SOLD = Cummins Diesel 4x4 Chinook RV

illusha

New member
*** SOME PHOTOS ARE ATTACHED TO THIS POST AND MORE ARE IN MY POSTS BELOW ***

OVERVIEW:

1978 Dodge Chinook 23-foot, fully self-contained and insulated, Cummins turbo diesel swap, intercooled, 5-spd tranny swap, NP205 t-case, Dana 60 axles, 8-inch lift springs, Bilsteins, 35-inch tires, runs and drives great. Located in OREGON. Come pick it up and drive it back home or start your tour from here.

DETAILS:

1978 Dodge Chinook RV 23-foot,
Original 70K miles in good shape,
Nice interior that's mostly re-done,
Swivel around captain's chairs,
Full shower and working toilet,
Sinks, Stove, Fridge, 2 TV-Monitors,
Lots of storage and lights.

24 feet is usually the maximum length
to be legally parked overnight on the street
and to register as a Van instead of an RV.

Arctic Body with dual-sheet fiberglass,
Filled with 1" injected foam insulation,
Roof is one-piece flipped upside down,
All vents sealed with Eternabond tape,
Then had several coats of RV roof paint,
Never had any roof leaks or damage,
110v - 12v converter with house battery,
All plumbing hookups in and out,
All tanks cleaned and pressure tested.

Custom front bumper setup for 8274,
Tied into a custom sub-over-frame,
LOTS of custom metal work to make it fit,
Completely Rhino-Lined two-tone exterior,
Easy to maintain and easy to touch up.

POWERTRAIN:

Dodge 5.9L Cummins mechanical 12-valve,
New custom Holset HE351 Turbo,
Intercooled with full-size intercooler,

New 5-spd Getrag transmission,
New Velair triple disc ceramic clutch,
New Velair flexplate and bearings,
NP-205 gear-drive transfer case,
New hydraulics and all cylinders,

Dana 70 rear with Detroit Locker,
Dana 60 front, KP, both 4.10 gears,
Goes over 75mph on the freeway fine,
Custom steering box and cardan shaft,
New steering arms and crossover steering,
Rebuilt kingpins, custom brake valve,
New brake booster and master cylinder
New Skyjacker DR60s-D600s 8-inch springs,
New Bilstein 5100 shocks spec'ed for this rig,
New front and rear driveshafts and ujoints,

Rebuilt injection pump and injectors,
All new motor seals, including rear main,
Tabbed KDP and locked all case bolts,
Crankshaft work done with a sleeve,
New oil pump and many internals,
New sensors for factory gauges,
New lines for fuel, breaks, etc.,
New engine and cab wiring,
No factory vans had manual,
So custom manual pedals,
Custom throttle setup,

Fully gone through and rebuilt,
Extremely reliable and simple,
Everything is fully mechanical,
Only "requires" 1-wire to starter,
EMP resistant and runs upside down,
60% moving parts of other engines,
Extremely durable and reliable,
Will never leak or get scratched,
Only 500 miles on the build.

It comes with 2 sets of 35-inch tires mounted on Centerline wheels, 15.50-wide Mickey Thompson (2 on the rear axle + 2 spares) and 12.50-wide BFGoodrich (2 on the front axle + 2 spares), so you have a choice of tire combinations for different road conditions and plenty of spares.

It could use the exhaust past the downpipe, any shop can do it, relatively inexpensive.
Also could use the couch fabric finished by a person with better sewing skills than mine.
And some general TLC perhaps.

Clean Title and Permanent RV Plates (keep them or change them).

Uses all factory DODGE components, so that any Dodge-Chrysler-Fiat dealer can work on it and get parts, that could be anywhere in the world.

Would make a good overland expedition vehicle, or just a motorhome that can go anywhere offroad, as well as drive well on the highway, Cummins turbodiesel is great for towing, yet gets much better fuel mileage than an average diesel pusher, the entire RV is about the same length as a crew-cab pick-up and weighs not much more, easy to maneuver and park, can be left on the street overnight or parked downtown, would be great for hunting or general backroads exploring, all the basics of a “prepper” rig, proper vehicle to keep for natural disaster relief, from earthquakes to fires to floods to protests, go from the wilderness to urban jungle without switching vehicles and tow something behind, would even make a decent show van, as there aren’t any other ones like this, this is the one to get.

$32,000 CASH OBO or TRADE

Please be realistic with your expectations regarding this custom vehicle.

*** SOME PHOTOS ARE ATTACHED TO THIS POST AND MORE ARE IN MY POSTS BELOW ***
 

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Last edited:

Rockey709

Active member
Very cool toy. I saw one 1/2 as cool in San Diego a while back (original 318 gasser) I believe. The 5.9 makes it drool worthy. Great job.
 

eporter

Adventurer
I feel like I saw this for sale sometime in the past year or two? Already diesel-swapped but maybe didn't look as nice? How long have you owned it for? Any interior shots?

Looks like a fun rig for sure.
 

cjken

Explorer
That looks awesome!!
I can’t imagine it handling too well on the road but I’m sure it could be fun.
 

illusha

New member
I've had this RV for a couple of years. Posted it once before when it wasn't painted yet and had some things still unfinished. It's good to go now. There's always room for improvement of course. It goes over 75 mph on the freeway just fine. If you know how to drive a lifted rig. Follows the "suggested" speed limit around highway corners. A set of sway bars from a company like Currie Antirock would greatly help and isn't hard to add. I'm just kinda done spending money on this build and want to cash out to put my funds towards other things. It's a very capable rig for numerous purposes and basically at a cost of parts. I know that someone would be thrilled to have it. So far, most of those falling into the above category had no cash money, so figures. C'est la vie.
 

illusha

New member
Updated my photos - Post #1...
 

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illusha

New member
Updated my photos - Post #2..
 

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illusha

New member
Updated my photos - Post #3 (and done).
 

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illusha

New member
I've been getting on average 3 emails every day about this RV, granted about a half of those are telling me either how cool it is and they cant afford it or how cool it is and I should keep it, but no one came to look yet. I appreciate the immense interest. Now lets make this one-off rig go to a new owner...
 

illusha

New member
Getting more and more interest from all over the country about this rig and still no one bought it yet. Several people are waiting for their other toys to sell or for taxes to come back. You can get in touch with me by sending a message here or looking up my ad posted on Portland's Craigslist. I've been debating about having some offroad or diesel magazine write an article about the rig as several requested recently. But I would prefer to keep that as a selling point and have the new owner decide whether to feature the rig in an article or not.
 

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