Introduction - New '93 Concourse Owner

[ASaucyBurrito]

Hello Everyone,

I'm James. My wife Maggie and I purchased our 1993 Concourse late this summer and I wanted to introduce ourselves. We have a 2 month old son named Max who we'll be carting along on our adventures.

We found the Chinook locally on CL after searching for some kind of small RV for a while. We've been car camping for years and wanted to give an RV a try. I also do amateur racing and wanted something that I could spend the weekend in a few times a year when the weather is less than ideal, which seems like most of the time in MI. Also being able to tow the car to the track will be great. My wife's parents had a Westfalia and Eurovan camper when she was growing up, so she was fond of the idea from the start. We paid $5500 for it with 103K on it, which I think is a steal the more I look around... despite some issues of course.

In general she is in pretty good shape. We cleaned it extensively when we got it. The previous owner didn't seem very mechanically inclined and there were some easy fixes right off the bat. Noisy power steering fixed with a fluid flush. Mushy brakes fixed with a good bleed and fresh fluid all around. Awning took a few hours to clean but works fine and looks practically new after a good scrubbing and straightening a support rod. We found out the hard way that the water heater tank was cracked when the pump proceeded to fill the fiberglass well on our first trial run earlier in the year. Whoops! The stock exhaust manifold does have one broken stud, so that will need to be fixed along with the exhaust pipes post muffler ($40/each on Amazon). Not looking forward to that project, but if you can't tell I'm a DIY kinda guy and will be tackling this in the spring.

So far I've replaced the Fantastic Opening (fan was gone) with a MaxxAir Deluxe which I really like. Replaced the broken kitchen vent and paint matched several other external pieces (Whoever found that French Cream Rustoleum was a good match around here is a life saver). Generator needs to be refurbished so that has been pulled and is sitting in the garage alongside the water heater awaiting a tank replacement.

I'll try to get some pics up shortly. Looking forward to the adventure!

James

[ASaucyBurrito]

From our first trial run outside Lake Michigan:

Club lounge interior in generally good shape. Someone installed shag carpeting in this thing some time ago. That definitely is getting replaced next year.

Standard up front, again in pretty good shape.

Wife's artistic side coming out for our family portrait.

[68camaro]

Welcome.......beautiful rig......these are so nice....

[ASaucyBurrito]

Maxxair Deluxe installed. Also painted the A/C shroud white. I'm not sure what the original color was 25 years ago, but it was very yellow and looked dated compared to the white Maxxair shroud.

Finally one thing I hate, the passenger side cabinet was replaced at some point with this thing. I would love to source an original replacement (along with the table on that side, which is also not original and appears much cheaper than what I see in other rigs), but it's a low priority.

That's about all I have right now. Cheers!

[Blue~Go]

Welcome! And congrats on your new Chinook! (Someone clearly didn't know market prices -- you got it for the price of just any old RV, IMO.)

Great pics and fun to see what you are up to on it as well as reading about it. Isn't the Chinook just like a little palace after a camper van? That's what I had previously and although I'm used to the Chinook now I still remember the wonderous feeling of how HUGE it was inside (but still nice and compact outside).

Digression: I think I missed the memo on the French Cream Rustoleum. Is that for exterior plastic? Are the pre-97 rigs a slightly creamier color? (I have a vague recollection that at some point around either when the body changed in 92 or maybe 96 that the Ford white of the cab changed and so then they changed the shell color slightly? Or am I making that up?) (Kevin!?)

Back to your new Chinook: My previous (non-Chinook) camper van was that same teal and although at first I was plotting how to get rid of it, I ended up liking it. Now I miss it!

I can't quite make out what's going on with that upper cabinet: Did they just replace the front panel? Or?

I'm sure you'll end up finding kdarling's mods, but he has I think the same year as you (or close) and he's done a bunch of things like replace (cover up) that patterned center overhead strip (in later years like mine it's just the same basic off white marine hull liner type carpet as the rest of the overhead).

Show us more anytime you feel like it - we love pics and stories

Again, welcome!

BG

[chin_k]

The exterior looks very nice still, and I think overall, you got a bargain.

One thing I noticed is the air intake for the roof AC is not flush. You may simply need to push it up a little. I took mine off and the foam in there just disintegrated. I replaced mine with a new filter pad.

I assume Max going to be in a car seat on the sofa, sitting sideway? I wish there is a better arrangement, so be extra careful with the little guy around.

[eporter123]

Is the "Kitchen Vent" the external cover on the roof above the fridge? It's the long, rectangular cover fixed in place on the pass. side. Mine has a crack and I've been wondering if that's a custom Chinook part, or some generic RV part?

