Thought i might pick this puppy up...

[Brock Samson]

i gave it as good a look as i could,.. everything seemed o.k. but tommarow i hope to really get into it...
Paul's shop is big enuff to open the awnings and all that fun stuff...
I'm more concered with a cold fridge, cool a/c, warm heater, fire in the burners, water from all the tapps and shower, a flushable toilet,..
and anything else you might suggest i double check... all the seams looked fine today.
 

[Bandit72]

are you sure it is a 440? i though all 440's had 4bbls....could it be a 413? i know they made them for industrial purposes long after they were discontinued in cars...

[rt green]

for that price, i'd snag it before someone else does. thats without finding something thats horribly wrong with it.

[Old Moparz]

Sounds & looks good Brock, I hope everything checks out to be in good working order. Please remember like I posted earlier, the big ticket items could add up to quite a bit of money if they have to be replaced. The good thing is that most of the appliances are a standard sizes & replacements can be found if you need them. I understand that everyone is saying it looks great & that you should buy it, but you definitely have to keep it in perspective.

It's not a car for transportation or a restoration project, & the specific items that make it a "mobile living space" are the ones you are buying it for. Think about it this way. If you have a heater, air conditioner, refrigerator, roof, windows, plumbing fixtures, & other things in your home from 1978, how many of those almost 30 year old items still work flawlessly, or need to be replaced, or even have been replaced? The ones in a motor home see even more abuse from vibrations, rapid changes in temperature, & lack of everyday use.

I was just thinking of something else, you probably won't be able to check the heater/furnace or the stove if the propane tank is empty. The same with the fridge, but it may be tested plugging the electric in, but it would take a couple of hours to get ice cold. I don't want to be the only one saying all the negative things about it, but I've looked at a lot of trailers & motor homes over the last 15 years & have seen a lot of overpriced junk. I'm on my 3rd trailer now which I bought new, & I don't miss fixing the old ones.

[Brock Samson]

  Thanks Bob, I think  were on the same page, I've got the keys till 7:oo tonight,.. and a bit of research should go a long way...
Sure for pure vintage it's hard to beat, but it dosen't even have a Microwave, a T.V. or decent gas milage, could you help venture a guess?.. 
  thinking overnight leads me to the realization it's just me these days, i dont need so much vehicle so I may very well stick to my original intent...

Anyone else interested?.. I bet i could talk him down from the $ 4,200 asking price..

[Old Moparz]

  Thanks Bob, I think  were on the same page, I've got the keys till 7:oo tonight,.. and a bit of research should go a long way...
Sure for pure vintage it's hard to beat, but it dosen't even have a Microwave, a T.V. or decent gas milage, could you help venture a guess?.. 
  thinking overnight leads me to the realization it's just me these days, i dont need so much vehicle so I may very well stick to my original intent...

Anyone else interested?.. I bet i could talk him down from the $ 4,200 asking price..

I didn't want to scare you off from buying it, I just wanted to mention things that might be a problem. Those things may heve been replaced at one time & not an issue anymore. A microwave & a small TV can be cheaper to add than to fix the other things. It does look like it was stored indoors since it's so clean, but we've all seen a pig in a dress, like a car from 20 feet restored by Helpgagme in Lake Vile.   

As for MPG, I bet that you'd never see any better than 12 MPG highway. That thing is HEAVY!

[Brock Samson]

i talked him down to ...








wait for it..








        ..wait,..













$ 3,200.oo

We checked everything mechanical we could, full road test, it's affected by headwinds as you might expect but all belts hoses filters tires are original, the belts are glazed so they squeek, everything i could check works all lights flashers, cruise, radio, cassette player,
no smell not even the Fridge! I took it to a R.V. place but they have a waiting list, but i got on it for their resident expert to check it tommarow at noon. turn on the stereo and Purple Haze is on,.. hey what else could could ya' ask for?.. 

So, i do think i'm gonna go for it.
like 'ya say, add a TV. Microwave replace the few things that may need it. 


I practiced parking it at the house, and the widow accross the street i've been helping out since her husband of 60 years died, came out and offered to let me store the muscle cars in her garage and driveway.   

Some of the folks in the neiboorhood have stopped by and are stoked, ive even gotten a thumbs up... one guy looking it over guessed i paid over $ 20 G.s for it... 

