Lawson_nate
New member
This was our first Toyota Chinook that had come to Alaska to die, but now is once again on the road exploring (hopefully).
The second Chinook that we have rescued is here... http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/151957-Our-Toyota-Chinook-4x4-build-*Firefly*
A (hopefully) quick fun history before the pictures...
I purchased this 1976 Toyota Chinook for $300 during the summer of 2014. At the time we had no intention of doing any long distance traveling (even though we really wanted to). The wife and I both had amazing jobs, a wonderful little house, and all of the normal "toys" that you need to have to survive the harsh winters of interior Alaska and enjoy the wonderful summers. We had been living in Fairbanks, Alaska for our entire lives (wife was born there and my family moved up in 1988). Everything changed in November of 2013. The wife had been offered a promotion from the engineering company she was working for, but we would have to move to Juneau, Alaska. Just a few months before in August we had bought a little 25' Ericson Sailboat to play with. So without hesitation we loaded the truck and boat and we moved her down to Juneau (another fun story but not for the purpose of this thread). You are not reading that wrong, this was Dec 26th, 2013, 11am, 40F degrees BELOW 0!
So since she was down there (800+ miles and a ferry ride) and we had no intention of selling our home prior to all of this, I was stuck in Fairbanks to take care of the rest of our affairs. Luckily my summer job (I had two seasonal jobs, one April-October, and the other October-April) had a spare trailer in our RV park so I moved into it while putting the house up for sale. The house went up on the market middle of August 2014 on a Monday, the same day I applied for a job in Juneau. The following Friday I had had one couple look at the house, and had a phone interview with the new job. The Monday after that (yes, in just one week) I got a phone call at 7am from my real estate agent... Full price offer! WOW! At 7:30am I got another call... "We would like you start here in Juneau in two weeks." WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED!?! I informed my bosses of what happened (who had been aware all summer that I was leaving) and they said to "give us 24hrs". Uhhh, ok. The next morning, 7am, they offered to match the other company's offer. I MUST BE DREAMING!?! Same yearly salary for only six months of working... Of course I said yes! This now meant we were staying in Fairbanks, had no house, all of our belongings (except for a small 8x8 storage unit for heirloom items) had been sold (we were moving onto a small sailboat, everything had to go), and my summer job would be finished for the season in just over a month. Now what?!?
I wanted to include this story to make the point that we (like most people I think) have always wanted to travel. Life sometimes gets in the way of that and you keep putting it off. We've all said and heard the excuses. Sometimes you make just one little change, a blind leap of faith, and hope everything will work out. It may not be the easiest or like you always dreamed, but now... life is what YOU make of it! *Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.*
NOW.... On to our first adventure.
Right in the middle of all the craziness that was our summer of 2014, I couldn't help myself and was looking through Craigslist. Around June (I think) I saw the ad for this little guy. He was dirty, had a ratty blue tarp over it, and three of the four tires were flat. The guy was asking $1000! Come on people, at least make it presentable before you list it. Anyway, I offered him $300 and he accepted. For years I had wanted one. If you're reading this you probably did too after seeing the 4x4 converted ones (damn Nolan's '76 Chinook http://www.toyotamotorhomes.com/nolan's_76_chinook.htm and the Kootenay Chinook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6CEb37Ha9E).
So I brought him home (to the great dismay of the wife, who luckily was still in Juneau
)...
After a little cleaning and some new wheels...
It even had the original hammocks! Did you know they made them with these? I didn't.
The second Chinook that we have rescued is here... http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/151957-Our-Toyota-Chinook-4x4-build-*Firefly*
A (hopefully) quick fun history before the pictures...
I purchased this 1976 Toyota Chinook for $300 during the summer of 2014. At the time we had no intention of doing any long distance traveling (even though we really wanted to). The wife and I both had amazing jobs, a wonderful little house, and all of the normal "toys" that you need to have to survive the harsh winters of interior Alaska and enjoy the wonderful summers. We had been living in Fairbanks, Alaska for our entire lives (wife was born there and my family moved up in 1988). Everything changed in November of 2013. The wife had been offered a promotion from the engineering company she was working for, but we would have to move to Juneau, Alaska. Just a few months before in August we had bought a little 25' Ericson Sailboat to play with. So without hesitation we loaded the truck and boat and we moved her down to Juneau (another fun story but not for the purpose of this thread). You are not reading that wrong, this was Dec 26th, 2013, 11am, 40F degrees BELOW 0!
So since she was down there (800+ miles and a ferry ride) and we had no intention of selling our home prior to all of this, I was stuck in Fairbanks to take care of the rest of our affairs. Luckily my summer job (I had two seasonal jobs, one April-October, and the other October-April) had a spare trailer in our RV park so I moved into it while putting the house up for sale. The house went up on the market middle of August 2014 on a Monday, the same day I applied for a job in Juneau. The following Friday I had had one couple look at the house, and had a phone interview with the new job. The Monday after that (yes, in just one week) I got a phone call at 7am from my real estate agent... Full price offer! WOW! At 7:30am I got another call... "We would like you start here in Juneau in two weeks." WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED!?! I informed my bosses of what happened (who had been aware all summer that I was leaving) and they said to "give us 24hrs". Uhhh, ok. The next morning, 7am, they offered to match the other company's offer. I MUST BE DREAMING!?! Same yearly salary for only six months of working... Of course I said yes! This now meant we were staying in Fairbanks, had no house, all of our belongings (except for a small 8x8 storage unit for heirloom items) had been sold (we were moving onto a small sailboat, everything had to go), and my summer job would be finished for the season in just over a month. Now what?!?
I wanted to include this story to make the point that we (like most people I think) have always wanted to travel. Life sometimes gets in the way of that and you keep putting it off. We've all said and heard the excuses. Sometimes you make just one little change, a blind leap of faith, and hope everything will work out. It may not be the easiest or like you always dreamed, but now... life is what YOU make of it! *Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.*
NOW.... On to our first adventure.
Right in the middle of all the craziness that was our summer of 2014, I couldn't help myself and was looking through Craigslist. Around June (I think) I saw the ad for this little guy. He was dirty, had a ratty blue tarp over it, and three of the four tires were flat. The guy was asking $1000! Come on people, at least make it presentable before you list it. Anyway, I offered him $300 and he accepted. For years I had wanted one. If you're reading this you probably did too after seeing the 4x4 converted ones (damn Nolan's '76 Chinook http://www.toyotamotorhomes.com/nolan's_76_chinook.htm and the Kootenay Chinook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6CEb37Ha9E).
So I brought him home (to the great dismay of the wife, who luckily was still in Juneau
)...
After a little cleaning and some new wheels...
It even had the original hammocks! Did you know they made them with these? I didn't.