Circled in Red:

[eporter123]

I've seen some "Refrigerator Vent Covers" for sale, but not one that matches mine. I don't have the holes on the side like the above pic^^

Here's a Dometic kit. $26 for base and cap is more expensive than the tape I put on, but a better solution than screwing on a sheet of acrylic or similar.

[ASaucyBurrito]

Is the "Kitchen Vent" the external cover on the roof above the fridge? It's the long, rectangular cover fixed in place on the pass. side. Mine has a crack and I've been wondering if that's a custom Chinook part, or some generic RV part?

It was actually the range hood vent. The original was cable actuated. When the switch in the cab was pulled out, it lifted the vent cover externally and then turned the fan on. The mechanism on mine was beyond repair so I removed it and went with a standard slotted vent and installed a screen behind it to keep the bugs out. That new cover and the fridge cover were painted French Cream to match the exterior - it is very close.

The exterior looks very nice still, and I think overall, you got a bargain.

One thing I noticed is the air intake for the roof AC is not flush. You may simply need to push it up a little. I took mine off and the foam in there just disintegrated. I replaced mine with a new filter pad.

I assume Max going to be in a car seat on the sofa, sitting sideway? I wish there is a better arrangement, so be extra careful with the little guy around.

Thanks, I think we did very good on the price as well. He was asking 6500 and we negotiated it to 5500. As stated it has some issues, but nothing that scared us away. The fiberglass shell is sound but is oxidized. I think that is a good project for a long weekend and a large case of beer. Maybe next summer, we will see.

You are correct, the A/C intake cover on one side droops. The shroud itself has a small crack, so when it is installed it actually bends slightly. This makes it hard for the four small clips to keep it in place. I will probably try to fix this eventually by reinforcing the shroud itself. BTW, are there supposed to be filters up there? I don't recall seeing any...

We're thinking we will keep Max in the front seat for now. Probably the safest option to use the belts and keep the car seat up there, rear facing, versus the side facing bench. This year does not have a passenger airbag so it is legal and should be the best option for him.

Welcome! And congrats on your new Chinook! (Someone clearly didn't know market prices -- you got it for the price of just any old RV, IMO.)

Great pics and fun to see what you are up to on it as well as reading about it. Isn't the Chinook just like a little palace after a camper van? That's what I had previously and although I'm used to the Chinook now I still remember the wonderous feeling of how HUGE it was inside (but still nice and compact outside).

Digression: I think I missed the memo on the French Cream Rustoleum. Is that for exterior plastic? Are the pre-97 rigs a slightly creamier color? (I have a vague recollection that at some point around either when the body changed in 92 or maybe 96 that the Ford white of the cab changed and so then they changed the shell color slightly? Or am I making that up?) (Kevin!?)

Back to your new Chinook: My previous (non-Chinook) camper van was that same teal and although at first I was plotting how to get rid of it, I ended up liking it. Now I miss it!

I can't quite make out what's going on with that upper cabinet: Did they just replace the front panel? Or?

I'm sure you'll end up finding kdarling's mods, but he has I think the same year as you (or close) and he's done a bunch of things like replace (cover up) that patterned center overhead strip (in later years like mine it's just the same basic off white marine hull liner type carpet as the rest of the overhead).

Show us more anytime you feel like it - we love pics and stories

Again, welcome!

BG

Thanks Blue. I can't count the number of your posts I've read on here doing my research. Your thoroughness and knowledge is definitely appreciated. I've never actually been in a Westfalia or similar van. I do definitely appreciate being able to stand up in the Chinook, which is not something you can do in those other models. Gas mileage is definitely worse but there are always trade offs.

I do not recall who posted the French Cream info, but again it is very close to the creamy exterior color they used on this one. I painted the refrigerator cover and aforementioned range hood vent and was very happy with the result.

I'm not sure what the deal is with that cabinet. It may just be the front (it seems be the same general dimensions as the other side), but they've also laid some shag carpet up there for good measure. The cabinet openings are smaller and there are no doors which are my biggest gripes.


Love hearing everyone's feedback. We're very excited about this thing as you might be able to tell .

[Blue~Go]

Nothing like a new member of the family

On the exterior: When you do take to the oxidized fiberglass, be aware that on the Concourse the stripes are painted on with a clear coat over them. So you won't want to buff those like you would the white fiberglass.

Those two long "grilles" on the inside shroud of the AC are where the filters go. They are just flat pieces of fibery black filter screen type stuff. You can get replacement filters and also grilles.

I think that exterior venting stove hood is cool. Newer models only have the "fake" ones that just recirculate and don't lead outdoors.

On another note: The "flamingo legs" on our awnings are no longer available. So you may want to lube the joints with some kind of dry spray (I use McLube Sailkote) because you don't want them to break! This advice came from Fiamma. Huh, just noticed something interesting: The wand goes into your awning at on the back end; mine goes in on the front and cranks from there. So I guess you have a left-handed awning (or I do)