Mepps

So what about the auxilary battery on the drivers side front of the engine bay? Should that be hooked up always? like I said, the negative terminal is disconnected. Then there is the power pack behind the drivers seat in the camper, can anyone explain how this works? Does anyone have anyone have an electrical diagram for the chinook?

Another quick question, I was told this chinook is based on a 1/2 ton chasis, we also looked at an odyssy (sp?), of the same era and was told it was based on the 1 ton chasis, is this all correct? Also today a tire guy told us of a dolphin rim that was one rim, two tires!(for use on the one ton chasis) anyone running those? got a pic of that rim?

Okay thanks for the replies, now I am wondering about the heater. Guy who sold it to him said the heater works, but runs off a separate battery, pretty cool I have always wanted to set up a second battery for lights on one of my Subarus, maybe i'll model it after this thing. So how's it work? I looked under the hood, the auxilary battery had the neg cable disconnected, I dunno if that was an error, or if you don't want it charging for everyday driving, perhaps only before an actual camping trip (my son is actually planning to live out of this thing, so hows that play into it?) Also the propane. In all honesty, I have never filled a propane tank in my life, what's involved, where do you get it, what does it cost. does anybody have a factory service manual they could scan pages from? How long does the heat last battery charge and propane. He wants to take the sink out, finding more sensible to just keep a jug of water. what about the fridge. what is more econamical, running the fridge on propane, or removing the fridge for space and keeping a cooler with ice? All opinions are welcome.

Hi all, My son just bought a Chinook and I'm helping him spruce it up a bit. manufacture date on the truck is 12/78 camper is 1/79. vehicle is titled as a 79. My most pressing question is wheel/ tire size. Fronts are 14 inch rims with 205/75 on them and they seem okay. Rears need replacing, we have two 15 inch rims and one 14 inch rim between what is currently on the rear and the spare. The door tag gives the specs of what came on it, said 7.5 by 14 tires all the way around(what size does this translate to in the xxx/xx/R14 format, J14 x 5J rims on the front and J14 x 5T rims on the back. I don't know what the rim designation (5J vs 5T) means, but it looks like the rims for the rear would not clear the drums if not correct. What do you guys think about tire size, gas mileage and power wise. If we use the 15 inch rims, what size tires should we mount on them? Also what about the generations of body,engine and camper shell for scrounging parts at junkyards, I found a 76 at the junkyard with the same camper and have seen alot of trucks with the 20R motor. What year trucks have the same vehicle body, same camper shell, and same engine? BTW this is a "gazelle" model camper, I have seen different ones in the same era. a 78 at the junkyard that was labelled "newport" and it was an entirely different camper. That's all for now, will have many questions later I am sure. The tire issue is the most pressing. Thanks, and I would like to add, This is a cool sight and these are really cool vehicles. I have been into old Subarus for years, and really apreciate another group of folks who keep the oldies but goodies rolling down the road.