MKUltra

I will definitely take one! Shocks too. PM me

Yep that's my lock. It looks like everything lines up and it fits correctly, but there must be something wrong with it internally. Just watched (part of) an extremely long YouTube video where a guy takes one of these apart to fix it. Some little cast aluminum piece had broken so he made something to replace it. I will buy a new one before I screw around with all that. This one's about $25. Can you recommend one that you would use that is still currently available? Seems like everything you like is no longer made. I pushed on the door every which-way and the door itself doesn't seem to flex or change shape at all. I'll check the hinges today. Here's a pic of my truck. You can see it sits up nice and high. There's a Scat around that is a similar size but it has the dual back wheels and the back end sags really bad still. It's around the same age but just in way worse shape.

Still looking for a passenger side window screen if you've got one of those!!

I really have a hard time believing there could be any rot in this thing. It's in really, really nice shape. Only 62K original miles and was in a garage its whole life until the guy before me bought it ~2 years ago, and it's been in San Diego since then. The back is all redone, too. This is the latch that is on it now: http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-locks/rv-door-locks.htm Seems kind of rinky dink. I think there's something wrong with the tumbler, the top key slot is screwy, and the deadbolt handle is stuck. I would like to get a sturdier setup anyway. But yeah, the not opening when I pull makes me wonder about all the stuff you're saying. I really think the guy that did the rebuild did a solid job. It was completely gutted and everything replaced, just can't believe he wouldn't have taken care of any structural issues then. Is there any way to know when visually, everything looks perfect and new? The bottoming out sucks because I think it's my exhaust system that's hitting. When I bought the thing I took it to a good mechanic and had him go over absolutely everything and fix it, and exhaust was fine. A couple months later, started getting some buzzing/rattling under the cab, took it back, and sure enough had a (minor) exhaust leak. The tailpipe sits really low too, and is exactly at the height of the curbs, so I can't get too close when parallel parking or it will drag. I would like to be able to go on dirt roads, rougher roads, etc without ripping off my exhaust (and the door popping open, hahaha!). I might take those shocks off your hands if you think they would help.

The back door on my Chinook has started popping open while I'm driving down the road. Nothing has gone flying out yet, thank goodness, but I'm getting pretty paranoid. The first time, it was unlocked and I was storing my drinking water dispenser in the little landing, and I think it knocked the door open when I hit a bump. However, it happened again even with the door locked. Now I don't keep anything in that area, but the other day it opened up twice, while locked, just randomly. Road was somewhat bumpy but not terrible. I've been crawling through from the cab and locking the little deadbolt on the inside when I'm driving, but it's a pain. The little red handle on the inside of the latch doesn't budge, either, so I'm wondering if the whole thing just needs to be replaced and it's just not catching enough to stay closed. If I try to pull it open, though, I can't, so I'm concerned that there's something else going on, with the door jamb or something. Another separate issue I'm having is ground clearance. Seems like every time I pull into a slightly steep driveway or go over a speedbump (they're huge here), I end up scraping the ground. My leaf springs are new and there's not a lot of weight back there. Is this just an issue with motorhomes? I'm going over stuff so slow to try to avoid it but it still happens. Is there anything I need to look at or add to it to get it up a little? Air shocks have been suggested, but to look at it, nothing sags.

Somehow one of my window screens has gone missing in the last 24 hours. I've retraced everywhere I drove but haven't seen it anywhere. All I can figure is it fell off on the road. Any idea where I can track one down?

I love Michigan and especially northern Michigan. I haven't been to the UP yet though! I surfed on the Great Lakes for 12 years before I moved to San Diego for school and we used to take surf trips to western Michigan, St. Joe's, Muskegon, and New Buffalo mostly. Haha it sounds like that guy is just getting his wife's goat. Sounds like a nice camper, maybe he'll come down eventually. All three of those ads look cool, prices are definitely higher out here. Like I said, half of Ocean Beach lives in one with HAKUNA MATATA and rainbows painted all over it. I went with the smaller Chinook to be a little less conspicuous (obnoxious). Also it seems like the more conveniences and features, the more problems to fix. Sounds like you're willing/able to do a lot more work than I am.

Picked this up today! They were willing to deal. http://m.ebay.com/itm/121533409694

And you're in Detroit? Geez, maybe I should just fly home to visit my parents in Cleveland and then buy that one and drive it back. : ) They seem to be high out here.

