oloolo

I decided to participate Alcan 5000 rally, a 5000 mile winter expedition from Kirkland, WA to Arctic Circle in Alaska in the turn of Feb and Mar. Next year's event will be running from Feb 25 to Mar 7, 2016.

Understanding that this will be a hell of challenge to my JK, I would like to collect your idea on necessary modifications for this trip. So far, my 2014 JKUR has the following mods:
1. 33" DuraTrac tire, Snow rated stud tire
2. 2.5" RE lift with fox racing 2.0 shocks
3. Level 8 wheel
4. Engo 9000S winch and e-autogrill tire carrier and rear bumper (more on this later), together with 2 jerry can holders.

I am planning to add the following
1. Batter block heater. My car already has engine block heater from factory and up in the northern wild, all hotels have 110v outlet outside to warm car's battery and engine
2. communications ( I will have a CB radio, a Kenwood TM-V71a for monitoring emergency, and a mandatory Satellite GPS tracking device).
3. I will buy one more NATO jerry can (already have one). There might well be over 300miles without a gas station up there, and the gas mpg won't be good there.
4. Maybe a rack system, haven't decided yet.
5. LED headlight and fog light. I am looking at KC lights LED replacement 7" headlight. All lights have to be street legal, so no light bar.

Anything else?

As for e-autogrill tire carrier and rear bumper, I have had them for about a year, wheeled with me a few times. Here are the pro and con
Pro : super cheap, old-school set up, and this thing is pretty sturdy except the latch handle. Swing out smoothly without any problem, snow or mud.

Con : it is cheap for a reason. the paint coating is not top notch but acceptable I would say, there are a couple spots of problems but easy fix. The big issue is the handle, very hard to use as you have to aligned with the holes, and easy to break. I contacted a local custom shop and will change it to those T-handle latch with lock.

Thanks

BeachJK

Winch Ancher, you get out in the middle of no where with no trees and rocks. Come in real handy.

karls10jk

Look at the jerry can holders from MorRyde if you need more storage. They go up in front of the door.

You may want to reconsider LED headlights for that area if there is going to be snow. They have mixed reviews on if they can repel the ice or not. Same for LED fogs, you'll probably have better light on the ground in inclement weather if you go with a standard halogen bulb. My LED's actually reflect a ton of light against snow and they're almost irritating.

oloolo

I saw similar comments on LED lights.
So for good 7" replacement Halogen headlights, any recommendations? IPF? Don't know how much bright an aftermarket Halogen can put out comparing to OEM. The OEM really sucks.

LOLO9293

I would go with heated lens from truck lite. Really good and put out a good amount of light.

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yellowtj02

X2 on the heated lights. 9 yrs in northern ny/ southern Canada taught me how much snow sucks. Snow/ice will build up on your lights fast as hell and make them worse than stock.

munir

-I would get some Maxtrax or similar traction aids that you can just shove under the wheel when needed to get out of a jam fast.

I'm thinking the the land anchors may not hold as well on snow/ice. Plus it would be a pain to try and get them into the frozen ground if you can even get to it.

-Rain-x coat everything glass, including the lights. I find having a coating on keeps the ice buildup lower and easier to brush off.
-Extra winter wiper blades.
-Heated windshield washers might also be something to look into. There's even a mod that can get you this with like 5 bucks worth of hose.
-One of those portable battery boosters just in case. My jk fires up in -30c just fine w/o the block heater but I wouldnt push it much further.
-This may sound a little soft but a box of hand warmers. The cold sucks. Heck, this might be a good reason to throw in heated seats as well. The less strain you put on your body, the more you can focus on the road ahead.

And most importantly, a camera so we can watch it all!!

LOLO9293

you definitely nailed some big things right on pint. I always agree with rain-x on everything glass.

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dinkydau

It's been about 30 years since I lived in Alaska but it is tough on vehicles.
Are you driving the Alaska Highway only? If so I would buy the "Milepost" magazine. It is full of excellent information and gives a mile by mile description of the highway.

Bring a case of "Heet" or some other type of gas treatment and keep one container outside you vehicle, I have had to use to thaw my door locks. Find the best oil you can. Back in the 70's the Army test center at Ft. Wainwright found Conklin transport synthetic oil as the only oil (at that time) that would still pour at something like minus 50 F. By the way my truck started in -50F but twice I snapped the oil pump shaft because of the viscosity.
I used two block heaters, one on either side (the dipstick heaters can overheat), I also had a battery trickle charger (not the blankets they catch on fire) and I had a heated pad for the transmission pan on my automatic. I had two batteries on an isolator, one for starting and the other for accessories. Also check out Alaska tent and Tarp for vehicle grill covers Alaska Tent & Tarp :: Vehicle Grill Covers I had the cover and the diaper that kept the cold air coming up from the from hitting the engine and it made a huge difference.
#1 is be careful and be safe the cold is unforgiving.
Have a great trip and heck with global warming maybe you can go top down.

oloolo

Thanks for the tips. Yes, I will have a few cameras / dashcams to record the whole journey, and post them here after I am back. Don't think I will have good internet connection there.

The battery in my previous 2007 JK dies at 0'F which scared me considering the car will be enduring some -10'F or even lower temperature. My current JKRU will be about 2.5 years old by then, don't know if I should get a dual battery or just a new one with deep cycle. I will definitely bring in a battery booster.