Garage door opening?
-
89iroczwilly
- Posts: 1
- Joined: March 4th, 2019, 6:59 pm
Garage door opening?
How tall of an opening does my garage need to be to fit a Chinook Concourse? Also does anyone know what the towing capability is for the same rig?
-
HoosierB
- **Forum Contributor**
- Posts: 473
- Joined: May 21st, 2015, 7:00 pm
- Location: South Bend, Indiana
Re: Garage door opening?
You appear to be a new member to the forum...Welcome!
It's always helpful when posting questions concerning your rig, to include some basic info (year, engine/chassis, etc.).
FYI: there is a "reference material" section where PDFs of manuals and tons of info can be found... valuable stuff!
Garage door opening:
I had a garage door retrofitted to my 30x40' pole building to accommodate the Chinook. The new door is approx. 10' 3" tall. The side wall of my building is 12', so there was no problem for the install. The overall height of a Chinook is 9' 10.5" in stock configuration.
It's always helpful when posting questions concerning your rig, to include some basic info (year, engine/chassis, etc.).
FYI: there is a "reference material" section where PDFs of manuals and tons of info can be found... valuable stuff!
Garage door opening:
I had a garage door retrofitted to my 30x40' pole building to accommodate the Chinook. The new door is approx. 10' 3" tall. The side wall of my building is 12', so there was no problem for the install. The overall height of a Chinook is 9' 10.5" in stock configuration.
"Wanda" – '01 Chinook Concourse XL V10
Re: Garage door opening?
I would measure the height of an unloaded rig to confirm before starting enlarging the opening. Someone may put a taller AC on the top, or change the suspension so that the actual height is taller.
A neighbor of my coworker got his garage modified for a new class A he ordered. When he finally got the rig, and moved it inside the garage, the garage door won't close because it would hit the front bumper.
A neighbor of my coworker got his garage modified for a new class A he ordered. When he finally got the rig, and moved it inside the garage, the garage door won't close because it would hit the front bumper.
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
Re: Garage door opening?
Welcome,
My '99 is fairly perky in the back and the overall height is similar to what was mentioned above. Somewhere in the 9' 10" range. On mine due to the stance the ladder hoops are the highest thing.
As mentioned above, towing depends on chassis, but I think about 5,000# is the practical limit for the E-350 Ford chassis (90's, 2000's), unless you have something with no tongue weight (car towed four down, for example). This is because although the GCWR is sky high, you quickly run into the reality of other ratings when towing (I tow). Hitch (5000#/500# tongue, although that could be modified) and rear axle weight rating (not really something you can change since many components are involved). The latter is the real stopper for most people as the rear axle is somewhat close to ratings on many Chinooks even before they are towing. Then add the leverage of the distance from the rear axle to the hitch, and you get up to ratings fairly quickly. For example, a modest 350# on the tongue turns into about 550# on the rear axle.
Also the stock brakes on the E-350 are nothing too amazing, so you'll want a braked trailer if it's anything much. You can modify the brakes on the Chinook (I have) but I still wouldn't tow anything over 1,500# or so without trailer brakes (or toad brakes if towing a car).
My '99 is fairly perky in the back and the overall height is similar to what was mentioned above. Somewhere in the 9' 10" range. On mine due to the stance the ladder hoops are the highest thing.
As mentioned above, towing depends on chassis, but I think about 5,000# is the practical limit for the E-350 Ford chassis (90's, 2000's), unless you have something with no tongue weight (car towed four down, for example). This is because although the GCWR is sky high, you quickly run into the reality of other ratings when towing (I tow). Hitch (5000#/500# tongue, although that could be modified) and rear axle weight rating (not really something you can change since many components are involved). The latter is the real stopper for most people as the rear axle is somewhat close to ratings on many Chinooks even before they are towing. Then add the leverage of the distance from the rear axle to the hitch, and you get up to ratings fairly quickly. For example, a modest 350# on the tongue turns into about 550# on the rear axle.
Also the stock brakes on the E-350 are nothing too amazing, so you'll want a braked trailer if it's anything much. You can modify the brakes on the Chinook (I have) but I still wouldn't tow anything over 1,500# or so without trailer brakes (or toad brakes if towing a car).
1999 Concourse