'05 Summit Capabilities

[Schrodinger]

Hello, all!

My wife and I are in the process of acquiring an '05 Summit for full-time travel with our two dogs. I was hoping to pick the collective brain here regarding where you all have taken your Chinooks and where you dare not go? We are mountain people, so Pike's Peak in CO, Mt. Baker in WA, Mt. Mitchell in NC, etc are all places that we'd love to visit on occasion. Have any of you hit these spots? Did any of them turn out to be impossible?

Thanks for any advice/experience you can toss our way!

PS: I'm not inexperienced with motorhomes in general. Motorhoming is a multi-generational pastime in my family, but none of us have ever owned a Chinook before and I'm curious about how well it'd navigate the hairpin and how well the stock V10 powertrain (assuming it's in great shape) can handle the long uphill pulls. I've successfully climbed Mt. Mitchell in my parents' 1970 Dodge Travco, but the turning radius on that thing is kinda insane compared to most motorhomes.

Just looking to make sure that we and the people around us aren't put in a bad situation! Thanks again!

[Manitou]

I'm not sure how ma y aummit owners we have here (a few at least). For what it's worth, the concourse would be fine. I had an issue eith the generator not running properly at altitude, but that was just mine. There is a carb adjustment for altitude, but even that didn't work for me.

[Schrodinger]

I appreciate the heads up regarding the generator. I'll have to be sure to understand that functionality before I get up to altitude with it.

[Blue~Go]

My wife and I are in the process of acquiring an '05 Summit for full-time travel with our two dogs.

Congrats! RV's are great for traveling with dogs.

I was hoping to pick the collective brain here regarding where you all have taken your Chinooks and where you dare not go?

For me (I have a 21' Chinook, 7'7" wide, so I think narrower than a Summit?), the #1 "stopper" is departure angle. Not only is the overhang aft of the rear axle long, but there are pipes and valves to catch on things (dump valves and associated piping). Also the trailer hitch receiver although it's considerably less fragile.

#2 is my unwillingness to scrape the sides of the Chinook on narrow roads (so width).

After that the other factors are all things that I rarely do so don't affect me as much. Say height for parking garages, or heavily treed areas in eastern forests, or width when parallel parking on city streets (and you don't want someone to scrape your side).

Because of my #1 and #2, traction rarely comes up as an issue. Not that it would never be one; just that #1 and #2 always seem to stop me first.

I went into more places in my camper van (great departure angle, over a foot narrower, single rear tires, and lower roof height too) but it wasn't as comfortable for spending time in (less living space, smaller tankage).

[Schrodinger]

Congrats! RV's are great for traveling with dogs.

Indeed! Until now, we've been traveling in my '77 VW Westfalia. I love the old girl, but there's almost no room for the dogs to be comfortable (a 75lbs Husky and a 40lbs Aussie). So, it's time to put the VW into storage and expand a little. Especially, since we want to move from traveling a few months out of the year to full-time.

For me (I have a 21' Chinook, 7'7" wide, so I think narrower than a Summit?), the #1 "stopper" is departure angle. Not only is the overhang aft of the rear axle long, but there are pipes and valves to catch on things (dump valves and associated piping). Also the trailer hitch receiver although it's considerably less fragile.

#2 is my unwillingness to scrape the sides of the Chinook on narrow roads (so width).

After that the other factors are all things that I rarely do so don't affect me as much. Say height for parking garages, or heavily treed areas in eastern forests, or width when parallel parking on city streets (and you don't want someone to scrape your side).

Because of my #1 and #2, traction rarely comes up as an issue. Not that it would never be one; just that #1 and #2 always seem to stop me first.

I went into more places in my camper van (great departure angle, over a foot narrower, single rear tires, and lower roof height too) but it wasn't as comfortable for spending time in (less living space, smaller tankage).

The Summit is 8'6" wide and 10'3" tall (top of the AC), as I recall. Good points on the scraping, though. Definitely worth considering during our travels. This wouldn't be the biggest rig I've driven, but this is the first of its size that I intend on taking to some of our favourite mountain spots. Usually, the VW will make it up in 1st or 2nd and with a few breathers on pull offs, but it weighs almost nothing compared to the Summit and the 15' bumper-to-bumper length makes maneuverability on tight turns an absolute breeze.

[Blue~Go]

I took many a fun trip in a '78 Westfalia (many years ago). They are hard to beat for their efficient layout and general charm.

The Chinook (IMO) will be considerably less nimble for getting places that are basically "down a trail." It's back to departure angle and width (and maybe height in forests). But it will be much more comfortable! Also, not having a poptop makes solar easier to install if that's in your plans (although the wedding-cake roof takes a few of of those ease points away).

And although you clearly won't be "stealth" in a Chinook, it certainly beats popping the top in someplace like a Walmart or Rest Area (BTDT )

[chin_k]

One good thing about Concourse is that there are less chance the length restriction will limit you, and much easier to find parking space than the longer Summit, but that a few extra feet surely make a big difference, esp. in the bathroom. I think very few Summits (in fact, I don't remember seeing any) are 6X6, while a small portion of Concourse are. There are a few roads that I would have used but did not because mine are not lifted and modified. But life is a compromise, so I deal with it. I just wish my rig have the room of a Summit, drives like a motorcycle, and sips gas like a Tesla.

[ltg]

The Chinook Summit will do the things you are asking about as well as any 27 ft motorhome with a Ford V10 engine.
I suggest you ask your questions on one of the larger RV forums.