last trip of the year......

[chinook440]

it was short but sweet ...and only 88 miles from home. On the banks of the illinois river around buffalo rock and starved rock area.

2 chinooks venture into the domain of whitebass and sauger !

[chinook440]

view from the h20

[kdarling]

Nice!

BTW, is that a '78 or '79 in the foreground?

And looks like a 2001-2003 in the back?

Thanks,
Kev

[chinook440]

kev .. it,s a 78 and a 2002

the 79 model year dodge chassis usually have the square quad head lights ....usually <--keyword lol


the 78,s were the first year for the more modern dash that lasted into the early 90,s but had the same front grill and smaller front fenders as the 77 and earlier models.

[Blue~Go]

Nice! Looks great out on the water (and in the campground - fun to see your "fraternal twins").

Those definitely don't look like stock late 70's van seats! (Funny to see them now and they just look like such low chairs, not vehicle seats.)

[kdarling]

Those definitely don't look like stock late 70's van seats! (Funny to see them now and they just look like such low chairs, not vehicle seats.)

I think they might be stock Dodge "Command Chairs" of the time, which were velour and could swivel and recline.

kev .. it,s a 78 and a 2002
the 79 model year dodge chassis usually have the square quad head lights ....usually <--keyword lol

Ah, thanks! I'm trying to hone my Chinook year recognition skills, in order to make a chart for everyone to use.

I knew it was a 1978 or 79 Chinook from the cabover window.

In retrospect, I should've known it was a 1978 because Dodge changed in 1979 to a new front with wraparound turn signals.

As for quad headlights, I found out that they were standard on the 1979 Royal Sportsman, Street Van, and other higher end models (including the Chinook RV chassis), but optional for regular models which still normally came with round headlights.

--

The rear Chinook was clearly 2001 or newer, since it has a single utility port door on the left side.

I could've narrowed it down more if the front hood / grille was visible, as Ford changed those in 2003.

Very interesting. Thanks again!
Kev

Oh. PS. I'd love it if you found a chance to measure the inside height of your cabover area. I think some of us are jealous of the extra room you have where a kid could probably sleep

[Blue~Go]

Those definitely don't look like stock late 70's van seats! (Funny to see them now and they just look like such low chairs, not vehicle seats.)

I think they might be stock Dodge "Command Chairs" of the time, which were velour and could swivel and recline.

Ah, interesting. I thought the "knobs" on the upper sides of the shoulder area made them look like modern seats with integral seatbelts (fitted simply as comfortable seats).

Oh. PS. I'd love it if you found a chance to measure the inside height of your cabover area. I think some of us are jealous of the extra room you have where a kid could probably sleep

That would be interesting. I've got that front piece (the molded, fabric covered one that houses the central cabinet door plus the TV and VCR areas) removed from mine and so could compare. You'd have to be *really* small to sleep up there in mine. Maybe the older ones were higher there (maybe the Dodge cab roof was comparatively lower too).

[kdarling]

Ah, interesting. I thought the "knobs" on the upper sides of the shoulder area made them look like modern seats with integral seatbelts (fitted simply as comfortable seats).

You could be right, although shoulder belts were mandatory by then, and a swiveling seat would need the built in belt type.

Let's see what he has to say.

[Blue~Go]

a swiveling seat would need the built in belt type.

That isn't necessarily the case. I say that because my late 90's Ford campervan had shoulder belts that were not integrated with the seats (they were the exact same as we have in our Chinooks, attached to the B-pillar) -- and both my driver and passenger seats swiveled (stock Ford van seats). I could also get a swivel designed for my '99 Chinook front seat(s) (Flexsteel) and it would use the pillar-mounted shoulder belts as well.

Actually, at one point I was looking into getting a seat with an integrated seat belt because I had ideas about putting it in the "forward living room seat" position in my Chinook. I found that "legit" sellers are very careful about who they sell them to, because they want to know that you *already* have a vehicle that was designed for them, and are simply replacing it. I can see why, as with the seat taking all of the load in a crash, plus supporting the seat belt forces, you want an engineered/strong attachment to the floor, and they don't know if you are doing that. I did find that there were ways to get them (junkyards, eBay), but not the usual channels (at least at that time).

I changed my plan, so didn't follow through with that at the time.

[kdarling]

That isn't necessarily the case. I say that because my late 90's Ford campervan had shoulder belts that were not integrated with the seats (they were the exact same as we have in our Chinooks, attached to the B-pillar) -- and both my driver and passenger seats swiveled (stock Ford van seats). I could also get a swivel designed for my '99 Chinook front seat(s) (Flexsteel) and it would use the pillar-mounted shoulder belts as well.

Interesting. Who made that campervan? Was it a conversion, or something Ford offered?

From what I've read, swivel seats haven't been legal in commercial van conversions since around 1992. Vehicles legally classified as motorhomes might have gotten an exemption, though.

Later swivel seats from vehicle manufacturers, like the seats Chrysler had in their T&C vans, had the shoulder belt built into the seat itself to meet requirements.

Thinking more about it, back in 1978 even the seat belt laws of the time probably wouldn't have applied to something of the Chinook class. So I take back the idea that it was necessary. Perhaps it was just a nice extra feature.

Cheers!