ATT has a plan (it was an extra $15 or $30 per month)that gives you call and a set number of text messages.  Data for surfing was expensive
We came up last summer from Idaho.  Our route from Edmonton north to Fairbanks will be the same
Route was Spokane - Edmonton.  
We overnighted in Edmonton and spent the next morning at the West Edmonton mall.  It is huge, impressive and was a good chance for us to get out and get some exercise (we walked 6 miles in the mall)

Roads were awesome until you got to Beaver Creek.  From Beaver Creek to the border they were shitty
We has planned on spending the night in Beaver Creek but were making good time and called ahead to Tok and confirmed rooms available at Fast Eddy's.  We made it to Tok but got to Fast Eddy's 7 minutes after closing and despite there being rooms available and staff at the desk, they refused to rent a room as it was after closing.  I offered the clerk $50 to do it and he still said no.  We ended up making the push all the way to Fairbanks that night.

We had no issues at either border crossing.  The border agent at the the Canadian entry asked me at least 6 different ways if I was carrying or possessed any firearms.  I have heard rumor that they have access to the database of Alaska concealed permit holders.  I did have gun powder in the truck and she didn't carry about that.  Coming through the American checkpoint they border agent saw the dealer promo "plates" on the truck and made the comment "when are the Alaska dealers going to learn?"  It was quick, easy and painless and we were there less than 5 minutes if memory serves me correctly.  

Some things that surprised me
1) If your credit/debit card doesn't have a "chip" in it, there are places that can not take it (no ability to swipe)
2) The gas pumps are mostly not 24 hour pumps, don't assume you can gas up in the middle of the night
3) Our visa card hit us with an "international charge fee" for every charge.  
4) Many places take US dollars but do not offer any exchange rate.  Currently it is $0.75 USD to 1 CND.  So if you choose to use US currency you will pay the CDN price whether you use USD or CDN
5) Other than Tok, we had zero issues with hotels.  After Edmonton, it was out plan to drive until we got tired and then grab a hotel room so we didn't make reservations from that point on.  We stayed in Ft St John   (It was about 8 hours from Edmonton with construction, but we were tired after spending half of the day at the W. Edmonton mall).  We stayed at the Pomery Inn and Suites and were very happy with the hotel.  Next stop was Laird Hot Springs and the Laird Hot Springs lodge.  I wasn't impressed with the hot springs and the lodge room was terrible at best (and fairly expensive).  My Kestrel weather station showed the room temperature at 89F and there were no screens on the window, so you either opened the window for the mosquitos or dealt with the heat.  From there we made the haul to Fairbanks (ended up being a 20ish hour day).  Grabbed food/groceries in Whitehorse.  From Beaver creek to the border, I think the highest speed we did was high 30s.  There were many stretches that it was 10mph or less.  IT SUCKS
6) If you can, bring a cooler and stock the shit out of snacks/sandwich/drinks.  I was amazed at how few places we came across at night that weren't open
7) Our GPS had a couple of issues due to road rerouting from construction.  Update your maps.
8) Outside of a couple of police in Edmonton, I don't remember seeing a Police Officer/Mountie on the entire trip.  
9) We didn't see much wildlife.  We saw a grizzly, a handful of moose (almost hit one at night as it ran out of the tree line), and the buffalo.  The buffalo were pretty cool.
10) There was a fairly long stretch of the highway that is a park of sorts.  If you want to stop you have to buy a pass prior to entry.  We didn't, but in hindsight, had we had more time I would have enjoyed taking some time in it
All in all it was a pretty easy, enjoyable drive
We bought a milepost which we didn't use much.  YMMV

Can you get a car dolly and tow it?

Also gas in Canada is sold in Liters and is generally more expensive than the US
It looks like average gas price is $0.98/L right now......3.78L/gal