CHINOOK

ODOMETER (MILES): 24884
GENSET (HOURS): 62.2
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MANZANITA

ODOMETER (MILES): 24566
GENSET (HOURS): 62.2
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HOODED: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE

COST (THREE VENT CAPS, PUTTY TAPE): USD$85
ODOMETER (MILES): 24420
GENSET (HOURS): 62.2
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MUD LAKE

ODOMETER (MILES): 23793
GENSET (HOURS): 62.2
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TETONIA

CAMERON PASS

ODOMETER (MILES): 23444
GENSET (HOURS): 62.2
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REGISTERED (TEMPORARY): 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE

2 days from initial purchase to temporary registration (60 days).
COST (TEMPORARY COLORADO REGISTRATION): USD$6.22
ODOMETER (MILES): 22690
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TIRES: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE

As before, the first purchase were tires. Six new Firestone Transforce HT tires to replace the California-baked OEM's.
COST (SIX TIRES, MOUNT/BALANCE, INSTALL): USD$1056
ODOMETER (MILES): 22599
GENSET (HOURS): 60.1
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PURCHASE: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE

COST: USD$ CLASSIFIED
ODOMETER (MILES): 22586 (ACTUAL MILEAGE !!!)
GENSET (HOURS): 59.5
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3000 MILES: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

FLTLNDR™ passes the 3000 milestone mark at Little River State Park in Waterbury, VT during the first week of summer.
ODOMETER (MILES): 85258
GENSET (HOURS): 478.2
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BOLTON VALLEY

ODOMETER (MILES): 85057
GENSET (HOURS): 478.2
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RE-RACKED: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

Anyone looking for a wonderful bike rack should check out the Thule 964 Revolver.
COST (MSRP, BIKE CARRIER): USD$470
ODOMETER (MILES): 84821
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CARFAX: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE

COST: USD$50
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NEW BOSTON

ODOMETER (MILES): 84800
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BELLOWS FALLS

ODOMETER (MILES): 84718
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MALLETTS BAY

ODOMETER (MILES): 84538
GENSET (HOURS): 478
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INSPECTED: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

OK. So now, unless I've done something wrong, you've no reason to stop me Mr. Policeman, nor poke around my house. Please stay off my yard as well. Thank you!
COST (STATE INSPECTION): USD$35
ODOMETER (MILES): 84408
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REGISTERED: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

22 days from initial purchase to final registration. I'm not sure if that's allowed but it now makes no difference, we are legally wedded FLTLNDR™ & I, 'til best offer do us part.
COST (TRANSFER, TAX, TITLE): USD$953
ODOMETER (MILES): 84354
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VERGENNES

I get a call from my friend Anthony Bonello, whom I have not seen since Gulmarg '09/10 when he was filming Azadi: Freedom. He is in Vermont for one day shooting & editing dailies for The Pole-to-Pole Run, a huge effort by Pat Farmer (AU) to raise $100 million dollars for the International Red Cross. It's their first day in the USA, having jogged in from Canada the previous day.

According to his mission statement, Farmer will run two marathons every day, no days off, for almost a year, over 13,000 miles through 14 countries for his cause. Anthony will be following Pat Farmer for the next nine months as he tackles this truly awesome feat. We wish them all good luck - Please go to the Pole-To-Pole Run YouTube Channel and subscribe!
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THE POLE-TO-POLE RUN VIDEO:


THE AZADI: FREEDOM TRAILER:

RACKED: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

Hey! Anyone looking for a wonderful bike rack that will totally block convenient access to the rear door of their Chinook should check out the Thule 912XT Roadway bike carrier. It is definitely more appropriate for a side-entry RV than a rear-entry RV, as I learned immediately after installation.

That rack will do for now but it is FOR SALE at a fair price for pick-up in the Burlington, VT. When I finally part from the Roadway I will order the Thule 964 Revolver, or the Yakima SwingDaddy, both are suitable for rear-entry RV's. Will run you about $470 before tax & shipping, however...not a problem if you don't drive the RV for a week you can make up the cash difference!
COST (MSRP, BIKE CARRIER, SKI CARRIER): USD$420
ODOMETER (MILES): 84286
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2000 MILES: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

FLTLNDR™ passes the 2000 milestone mark at the entrance of the Rock Point property in Burlington, VT after our maiden voyage. It seems appropriate, or at least memorable, that it occurs here and not a random highway siding, as the Rock Point property has been my summer get-away since 2008.
ODOMETER (MILES): 84252
GENSET (HOURS): 476.3
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TINTED: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

Nowhere do I go without my sunglasses, and likewise, my rides always sport nice shades as well. It's the least I can do for my companion, after all there is privacy & fabric to protect!

