K5 Blazer Chalet

[Aquafbody]

I'm trying to convince my wife that we need on of these. :ylsmoke:
Has anyone ever had one and if so what did ya think?

 

[subterran]

Well, I have no experience to offer on these, but I have always admired them. There is one parked on the side of GA Hwy 136, near Lafayette, GA that has been there for years now, and I have had the urge to stop and ask him how much he would take for it, but I have no place to store it. Old k-fives are some badassed looking beasts with some meaty tires.

As for the Chalet itself, the cabover part is too small for sleeping in, so I imagine the sleeping and living arrangements would be roughly simular to a VW Westy camper.

Lots of info on them here:
http://www.blazerchalet.com

If you do decide to go with one, I would certainly be facinated to watch you build a refurb thread on it.

 

[pugslyyy]

I owned a 1975 Chevy Blazer. I can't speak to the quality of the camper, but the 70s vintage Blazers were real crap. Combination of horribly bad mileage and a body that would rust while you watched it. 10mpg max.

 

[77blazerchalet]

...anyone ever had one and if so what did ya think?

Oh, yeah. Chalet #1747, built 1/77, owned past tense. It was one of the more pristine / quasi-restored ones out there, but I essentailly ran out of available funds and space to continue the restoration. The current broker (?) of it has it for sale along with twelve others that he had gathered up for some mystery guy in Indiana. As the #2 moderator at the Yahoo Chalet forum linked to below, I can provide contact info for all of the sellers that I'm aware of. Map of the ones (full vehicles / orphaned camper units) here, click the down arrow at that page next to the brief description for an expanded one.

Ownership pro points:

• Sheer coolness factor of rarely seen, classic '70s vehicle
• It is technically a motorhome. Park in the pouring rain, turn around and go straight into the back without getting wet, no absolute need to raise the roof if you don't mind stooping a bit
• Better side and forward visibility out of the camper than other aftermarket campers. 4Wheel brand slide-ins just have the one side window and no forward ones.
• Plenty of vintage / reproduction GM truck parts available
• Certifiably more durable in offroad conditions than some slide-in truck mounted campers (according to one story told by Chalet owner who saw a falling apart aftermarket standard camper in a super rocky river bottom area).
• May potentially increase in collector value when kept in / restored to factory original condition
• Support group for Chalet addicts available at the free-to-join Yahoo forum link below

Cons:

• Gawd-awful gas mileage
• Most 'affordable' Chalets for sale are in need of significant clean-up / restoration. Vehicles not needing restoration will set you back $7 to $13 grand depending if you aim for one that is modded for real camping or one that can park in a museum
• No toilet
• Inferior factory design of roof / upper walls interface
• Less-than-actually-practical-camper straight out of the factory. Lighter weight interior pieces and overdrive tranny, diesel conversion or fuel injection conversion and a few other upgrades such as a more easily removable & replaceable camper unit would make 'em better.

I could go on at length. If money fell out of the sky, I'd get a '76 GMC Jimmy Casa Grande version to have as a museum quality collectible. To create a practical one, I would possibly go the route of a pure custom built Blazer using an all fiberglass tub, which would then have an orphaned Chalet shell outfitted with better modern interior bits, with the roof and removeability problems solved.

 

[SDDiver5]

I have one. Well its my dads. He was selling it for a while. Had lots of interest but nobody actually pulled through. Thing is sweet. I wish it was more practical for me to buy from my dad and use.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...azer-quot-Chalet-quot-Camper?highlight=Chalet

Let me know if you're interested. I think 77BlazerChalet can give you more info on the truck than I can haha.

 

[Aquafbody]

I found just the camper portion for sale for $400, I already have an 81 K5 with a 454, SM465 and NP241 to put it on. The camper is pretty rough but all there. I would re-do it but try to keep it as original as possible, the one thing that has to change is lack of a toilet.

 

[77blazerchalet]

I found just the camper portion for sale for $400.... I would re-do it but try to keep it as original as possible, the one thing that has to change is lack of a toilet.

You mean the one for sale in Commerce City? Keep in mind that orphaned camper units have essentially no collector value, so while it may be admirable to keep such a unit original in case the original Blazer is found to pair them up again, I wouldn't recommend going to that effort.

Last I heard, there is the gutted empty shell only #1033 in Sheldon Iowa, where the owner will give it away for free if someone will seriously make the effort to keep an appointment to pick it up and take it away. But, that owner has lost all patience with guys who say they will get it but never show up.

 

[Aquafbody]

You mean the one for sale in Commerce City? Keep in mind that orphaned camper units have essentially no collector value, so while it may be admirable to keep such a unit original in case the original Blazer is found to pair them up again, I wouldn't recommend going to that effort.

Last I heard, there is the gutted empty shell only #1033 in Sheldon Iowa, where the owner will give it away for free if someone will seriously make the effort to keep an appointment to pick it up and take it away. But, that owner has lost all patience with guys who say they will get it but never show up.

Good to know and yeah the one in Commerce ****ty. The owner says it was parked in a field for years and the blazer rotted away. I would be down for a trip to Iowa if it could afford all the gas.

 

[Aquafbody]

I could go on at length. If money fell out of the sky, I'd get a '76 GMC Jimmy Casa Grande version to have as a museum quality collectible. To create a practical one, I would possibly go the route of a pure custom built Blazer using an all fiberglass tub, which would then have an orphaned Chalet shell outfitted with better modern interior bits, with the roof and removeability problems solved.

Well... as neat as it would be to have an actual Chalet, I think I still might pull the trigger on this and just have a neat topper on my 81 custom it all out for the wife and I to camp in. The owner said he would take $350 and we are going to go look at it Saturday the 4th.

 

[77blazerchalet]

... might pull the trigger on this and just have a neat topper on my 81 custom it all out for the wife and I to camp in. The owner said he would take $350....

Can't really miss on that price, since that's what they tend to go for when they aren't in too bad of shape. If you carry it back on your Blazer, you'll need a set of temp taillights unless the seller has the camper taillights already rigged into a way to plug them into your system. If trailered, it needs to be facing backward so as not to be a giant air scoop, and it will need to be supported at the sides like the seller has it shown. The critical thing to remember is to make sure the top is tied down with the 5 interior roof tie-down straps. You don't want the top springing up and flying off as you go down the road.

 

[Aquafbody]

Can't really miss on that price, since that's what they tend to go for when they aren't in too bad of shape. If you carry it back on your Blazer, you'll need a set of temp taillights unless the seller has the camper taillights already rigged into a way to plug them into your system. If trailered, it needs to be facing backward so as not to be a giant air scoop, and it will need to be supported at the sides like the seller has it shown. The critical thing to remember is to make sure the top is tied down with the 5 interior roof tie-down straps. You don't want the top springing up and flying off as you go down the road.

Done deal $200. What is the best way to move it from trailer to truck?

 

[77blazerchalet]

...best way to move it from trailer to truck?

Congrats!

Forklift? with a pile of pallets under it to sit on as the trailer pulls forward? One of my pals at CK5.com did that sort of thing in this thread post. Another variation on the same theme is in the second pic below. Both were lifted trucks.

 

[bob91yj]

I've done some crazy stuff in my day, not sure I ever would have dreamed up two ladders and a pile of pallets method of camper installation!