Oh, I went to the dump and weighed it, it's 7,360 Lbs. unloaded no gas.
and turns out it was "donated" last Month. by a Therston G. Howell III, that's the name that came up on the DMV check...
(or something rather close to that) 

more later...

[Old Moparz]

Well Brock, if the new lower price offsets what could be wrong with it, it may be worth getting anyway.   

I know some people do not do any dry camping at all, which means no water, sewer, or electric hook ups at wherever they are camping. I like to go to different places, & sometimes they have no services, so I need the fridge to run on LP gas, & have good water storage tanks for both fresh water & sewage. It never matters if I have electric since I have a battery to run the lights & pumps.

The new trailer I have now did come with a microwave, but I think we've used it maybe 2 times in the 2 years we've had it. We do use the stove & oven, & we bought a coffee maker & a portable TV with a DVD player in it for our 8 year old daughter. She loves to go camping & hates when it's time to pack up to go home. The TV with the DVD is great for rainy days.

If you get it & start to do some traveling & make it to the east coast, let me know. You're welcome to use my house as a pit stop to plug in, get some water & sleep, & even a cold one.   

[chargerman68]

wow looks nice and for sure the generation fabric dates back awhile......

[Brock Samson]

are you sure it is a 440? i though all 440's had 4bbls....could it be a 413? i know they made them for industrial purposes long after they were discontinued in cars...

7.2 liter is a 440...

anyone else here have a camper R.V.?...
maybe we could start another thread on them?..
Bob, old moparts,..I'm confused,.. "Dry Camping" is without the hook ups or without the use of the amenities?.. 
one more question, i would like to pressure wash the dirty bits, like the engine,.. any tips on how to go about that?..

ok i'm off to DMV, lots of research to do today..

only thing comparable i found on e-bay..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chinook-Class-B_W0QQitemZ280152322271QQihZ018QQcategoryZ50057QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

here's the entire chinook list,.. new ones are approx. 50K plus! 

http://motors.search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=pf&sbrftog=1&saspi=2&from=R10&samcm=6000&satitle=chinook&sacat=6000%26catref%3DC6&a6=-24&a41067=-24&alist=a38%2Ca6%2Ca85%2Ca3801%2Ca41067&pfmode=1&reqtype=1&gcs=1813&pfid=2574&pf_query=chinook&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=ZIP%2FPostal&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

[Mean 318]

SWEET! Hope you get it!

[Charger_Fan]

anyone wanna guess as to the gas mileage?..   

8


Congrats Man, that's gonna be fun to go see the country in.

[Old Moparz]

Bob, old moparts,..I'm confused,.. "Dry Camping" is without the hook ups or without the use of the amenities?.. 

Correct, dry camping is without any hook ups to services at all. 

Privately owned campgrounds offer a combination of services at each campsite, & price it accordingly. Most prices seem to be between $25 & $55 per night. The difference in cost per service is usually just a few dollars. Most sites have the basics, like water & electric, then have a dump station that you connect the flexible 4" diameter hose to when you're leaving to drain your holding tank/s. There are other sites that have water, electric, sewer, cable TV, & even internet. The dry camping is usually an overflow field for when the sites with services are sold out.

State campgrounds, in most cases of the ones I've stayed at, seem to have less services over the private ones. The ones I have stayed at, at least water & electric. The state ones are generally cheaper, like $15 to $35 per night, & have dump stations as well. I like the state ones better for several reasons. They're usually less crowded, they're cheaper, the grounds are nicer, & usually wooded as opposed to parking in a grass field in the sun. It never mattered to me if I had cable TV or the internet, I'm not there to watch TV & be on line.

If you go to a large car show like Carlisle or the Mopar Nationals, you end up in a field without any services. I'm not sure what you would end up doing with the gray water from your sink, & the black water from your toilet though. In some cases, a campground may charge you $10 or $15 to dump. Dumping is simple & takes about 10 to 15 minutes including some rinsing out. There's a lot of small gadgets to make all this easier & less messy, it just takes time to find out what you need after having been camping a few times.

[Brock Samson]

  I just got back from having a 20 step camper inspection done,.. the Dodge scored 96 out of a 100 points needing only the empty tanks and lines blown out and filled... 

I got the cash and in about a 1/2 hr. she'll belong to me...   