It's a Toyota Chinook. I've never seen one that high, but relative to others I've seen sell out here and their condition, 7000 almost seemed reasonable. A refurbished Chinook Newport went for around 5000 and I almost bought a 76 very similar to this one for 6000 that wouldn't smog, needed brakes, needed the AC charged, and had an oil leak, and I'm sure there was more. Somebody else bought it for that price and took it out of state where the smog thing wasn't an issue. Yeah I think this is higher than what it went for new.

There's a really nice 77 Chinook that's been for sale for 3+ months, and I think the only reason it hasn't sold is because of the price. It was up for $9000, then awhile later relisted for 8000, then recently 7000. 52k miles, coach redone, outside perfect. Says mechanically fine. I'm thinking if it still didn't sell at 7k that's probably too high but it is a nice truck. I would like to make an offer on it but don't know what an appropriate price would be. If I just went by how much I wanted it I would've been selling plasma or something since I first saw it listed. Are there guidelines for pricing? I don't wanna insult the guy with an offer when he's already dropped his price twice.

HER books, thank you very much. Haha yeah I'm pretty much cross-eyed from reading already so there's no way I'm keeping up with this post. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah, ruled the Americana out - top end of my budget and figuring high mileage means more work, plus it's ugly as sin inside. Guy with the Rogue/Sandtana was supposed to get back from Joshua Tree yesterday but I still haven't heard back from him and ad is down.

This is the ad for the Americana: http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/rvs/4901447295.html Mileage is 180k

Ok that's about what I expected. I heard back from him last night, it was a generic reply saying he was going to Joshua Tree for 10 days, would be back March 9th, and would begin showing it in the order people can come. Highest offer takes it. Must be a lot of interest in it. I've already lost out on 2 because of this. I'm checking ads every day and responding immediately but anything I would want, a lot of people want.

Huh, well they're definitely not enforcing it around here! Can't imagine how much worse the actual homelessness would be if they did. Yeah, if I ever see him 'home,' I'll ask for some input. I am also quite confused by the claim of a Rogue pop top. I've seen pictures of Rogues and they just kind of look like Dolphins. If the guy ever emails me back I'll see what the deal is.

Hi Linda, my understanding of that law is that so far, it applies to vehicles over 50 feet in length. My friend just got a pretty big ticket because his boat was hitched to his truck on the street, and was within 50 feet of an intersection. As far as RVs this size, I'm in Ocean Beach, I see 20 of them a day. People live in them all over the PCH, beach and park parking lots, side streets. There's an 80s Dolphin that 'lives' on my street.

It's the rear bath model.

I just heard back from this guy, and the mileage on it is actually 180,000. Much higher than I initially thought. I was looking at a bunch of ads so not sure if I mixed it up or if the ad was edited, because I remember thinking the same thing - that with that mileage, maybe I should buy it and see how I like it, and if it's too big, sell it and make a little on it. It seems like the person doesn't know what it is.

I'm in San Diego for grad school and am exploring all options for affordable living situations for the duration of the program. It's just me, so I don't need anything huge, but I don't want to be clawing at the walls and claustrophobic either. Kind of glad now that the Chinook I initally wanted to buy didn't work out. Would have been rad to drive, probably not so much to live in. Gas mileage is more important to me than power, and ease of driving and parking is pretty high up there, too, so that plus cost would be the advantages of the Rogue. It's 4 cylinder, automatic, and the Americana is V6, automatic, probably nice to drive, just bigger and more gas consuming. Anybody know what kind of mileage they get? I've heard claims from 12 to 22. My guess would be right in the middle of that.

I am new to all of this so I'm just learning about the differences between some of these motorhomes, but there are a couple for sale in my area right now and I'm wondering if there's anything I should be looking for/watching out for. One is a 1990 Odyssey Americana, around 50k miles, nice shape, asking $5800. The other says that it's a 1986 Rogue 18 ft "pop top." I've seen the Chinooks with the pop tops but when I try to Google image search these, I'm not getting any pics. It has 137k miles but with one owner for most of its life, well maintained, and only $3000. The smaller size of that one is attractive to me. I understand that the Americana is a little bit bigger than the other 21 ft motorhomes, and I'm trying to go as small as possible, but is it a better value? Are there any major things to check out with either of these models?