Excalibur

Just finished my little project (heh) and it works great. I needed some low-draw night lights I could use without waking the kids or the spouse for those late night bathroom runs. I bought 3 red single LED's. They are the second ones down on this page http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=ACCENTS&Page2Disp=/pt/wired.html Make sure you don't get the flashing ones!! I wired 2 into a switch at the entry door. They are aimed to light the sink and the entryway. Wired one over the portapotti (incorporated it into an existing light that had a 2-way bulb function (bright and dim - using a taillight bulb). Removed the wire for the dim function, and aimed it downward over the portapotti. Can't wait to try them out tonight when it gets semi-dark around 11 (isn't summer in northern latitudes fun). These little things are so simple to wire in for some accent lighting that you don't have to worry about leaving on!

Last week I ended up getting lucky and finding a '78 chinook newport (the big brother to the pop-tops). Took it out last weekend for an impromptu camping trip and it worked great. Very warm and comfortable. Even was getting 22-24mpg with it going through the mountains--note loaded as lightly as I could get it, but a full water tank. I love this little beast! Now if I could only find a replacement drivers door and hood for it - ain't rust great! I am debating doing a quick rattle-can paint job on the cab to help stop the rusty spots (surface rust for the most part). Anyone recommed a product for this? Not looking for perfection by any means, just looking for a product that will make it look a bit better, and stop/slow the rust.

I have a '78 chinook newport, and it does not have cats. Under my hood is a sticker that says "Non-Catalyst" indicating it did not use a cat for emissions. It does have an elaborate air pump setup for emissions. If your rig was originally sold in California, that could be different, however. It might indeed have cats. The easy way is to look at your exhaust pipe. It will have a muffler inline, anything else bulging (usually smaller than a muffler) and inline with the pipe is a cat. Without hearing it in person, it sounds like you might have a slight backfire. How long since its last tuneup? Running a bit rich with the timing off a bit can cause that. One other thought is a rusting out muffler, with a baffle inside coming loose that moves when the pressure from the engine changing. It would do this also in the driveway - run it up to 2500-3000 rpm, hold it for a 5 or so seconds, and then remove your foot from the gas. It might still do it.

I have a '78 chinook newport that I am going through and getting everything working properly. Its water system consists of a tank, a "Par single fixture pump" that looks screwed directly into a bung in the tank, and a electric pump/faucet combo (see it at http://www.dyersonline.com/leisure-components-triple-action-hand-pump.html) - very simple - no hot water heater or anything. I have sanitized the tank, and replaced the faucet with a new one, which now works properly. The problem is that the pump appears to be siezed up, and I need to replace it. It looks like Par has been swallowed up by Jabsco, and they no longer make the exact pump I have. It looks like the Jabsco 42510 ( http://www.marineengine.com/products/accessory.php?in=2214897 ) is a very similar replacement (screws into the tank - hopefully the thread is the same). It is also a centrifugal pump. The body is round, not square like the old pump, so hopefully it will fit properly. The question is, the faucet has a manual pump feature if the battery is dead or you just don't want to use the electric pump that I would like to be able to use. The only outlet off of the tank is through the pump. With a centrifugal pump, I BELIEVE I will be able to continue hand pumping water through the pump without the pump on, as it currently will do. Am I correct on this?

Most certainly toxic when applied. When cured, I don't believe so. This stuff is used all the time on the inside of car floorboards to make a easy to clean, durable, non-slip surface. The plan would be apply it with all windows open, and let it cure 1-2 weeks before using the camper again (with windows open for ventilation).

I have a '78 chinook newport. The stock shag carpet is toast, and needs to be replaced desperately (and it smells of wet dog, to boot). I am debating on removing it, sanding the wood flooring, and rolling on a roll-on rubberized bedliner (herculiner). I can then use cheap throw rugs to warm up the floor, and it would all be very easy to clean. We like to boondock most of the time, and pine needles/sand/dirt tend to get inside in decent quantities. Something I could just sweep out would be great. Laminate seems like an awful lot of work for this tiny area, and I'm not sure it would wear all that well. Vinyl glue-on is another option, but I'm not sure how much floor prep would be required to make it look decent. Anyone done this? Pros and cons?

I just acquired a '78 chinook newport. I am looking at the stock window shades, and it looks like they originally used a track along the sides of the windows to hold the shades to the sidewall. Note on this model, the walls are sloped, not straight up and down. Being 32 years old, the stock shades are still there, but look to be broken (no attachment brackets to hold them to the wall - there are still the tracks there on the wall, but no plastic bracket on the shade to hold them). Anyone have any tips on how to either fix the existing shades, or replace them? I need shades with some blackout capability (I am in Alaska - long daylight hours during camping season. I'm trying to figure out how to make it work with the sloped sidewalls.

Hopefully, yes

Ended up going a different (more expensive.. ouch) route. Just got new white spoke steel rims to fit the tires on all 4 corners, so everything matches all around. The new tires are the 185R14's, load range D. This does make the rears narrower than the stockers were, but the stiff sidewalls of the new tires should help make up for the narrowness. Should be good for a few years now.

I think I found a solution, even with the factory rims. Uniroyal 235/60/R14. They will fit on the rear 8" rims. The only problem is they are not "load rated"- at least with range C or D.. According to the tire guy, they are rated to hold 1,565 pounds each at 35psi, and I can't imagine a loaded newport has more than 3000# on the rear axle fully loaded. Any input there?

Ok, I finally bit the bullet, an acquired a '78 chinook newport last night, so I now have a toyhome. I have the original factory rims, but am not sure what I should run for tires (I really need to replace them all to feel safe). I THINK this is the correct sizes from the doorpost: Front D70X14 Rims 14X5.5 Rear L60X14 Rims 14X8

I am looking at purchasing a '78 chinook newport. This model does not have dual rear wheels, and is smaller than most. Does anyone know if it was included in the axle recall? If it helps, go to http://www.tincantourists.com/wiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=1978_toyota_chinook_newport.jpg This is that exact model.

I am looking at purchasing a '78 chinook newport. This model does not have dual rear wheels, and is smaller than most. Does anyone know if it was included in the axle recall? If it helps, go to http://www.tincantourists.com/wiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=1978_toyota_chinook_newport.jpg This is that exact model.

Anchorage, Alaska.

Hey everyone, I am having a hard time finding much information on the Chinook Pop-Top. Specifically, I wanted to know if they can sleep 2 adults and 2 (little) children - one is an infant, the other is 3. Also, I assume most of them come with a propane heater for the nights, correct? My assumption is the table makes into a full or queen, the small area over the cab is good for a small child, and the other little one could sleep on a pipe cot over the front seats? I've been looking for something a bit larger (dolphin or similar) but they either are $5K rotted out junk or they want $10K for a decent 1985 up here. Because of this, I'm starting to look into the possiblity of a chinook. Also, I believe due to their smaller size and weight, the 5 lug rear axle is not a issue on the chinooks. Am I correct?