Note:
scoff if ya' want but praying works.

[The70RT]

  Cool. Looks and sounds like you got a good one. Now all you need is gas money

[Todd Wilson]

are you sure it is a 440? i though all 440's had 4bbls....could it be a 413? i know they made them for industrial purposes long after they were discontinued in cars...

Thats what I thought!  Probably a junk 400. I dont think they put 413's in the van style camper.



Todd

[Brock Samson]

Chinooks are made in Canada and the engine size is listed on the Aftermarket Manufacture door tags as a "7.2" liter which is a 440, right?.. 
Matt the cool owner of the camper/truck place said he'd only do a full tune up, change the Alturnator, the carpets and get a GPS unit for it. says the duelly rear end 440 and the hitch are specifficly fow towing.
I'm was thinkin of going over to a four barrell and O.D.   
 

I didn't do the deal cause the dude now wants more money, $300.oo for the thing,.. says his 3.2K price was a one time deal, act now price.. he has no paperwork, recepts or manuals other then the pinkslip, not even a second set of keys...
so dispite this i offered to split the difference, but he refused,.. so i walked...
told him I'd think about it, or, he could call me...
way i figger it' i spent 160 bucks checking it out at two shops incl. 20 bucks in gas.. you guys think i'm wrong?
  it may still be a deal)but i was kind of offended by his sudden tactic.. Am I wrong here?..
it's gonna cost another few hundred at least to bring it up to snuff... 

[Brock Samson]

 I'm bumpin this for your feedback,..
my gut is to go for it cause it was exactly as advertised, everything works.
but i'm kinda' annoyed that when i arrived with the cash he wants another 300 bucks,..
like i said i spent $160 plus eight hours over two days checking everything out...
but to be fair, i expected to pay approx $7K for a smaller Conversion Van that didn't have all the amenities...
and I had the windfall of Albertina my neighbor across the street offering both her driveway  for the RVs parking and garage for the muscle car/s...
so I figure it's a great deal even at 3,500,.. But damn If he had just said something like,..

"Well I was thinking about it and... to recoup my money..." or something to that effect,.. but to comeback later and say... "Oh no,... that was a one time deal"...
kind'a rubbs me the wrong way, ya' know?..

[deputycrawford]

     Brock, I'd say get it. It checked out fine, has everything in great shape, you know how to operate it now, and you have looking for one anyway. It's simply an awesome price and you would be the talk of the shows you go to .
     Hell, park it in the show field next to your show car. You could leave the door open during the day. I would vote for that thing. It's just to cool to pass up. It even runs better than my Charger right now. Go For It.

[Brock Samson]

 
  i know, huh?..   

[69charger2002]

get it. don't let his attitude sway you. that is a NICE old camper. and once it's back at your house after a day you will forget you spent an extra $300 on it. just be done with it. the main thing is that it checked out good and he didn't lie about the condition..maybe once you had it checked out and he saw just how sweet it is he decided to raise his price?? lol either way go get it man!
trav

[Old Moparz]

At $3500 it still isn't a bad deal. Raising the price is s**t, but sometimes you just have to eat s**t to get what you want. Make sure he has a clear title before you fork over any payment or deposit though. If he's funny about the transaction before it takes place, imagine how he'll be if he has all or some of your money.

When people get weird on you, you have to get the whole thing done before they get even weirder. 

[Brock Samson]

I trust your opinions, allways good to get feed back from the community of experts and enthusiasts,..
I know that to some folks these are simply Old Cars,.. But we know better and have appreciation for these rolling sculptures huh?..
Matt the Camper Guy told me yesterday, he'd rather have this old '78 then a new one,.. and he's an expert supposedly,..
I couldn't help thinking though, he probably sees a $ windfall in Biz. from this old can 'o worms...     

[Todd Wilson]

I'd say F him and go look for another one. If its been for sale a while  and the price has dropped then let him come to you  on your price or dont do it. He'll think about how long its been for sale and how serious you were having it checked out and call you back in a few days. While its a nice unit theres bigger campers out there for the same or less money that are newer. EVeryone likes pickups and trailer campers now so you can leave your camp ground and go drive around without having to pack up your entire operation to go to the other side of the lake.



Todd

[Brock Samson]

 Damn You Mr. Wilson!!