do you know if the roof is a one piece or seamed sections?
thanks