haney4147 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Just made a deal on a Chinook pop top that will be transplanted on a 4x4 chassis. My main concern is driveability at highway speed. I have an 87 long bed with 22re and a 98 tacoma with 2.7 to choose from for the transplant. The 98 would require the frame to be stretched, and I would prefer not to cut up the newer cab. What I don't want is to do all of the work to put the chinook on the 87 just to find out that I do not enjoy driving it because I am being passed by class A's on the highway. A third option would be keeping the chinook on the factory frame with 20r and doing a straight axle swap using parts from a junk yard 83 that was rolled and totaled. I think this would be the worst of the three options though. Any advice would be appreciated preferably from someone that has first hand experience driving a Chinook. Cheers, J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 These RV's do best when they are doing 55 mph. If you can't stand being passed by almost anything with wheels (except Amish buggies) don't drive a Toyota RV. Some people will go down the highway keeping up with everyone but it not the best use for a Toyhouse. Drive at the speed of slow and enjoy it. I normally drive 55 mph and plan my trips to stay way from the Interstate highways. I get 13 to 15 mpg. My daughter drove my RV about 120 miles at 65 mph and got about 9.5 mpg. I have a 21 ft 1988 Escaper with 22Re engine and automatic tranny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2ndopinion Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Use the '87, but put the 3RZ into it. I know a guy local here that does 2 & 3RZ swaps into older 2xR/RE trucks quite often. I also have a friend who swapped a 2RZ into his '83 Celica, replacing its 22RE. That's an easy way to pick up 40+ HP, and it looks like it belongs there. Just my $0.02 worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Just made a deal on a Chinook pop top that will be transplanted on a 4x4 chassis. My main concern is driveability at highway speed. Cheers, J I have a 1978 pop-top Toyota Chinook with the 20R and it zips along easily at 60-65 MPH. Night-and-day difference from a newer and bigger Toyota RV like my 1988 Minicruiser with a 22RE, auto trans, and 20 feet long. My Chinook is quite a bit heavier then OEM including a full-floating dually rear. It gets 19-22 MPG @ 55 MPH and around 16-17 @ 65 MPH. If I drove my 1988 Minicruiser @ 65 MPH I'd be lucky to get 12-13 MPG and little to no passing power. The question is - how much weight will you add with 4WD and how much wind-resistance will you add? If it was my project - and I really wanted 4WD - I'd use the 1987 assuming it is already 4WD and it has the correct distance between the back of the cab and centerline of the rear-axle. I built a few straight-axle 4WD mini-trucks back in the 70s and it is a lot of work. If I was ever to want to stick a Chinook pop-top on a newer truck - it would likely be a Chevy S10 with the 2.2 engine. But my interest would be fuel mileage and the added plus of having power steering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haney4147 Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Thanks for the replies. I intend to be able to drive the speed limit on flat roads. I don't think it is fair to compare the chinook to full size motorhomes. I would feel much more comfortable doing a frame, brake line, e brake cable, drive shaft extension on the 98 than swapping a 3RZ into the 87. If someone can confirm that the 22re will have the power to overcome the extra wind drag I will use the 97, if not I feel that the 98 is a better option and will provide a more comfortable ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I have a friend with a Chinook shell on a 1987 4x4 chassis with the 22re. Keeping up to highway speeds is not a problem. Extra wind resistance with the pop top shell is minimal compared to a regular cab over motorhome. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 The 2.7 has a lot more guts than a 22RE and about 9 more HP than the old 3 liter V6. They are great engines IHO a better engine over all than the R series engines. But no mater what it will not be a blazing performer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Make sure you put some good locks on the "pop-top." It is spring loaded and without good locks -it can spring open while cruising down the highway. When that happens - the entire roof can rip right off. I've seen it happen (in photos and videos) to three of them. I had a guy come to my place just to buy a spare roof for his. I was kind of amazed he did what he did. He made a very long trip with his own Chinook and camped at my place in New York. He then took the roof off a Chinook I was scrapping and found a way to carry it on the roof of his. So he went down the highway with two rooves on his Chinook. I though I was the only one who did things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haney4147 Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thank Linda, that's good to hear. I am currently working in China and thought I would be back to start this project in January, but I was just extended to the end of April. Will give me more time to think about my options ;-). I love the roof on the roof. I will definitely make sure I have a good roof tie down system. That's a lot of surface area to have 70mph wind under if it comes unlatched. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payaso del mar Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 the bandits used a simple hasp and pin arrangement which seems to work pretty well....just like you'd use on a door to put a padlock through, altho I might be tempted to go for the stainless ones Stanley sells to avoid risk of rust staining top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haney4147 Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 Will get more into the latches once the build starts. What about towing, anyone towed a trailer say around 1000lbs with a chinook. Or would that be getting into V6 territory? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Will get more into the latches once the build starts. What about towing, anyone towed a trailer say around 1000lbs with a chinook. Or would that be getting into V6 territory? I pulled an 800 lbs. boat and trailer with no issue. The pop-top Chinooks from 1975 and up are rated to pull 1000 lbs. and to have a 50 lb. tongue weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinooking Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I have a 76 Chinook and I don't feel too comfortable with the inside straps alone, so I am thinking of installing four latches, two in each side on the outside. I like payaso's idea of using stainless ones so they won't rust. Can I use regular ones to lock doors or must they be especially for pop ups, like the trailer ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Certainly no rules as to latch choice. This is what I have on mine. Mine top came half way up on a trip last year when I forgot to latch them. I lucky I didn't blow the top off (which has happened to others). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinooking Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 jdemaris, Thanks for sharing the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I'm a little biased, but if you're going to be pulling a shell off, the best chasis imho would be an earlier 4x4 Long Bed Tundra with the 3.4L motor and 16" rims etc. I believe 1998 last year of the 3.4L in the full size toyota? The extra width sure is nice in terms of stability, the lines with truck and shell, and the longbed means your shell would bolt up without too much fabricating. We get 16 mpg with highway speeds of 65 (at least that's the speedometer is telling me) with the full "stand up" rig without much effort in the gas pedal. I would imagine a pop-up chinook would do even better. Great motor the 3.4L from my experience so far. just passed the 250,000 mile mark. Bought truck w/ 180,000 and haven't done a thing other than change oil and some brake shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.