Moving To Alaska (1 Viewer)

[VermontLC100]

Hey All

Some of you may remember me from other posts. I was gifted a 2000 100 series and planned on driving it back from Fairbanks to Vermont. I completed that journey and have decided to make probably the biggest decision in my life so far. I will be continuing to post here more frequently.

Well, I’m off to Alaska. Drove my rig from Fairbanks to Vermont in July and decided I wanted to move out there the day I got back.
Been getting her ready for the last couple months. Had almost $10,000 worth of work done since august. It’s not a perfect truck but I love it to death. 158,000 on the clock and ready to put 158k more.

Here’s my build- took out the rear seats for more room, put a sleeping platform for one with a simple slide out bin under it for my clothing. Another bin on the right side with all my belongings in it and in front of it is another slide out bin with more clothing and jackets. Cooler, water and food are up front behind the passenger seat. Then my Yakima Spacecase on top has skis, a storage bin, camping chair and a jerry can. It can fit much more stuff but that’s all I really needed up there.

Goodbye Vermont! If there’s anytime to do something as crazy as this it’s now, just graduated high school this year and there’s nothing tying me down.

 

[VermontLC100]

photos

 

[whitec13]

Can’t help but feel like this is a poetic ending to a movie. God speed and good luck in the great north!

 

[Ayune]

Have a great trip! 158k + 158k miles won’t even get you to where my rig is at, plan on having yours for a loooong time.

 

[VermontLC100]

Have a great trip! 158k + 158k miles won’t even get you to where my rig is at, plan on having yours for a loooong time.

Wow! Good to know. I’m planning on keeping this rig for the rest of my life.

 

[Tower1]

Yes God Speed life is a journey and yours has just begun

 

[dubdub20003]

A. Love crazy Ideas. Now is the time to make them.

B. Didn’t everyone on here advise you to just drive the wheels off it and not put a ton of $ into it since the rust was so bad?!?!?! Another good lesson to learn young… don’t fall in love with the wrong girl/boy! Good luck!

No matter what happens, you’ll have stories forever… unless you get attacked by a bear and die. That happens up there. Learn about bears!

 

[VermontLC100]

Have a great trip! 158k + 158k miles won’t even get you to where my rig is at, plan on having yours for a loooong ti

Can’t help but feel like this is a poetic ending to a movie. God speed and good luck in the great north!

A. Love crazy Ideas. Now is the time to make them.

B. Didn’t everyone on here advise you to just drive the wheels off it and not put a ton of $ into it since the rust was so bad?!?!?! Another good lesson to learn young… don’t fall in love with the wrong girl/boy! Good luck!

No matter what happens, you’ll have stories forever… unless you get attacked by a bear and die. That happens up there. Learn about bears!

Yes, everyone advised against me putting money into the truck. It was in much better shape in regards to rust than I thought. Frame is solid. It’s in great shape for its age and abuse. After the work I’ve done to it it’ll be good for years to come. I’m fine dumping money into it because I know I’ll never sell it and I’ll be driving this for decades to come.

 

[jLB]

From the pictures of the “free hanging” license plate lights, I’d be keeping an eye out for a rear (upper) hatch (in a matching color), but I don’t know what the rest of the body looks like.

 

[VermontLC100]

From the pictures of the “free hanging” license plate lights, I’d be keeping an eye out for a rear (upper) hatch (in a matching color), but I don’t know what the rest of the body looks like.

Haha yea. I’m not ever gonna change it out. To me and character. It still works just fine and it keeps it “unique”. Rest of the body is clean. Paint is no where near perfect but there’s no other body rust besides near the rockers (rockers are gone)

 

[odonekanobe]

Jealous.

I recently started covering Alaska for work and travel up there every month or two from Seattle. Haven't done a winter up there yet but it was the first snow in Anchorage when I landed there last Monday. If I could get my wife to do it I would make the move also.

