Quote:
Originally Posted by nyyankees588
Awesome photos. One question - and I'll caveat by admitting that I've done zero research on the road - did you feel 4x4 was necessary? Obviously if you encounter adverse conditions or venture off of the main road, I'd imagine it may be, but would you do it in a 2x4 van (with LSD)? Cheers!
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4x4 necessary?
The Dempster is a good gravel road, though there is a 100 km section riddled with potholes and there are some "waves"... I spoke to people who got airborne, broke springs. Going slow and paying attention is key, 4x4 not really needed.
However, we did use 4x4 one day when it rained and the top 2 inches of the road surface turned into mud soup. You don't want to slide in the ditch... so, go slow, engage 4x4 out of precaution. Same with sections with loose gravel. Go slow, we used 4x4 for some of these sections... don't want to slide off the road, don't want to slide and have increased probability of flat tires either!
You do need high clearance and 4x4 for some of the 2 tracks that lead to gravel pits for undeveloped campsites, but not for all of them.
In a nutshell:
2wd is OK
1. If road surface and weather is good
2. you always drive slow, adjust speed for the surface
3. you are OK with only easily accessible campsites, including developed ones.
Note: I see 4x4 on the Dempster mostly as a safety feature of your car that reduces crashes. If you crash, there is likely nobody who saw you crash. We saw maybe a few dozen vehicles per day.. traffic volume is low but not zero. Somebody will eventually stop by, but you will likely have to wait a while. Medical assistance is a problem in remote areas, of course. This is another reason you should be really careful with everything you do in a remote area, especially when you drive a big heavy vehicle. Don't get injured! Do carry some form of satellite communication. We carry a Garmin InReach.
Don't let all of this worry you. We absolutely loved it and would do it again in a heart beat. Just let the stuff I mentioned make you plan, prepare and think things through well before you head north.
Now, instead of taking your 4x4, you can also just take your airplane and land on the Dempster in select places!
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