Chinook RV

kdarling wrote:

Willywalderbeast wrote:Haha. Im still mad I had to pay the extra fee in Zion! I was 99% sure i was under 7'10" wide that they charge for but i didn't have the solid number off hand. So to not inconvenience everyone behind me to have the lady come out to measure i just payed the fee. As soon as we had to stop at the tunnel i referenced the manual and sure enough 7'7" wide!

Ah, but I think 7'7" is just the body width. The tunnel measurement includes mirrors.

So it's all okay, and a useful alert for the next one of us going that way.

Too bad we can't just fold back the mirrors while going through, though

Do the stock mirrors hang that much past the body? I have telescopic mirrors and when pushed in they are not past the fiberglass body. Also as a side note, Utah law only requires one mirror on the left side of the vehicle, so technically you could probably push the right side mirror in legally. Then you would only have to worry about the left mirror sticking out farther then 3" pass the body?! Haha Anything to save a buck and travel farther.

Cool trip, Willy!! Sounds awesome. Looking forward to seeing that lift. It's gonna be a beast.

kdarling wrote:Too bad we can't just fold back the mirrors while going through, though

You can! I was just in Zion and they let me through the tunnel with the Velvacs tucked back. At the entrance, the ranger asked me about my width, I jumped out with a tape and we measured it. I had 2 inches to spare, so no extra fee. That's a tight tunnel when there's oncoming traffic..

kdarling wrote:

Willywalderbeast wrote:Haha. Im still mad I had to pay the extra fee in Zion! I was 99% sure i was under 7'10" wide that they charge for but i didn't have the solid number off hand. So to not inconvenience everyone behind me to have the lady come out to measure i just payed the fee. As soon as we had to stop at the tunnel i referenced the manual and sure enough 7'7" wide!

Ah, but I think 7'7" is just the body width. The tunnel measurement includes mirrors.

So it's all okay, and a useful alert for the next one of us going that way.

Too bad we can't just fold back the mirrors while going through, though

Actually, the ranger took our Concourse measurement on the ground and we passed, so they didn't count the mirrors.

No use crying over spent tunnel fees,alas if I knew then what I know now! And I hate confessions,but I do confess at the time I was tempted to drive around the park,the Ranger gave me the most incredulous of looks,and when he told me the mileage around,I calculated that by way of gas and mpg,and surrendered like the good man to his fate.Rooney

caconcourse wrote:Actually, the ranger took our Concourse measurement on the ground and we passed, so they didn't count the mirrors.

According to the National Park Service website, it's supposed to include the mirrors:

https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/ ... tunnel.htm

See the caption under the first photo, and the bottom diagram.

Cheers, Kev

It's been years since we went through Zion. We had a 24' Tioga on an E350 chassis at the time towing a Jeep Wrangler. We were good width wise but too tall so we had to pay the fee and and instructed to drive down the middle.

"The beaches along the coast,can be confusing,especially keeping an eye on west coast traffic,driving back and forth,just south of San Onofre,part of the Pendleton base,Surf beach doesn't lend itself to swimming with the kids,but what a Break."


Talk about confusion,just looked at my benchmark atlas "Surf Beach state park" is North not south of San Onofre,on the coast hwy. sorry for the misinformation...Rooney

Going to bring this thread back from the dead instead of starting a new one for my current project.

Finally getting around to having the camper painted and have a few things I need to do before that can happen. Biggest project before paint is new windows! Although the large odd shaped window is nice because of the size, I always hated that it only opened roughly 12” on one side. So the plan is to remove the window, fiberglass in the huge hole it left and reinstall a couple ‘Artic Tern Windows’ from Tern Overland.

Trying to decided if I want to just have one 43” window in the dinette area and leave the kitchen area without a window for more wall space to have a shelve and area to hang knifes and cups. Or two windows, one 43” widow and a 36” window in the kitchen. I’ll also be replacing the window in the bed area (side door model) with a 36” window.

Attached is a picture of the Artic Tern Windows from there site. Also a picture of my interior I started to rip apart last night to prep for the fiberglass work.

https://www.ternoverland.com/arctic-tern-window

Along with the new window install I’ll be fitting a new door as well. The original door is in poor shape and I’m hoping to find a replacement that will fit.

The same company that makes the windows has a very nice insulated “Euro Door” but the size isn’t quite right for the current opening. I’m actually having a hard time finding a direct replacement, most doors seem to be too long or too narrow. I think I found one on eBay that is pretty close to the original size that I’ll probably end up ordering.

Does anyone have any literature from Chinook stating the actually size of the chinook door?

WOW!, Willy....this window replacement project may warrant it's own thread. Has got to be one of the most ambitious Chinook remodels I've seen. Please keep posting detailed info, pics and progress, and best of luck!