 

[jLB]

Haha yea. I’m not ever gonna change it out. To me and character. It still works just fine and it keeps it “unique”. Rest of the body is clean. Paint is no where near perfect but there’s no other body rust besides near the rockers (rockers are gone)

Then from my perspective, get your tetanus shots ahead of time…

Then again, I have a 24yo son that thinks I’m pretty stupid, but slowly getting smarter.

 

[Coupedncal]

One has to wonder if you are making this cross country (continent) move to win someone's heart.

Along the same lines, let me offer you an unsolicited advice. Get your career sorted out quickly. You just graduated high school and before you know it, you will turn middle age. Make good use of your early years and build a career. Notice I did not say build a job because jobs come and go. You need to build a niche and expertise that you can count on. Your future self will thank you for it.

 

[MongooseGA]

Go west young man, go west! I think this is one hell of an adventure to be setting off on, especially for your age. Please plan out your route, know of resources along the way. Having already done it at least once, you should be in pretty good shape. I hope it's goes great.

Then from my perspective, get your tetanus shots ahead of time…

Then again, I have a 24yo son that thinks I’m pretty stupid, but slowly getting smarter.

I'll never tell my father this but... He was almost always right.

One has to wonder if you are making this cross country (continent) move to win someone's heart.

Along the same lines, let me offer you an unsolicited advice. Get your career sorted out quickly. You just graduated high school and before you know it, you will turn middle age. Make good use of your early years and build a career. Notice I did not say build a job because jobs come and go. You need to build a niche and expertise that you can count on. Your future self will thank you for it.

Hmm maybe so?

If I may play devil's advocate here: your advice is sage and wise. However, from the perspective of someone who is encroaching on middle age, I offer that there is no better time for OP than now to sow his oats. I started in my current industry in my early 20s, I have tons of time and growth opportunity to be comfortable in a possibly early retirement. I worked all through my teens and I wish I'd taken a few years after high school to build the kind of memories that OP is about to. It wouldn't set him back much, if at all, to take a few years to build experiences.


When I withdrew from college to start a business, an attorney I'd hired advised me this (verbatim): go back to college, finish your degree before the other school kids begin to look like kids to you.

I didn't take his advice. I regret nothing (other than not driving to Alaska with my friends at 19).

 

[jLB]

I'll never tell my father this but... He was almost always right.

I remember my father going through a phase like that, where he got really stupid but thought he knew everything, thankfully he grew out of it by the time I reached 30yo

 

[silvarshooter]

Good luck to you.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

I remember my father going through a phase like that, where he got really stupid but thought he knew everything, thankfully he grew out of it by the time I reached 30yo

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
-- Mark Twain

 

[VermontLC100]

One has to wonder if you are making this cross country (continent) move to win someone's heart.

Along the same lines, let me offer you an unsolicited advice. Get your career sorted out quickly. You just graduated high school and before you know it, you will turn middle age. Make good use of your early years and build a career. Notice I did not say build a job because jobs come and go. You need to build a niche and expertise that you can count on. Your future self will thank you for it.

Nope, this is solely for me. They say Alaska chooses you- you don’t choose it. Luckily for me, I already know what I want to do as a career. I’ve been shooting photos for 4 years now and it’s quickly turned into a business. I don’t make a ton of money yet but it’ll come with time. One of my favorite things to shoot are cars. I’ve worked for 2 dealerships and one of them lets me take out their cars by myself and take them wherever I want to shoot. (Bmw, Mercedes, Mini, Honda combined into one dealership) It’s wild.
You can check out my work on my website.

Devxphoto.com

 

[NE Snowman]

If you have a passion you love and can make money with it.. do it! It’s rare that people enjoy their ‘jobs’. I got s*** for not going to college 14 years back, now most of my friends tell me they went for no reason , not to mention they’re strapped with debt. Worked my way up as a tradesman and still enjoy building, really glad I stepped away from programming. Working from home would be ok but I need to be outside moving. Couldn’t sit in a cubicle/office long term.

No doubt I’d have a different life if I started mountaineering before I was wifed up. I’d prolly be living out of a cruiser climbing mountains all over the states and Canada.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Heading back to Fairbanks? It's a long winter. Happy trails!