Chinook'd

[saw2ooth]

New to this site and looking for ideas for my 1976 Chinook build.
Picked this little runner up a few days ago.The truck and camper have been used but all in all pretty good shape.The camper came fully equipped with fridge stove and sink All work and I plan to reuse them.
So the plan is convert the Chinook camper on to a Toyota 4wheel chassis,most likely 3.4 Taco. but in the mean time I will be modifying the camper to my liking
I have no design as of yet but I work best designing as I gne thing I have noticed with the camper is it has quite a bit of lower faring fiberglass that hangs below the floor deck(maybe 10")I would like to cut as much away as possible and replace that space with locking boxes mounted to the underside of the camper.Since this truck will be used offroad quite a bit I would also like to cut and angle the rear of the camper for a better departure angle.This may not work out without some major fiberglass work and cutting the door down in size.We plan to be traveling from Baja to BC in this sweety in the next couple years,so I have time
Anyway after gutting the interior we started the removal of the Chinook. In a half day the chore was done.
My first project while be running the electrical for new lighting, new insulation and paneling
Heres to a new project that will bring many memories in the future

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Excited to see you build it up Matt!

 

[saw2ooth]

Thanks brother.We are excited about it to. definitely will need to pick your brain for ideas

 

[saw2ooth]

 

[Gatsma]

Best of luck on your build, Saw2ooth! Should be GOOD!

 

[turbotommy]

im doing a chinook buildas well.on the chinook yahoo group there is some photos of a guy that just finished on using a 3rd gen truck .he used a exta cab frame and moved the axle forward .im using a 2nd gen short box truck and leghtend the wheel base to 110. im just going to mount the camper this week ,ill let you know of any hiccups i find .

 

[saw2ooth]

Any suggestions are gladly appreciated. I Would like to see your build for sure. Thanks

 

[Henry_G]

Subscribed!

I'm also in the process of swapping my camper shell onto a 4wd body. I haven't decided on which gen I will go with but reading build thread like this are a huge help.

Did yours start as a 2wd camper or did you purchase it installed on a newer 4wd chassis?

 

[saw2ooth]

Yes I bought mine as an original 1976 2wheel Toyota and removed the camper last weekend. I'm excited to have another buddy doing the same I'm still trying to decide what changes I want to make to the camper still.

 

[Henry_G]

I'm looking to do something similar to this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6CEb37Ha9E

My camper shell is in great condition and the interior is 100% complete. It would be nice to have 4wd along with the additional ground clearance.

 

[turbotommy]

The one I got was sitting around for a while but the inside is mint .im going to keep it all original maybe except for the orange shag lol

 

[Henry_G]

The one I got was sitting around for a while but the inside is mint .im going to keep it all original maybe except for the orange shag lolView attachment 268006

Wow! No leaks?

Oddly enough I also like the original look, but that orange carpet has to go. Probably swap it out for laminate or something that is easier to keep clean.

 

[saw2ooth]

Very cool Henry! My camper was in pretty good shape. At least the important parts like floor and fiberglass. The last owner basically lived in it so the interior had to go. But it will give me a chance to make it the way I want. It also made easy access to the frame bolts that needed to be cut out to get the camper off.

 

[saw2ooth]

Added a layer of 3/4" to give a nice new levelish start.with a full coverage frame underneath it should work fine.wired for 6 interior lights with blocking recessed into the new rigid insulation

 

[saw2ooth]

The Chinooks new platform truck
'96 T100 3.4