Buying Advice What to buy for remote Alaska property

[roadhunter]

Every homestead you visited in Alaska had a dozer? LOL!!

Sounds like yet another exaggeration.

 

[MossRoad]

Go you one better... my 1985 G20 Chevrolet Van was special ordered and part of the order included Chevy's heavy duty receiver hitch and it is stamped 10k

When I asked why the factory hitch has such a high rating I was told the same heavy duty hitch fits various configurations including the 1 ton van with floating rear axle.

Nothing wrong with going stronger/beefier than needed... extra margin of of safety...

What gets me is a neighbor wanted to borrow a trailer ball... he has a 7,000 pound trailer and thought it was OK to use a 3500 ball I had for my fishing boat...

I had a 1993 G20 short wheel base with a V6 and it had a class IV hitch! :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

What's the one tool you see on just about every homestead in Alaska?? At least every one I went to, including mine!

I stand by my last post!!

SR

An ax!

 

[4570Man]

An ax!

A rifle!

 

[bcp]

What's the one tool you see on just about every homestead in Alaska?? At least every one I went to, including mine!

I stand by my last post!!

SR

Junk pile, because you might need something there someday for something.

And parked in the driveway is a 4x4 with a cracked windshield.

Bruce

 

[Garandman]

What I found amazing it that this such a remote place (I believe the OP that it really is) but there have been several other posters familiar with it! Goes to show how little "unexplored" wilderness there is left.

And McCarthy (mentioned above) has a TV show about it.

Alaska shows seem very popular. But Dick Proenneke's "Alone in the Wilderness" is still my favorite.

 

[cletus99]

Been a long time since I've been on here, but saw this post and thought I'd give my two cents. Only because I have a sawmill also and can relate to your needs. You are going to want a larger tractor. I have a Kubota L3800 and it just barely does what I need as far as lifting logs. I'm planning on getting a larger tractor in the future. I don't have very many large trees, but it gets very scary at times. Sure you can skid them, but you'll still need to lift them. My land in South Georgia is pretty flat. I imagine yours is a lot different and you'll be dealing with softer soil probably. Now if I had a Mahindra in the same horsepower I might be fine as it has more lifting capacity than my Kubota. I'd use the specs for an L3800 and go larger than it if I were you.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

And McCarthy (mentioned above) has a TV show about it.

Alaska shows seem very popular. But Dick Proenneke's "Alone in the Wilderness" is still my favorite.

I spend a bit of time in and around McCarthy every year, but I didn't live all that far from Dick...I hunted over near him quite a bit, but I never did wonder over to his cabin...

It's a great video, but it doesn't really tell the whole story of how he got by out there...

SR

 

[Texasmark]

1. What does a plastic barrel do when the lake freezes?
2. What does a plastic barrel do when bumped at -20 or so F?

Good luck man. Guess you have a trusting companion to help you. You are truly of the American Pioneer breed.

 

[oosik]

Well, in all my time in Alaska - 1960 thru 1982 - I visited three or four homesteads. They ALL had some form of crawler dozer. They were all older than snot and as I remember - they were all for sale. You see, in the homestead days, which ended around 1965 - it was a requirement of the homestead act that 1/3 of your homestead be cleared and planted to some crop. This meant you had to clear and plant 80 to 120 acres - a normal homestead being 240 to 360 acres. The only piece of equipment that could possibly do this with any success was a crawler dozer. The crop that was normally planted was some form of grain or legume. Fortunately, the homestead act did not require that this crop had to be harvested. These old dozers really made the rounds - as soon as you cleared your acreage there was little use for it - and it was sold to the next homesteader who needed to clear his land. As I remember, there was no time limit on when you had to clear/plant your land - you just couldn't prove up on it until this requirement was completed.

This was why a homestead was such a favored hunting area for moose. There was effectively a large food plot that had been created for them. For many years I hunted on a homestead at mile 175 on the New Fairbanks highway. It was just a short distance north of the Hurricane Gulch bridge. It was some 15 miles west - off the highway on a winter access only "trail" built by the homesteader.