MontanaChinook Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Hi, I bought a Chinook Newport a couple months ago. I've been browsing this forum a bit lately, and joined the Yahoo Chinook users group. I've seen enough posts from people here who seem to have really good advice for me, that I figured it'd be a good idea to join. The Chinook is, unfortunately, depressingly, parked for the winter. Will be April or May before it drives again, but I've already camped 4 nights in it, and love it. In the spring I'll be replacing the tires (they're new, but unfortunately they are car tires, not truck tires. I don't trust them), probably adding a leaf or two to the rear spring pack, replacing all wheel bearings, a little carb adjustment and full tune-up, replacing a leaking propane regulator, and depending on how motivated I get...someone somewhere along the line painted over all the nice wood paneling with turqouise...so I may replace the walls and cabinets with new wood. All in all, for a 35 year old vehicle, that's not bad. It didn't sit for those 35 years. It's been used, but never abused. 48,000 miles. Just a summer, short-trip weekend warrior vehicle, it seems like. I drove it from Seattle to Montana when I bought it, and it did great, could easily go faster than I felt safe going (55-60mph seems to be the top of the safe zone), and got between 17 and 20mpg, and that's with it needing a tune up. Next summer it'll get worked on a bit, and go to music festivals and some other trips. The summer after that...unless I get tied down somehow, will likely be my home while I travel and visit friends, relatives, and basically take the time to do the things I never have time to do. Kind of an early, temporary retirement. Might last the summer, maybe a year, maybe...who knows? Photobucket seems to be all screwed up for me right now, and I haven't figured out how to upload images to this site yet from my computer...so no photos right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Before spending money on new tires, I'd check how much your Omega weighs. Perhaps a question (or Search) to the Chinook Group might turn up some weights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 Newport, but close enough! It was on the Chinook users group that I was told to check my tires and make sure they're LT, and not car tires. But I agree...that's a lot of money to spend if it's not necessary. I guess I can just look on the tire and see its weight limit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 It's probably good advice, but worth checking before rushing to spend the money. There are bound to be other places to spend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 Yeah, no kidding... Ok, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I just looked at your pictures. You appear to have wider than standard rear rims. I believe it was common practice for Chinook to offer as an option L60-14" tires on these wider rims. I believe that all the 185R14 Load Range D tires are designed to be installed on rims that are 5"-6" wide. I don't know the width of your rims but they might be wider than recommended. I think I'm going to recommend that you go back to the Yahoo Group and ask there what people have done in this situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 Ok, I will. Thanks. I "know" that the rear tires were wider on these. At least on the bigger, non pop-up versions. Most people on the yahoo site have pop-ups. It's tough with these Newport and Omegas, since they were only made for one year. Pretty darn hard to find info. Not sure that on those cheap rims, it'll say the size? I know on my truck, with nice aluminum rims they'll say "15x8" or something on the inside, but I don't know if these will. I'm not sure where on the rim I would measure, to see what width they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 What size tires are on there now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 I don't know off the top of my head...I'm about to leave town for the week for a conference, but as soon as I can get around to it, I'll check and get back to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) I snuck in some time before leaving! Front tires (I'm guessing these are stock): 185/70 R14 88T on a 14x5 rim. Back tires: P255/60 R15 1025 M+S. Too much snow on the ground to crawl under the back and see if the rims says the size on the inside. Front rim was nice enough to have that printed on the outside. Edited November 13, 2012 by MontanaChinook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Front size is definitely a passenger tire. The '88T' is the clue. (~1235lb) The rear too. The 'P' indicates 'passenger'. I'm going to guess that the tire is actually marked 102S and not 1025. This would have the same load capacity as a 185R14 LR 'D'. (~1875lb) I'll again suggest again to get the front and rear get weighed. Probably upgrade the fronts to 185R14 LR 'D'. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Alright, thanks again! I have a PDF manual for a 77 pop up style chinook, and I'll see what that shows for the weight. Mine is probably a bit heavier, but it'll give me an idea. Then next spring, when the chinook rides again, I'll take it somewhere to get weighed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I'm sure at some point someone on the Forum would appreciate a copy of that manual (if it's not already there). Maybe you could post it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 Yeah, I'll post the link when I find it again. It's out there somewhere...just wish there was one for the Newport/omegas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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