I actually had a motorhome in mind, except first off I would not want to drive down from Alaska, even if just as far as Seattle. Its too hard of a highway on vehicles.
Being a master mechanic and 53 years old I can easily repair an older RV, they too are dirt cheap, I would happily live in one at a boat yard and work on my dream boat, I’m not into cruising per se but if the price is right and it has been on several types of motor yachts I would buy one, just recently was a 53’ Hatteras I could have been interested in, its in complete running shape, just needs a new owner.
But the practical side of me says get a motor sailor, that way I have both options in case I actually want to go somewhere. I also ride motorcycle, just bought a 2009 Yamaha Star 1300 Tourer, its frustrating to only have a couple of months to ride up here in Alaska, I would take it down on the ferry and then use it in the warmer part of the country, I have another bike I can keep up here. Seems like I always get two of everything though!
I would find a retired couple on private property to store almost everything if I could while I work in Alaska for 8-9 months out of the year. I want a boat for reasons some people don’t understand, I’m a fixer, I always have to work on something.And a new one is way beyond what I can afford.
I can understand your being a tinkerer. I have some types like that in my family. They aren’t happy unless they’re fixing something. LOL. Yes, road miles, esp. rough roads, are hard on a motorhome and driving on the Alcan is a long haul. That’s why we would probably never drive our motorhome to AK. It would be 8,000 miles RT. We might fly there and rent a Class C for a month or so in a few years. We’ve talked about that. It would be cheaper to do that than to drive our own out there. A month is about the break even point. If we could take 3 months, it would be cheaper to drive our own there as a major part of the cost is just getting there, but once you’re there, the cost for camping is dirt cheap, even free. But we’re not retired yet and we have to factor in lost income while being away.
That being said, motorhomes always require tinkering as well. Ours is 6 years old (we bought it used) and every time we’re out, something screws up. There are just SO many systems on board. Most things DH fixes, others (like when the fridge died) we have to have someone else take care of it.
If you have being on the water in your blood, a yacht is what you should do. We love the water as well, but content ourselves by cartopping kayaks on our two vehicle behind our motorhome.