Tint My Ride (VT) did the work for about $200 (spendy, in my opinion, but worth every penny).
COST (FOUR WINDOWS): USD$190
ODOMETER (MILES): 84220
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ROCK POINT

For those unfamiliar with Burlington (VT) Lone Rock Point is the site of the Champlain Thrust fault, a landmark well-known to local boaters, and geologists worldwide. The exposed wall is 500 million year-old stone thrust above the younger earth one normally views.

To my good fortune a great friend hired me to work here three years ago and I've been trying not to leave since that day. For many years all I knew about Vermont was my winter life in its mountains. When I left the island (Nantucket), its beach and the ocean, I left (unfrozen) water behind as well. My life was lived above 2200' here; I knew bupkis about the lakeside lifestyle in Vermont, and hadn't splashed in fresh-sprung water much since my childhood days.

I took to the life on Lake Champlain pretty well and soon had a bike and a kayak to take full advantage of this spectacular location, 500 acres of Rock Point privacy surrounded by water and only a few miles to the center of Burlington. FLTLNDR™ & I come to rest here often where we are close to two of my favorite local diners (Handy's Lunch & Sadie Katz Deli). Especially convenient is the North Beach Campground (and its dumping facilities).
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AUDIO: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

COST (COACH HEAD UNIT, SWITCHER, INSTALL): USD$375
ODOMETER (MILES): 84122
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BOLTON: RETURN TO VERMONT

ODOMETER (MILES): 83887
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LANCASTER: EASTWOOD CEMETERY

There is nothing more fitting than landing at Eastwood Cemetery on Memorial Day Weekend as a proper way of capping FLTLNDR™'s inaugural voyage from south to north. This is the final resting place of my father, grand-father, and great-grandfather. I suppose I'll end up here as well, kicking & screaming, after a well-lived life. I'm so happy I visited but am in no hurry to return to this place in a jar or box. Visiting in the Chinook will do for now.
ODOMETER (MILES): 83569
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OLD SAYBROOK

ODOMETER (MILES): 83364
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NEW YORK CITY

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DELMARVA PENINSULA

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TIRES: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

The first move I made to improve the Chinook was to purchase four new tires to replace the rear-duallys. Writing about tires is uninteresting to me so I will keep it simple. Despite looking perfectly fine a tire may be outdated, and unsafe. It is especially important to be prudent with tires supporting a 7-ton vehicle (GMVW exceeds 12000 pounds). In order to glean all the information possible from a tire refer to the following links:
1. How to Read a Sidewall
2. Reading the Sidewall of a Tire
3. Determining the Age of a Tire
COST (FOUR TIRES, MOUNT/BALANCE, INSTALL): USD$635
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MOREHEAD CITY

ODOMETER (MILES): 82514
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CARFAX: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

COST: USD$35
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PURCHASE: 2000 FORD CHINOOK CONCOURSE XL

For someone who moves quickly I sometimes manage to surprise myself. I was, within three days of selling the Toyota Chinook MPG, the owner of a Ford Chinook Concourse XL, an upgrade of significant margin measured by decades, square footage, and comfort. I had leap-frogged from the '70's to the 21st century, and my image transformed instantly from a hippie into a retired, privileged, baby-boomer. What happened?
COST: USD$ CLASSIFIED
ODOMETER (MILES): 82252
GENSET (HOURS): 475.8
© FLTLNDR™

HELLO CHINOOK NATION

Data from the Chinook RV Owners (CRVO) database. Map displays the location of Chinook owners according to zip code. Data lists year, model, and production number if available. List contains only information voluntarily divulged by owners. CRVO: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ChinookRVOwners/
Map developed by FLTLNDR™


View CRVO: Chinook Locator (North America) in a larger map

SOLD: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

I left Key West sooner than I wanted to get back to Boca Raton one day before a scheduled showing of the Toyota Chinook. FLTLNDR™ needed to look as good as possible to sell herself, but after the detailing & accessorizing I had done the rig was looking fine and I was confident a prospective buyer would be rolling away with her after a little bum-sniffing.

I had a firm offer for $6850 - a price many said I'd never get, but FLTLNDR™ is perhaps the finest surviving 1977 Toyota Chinook on the market today, of that I am very confident. Nonetheless, I had a compression test done that yielded some disappointing results. During the 5000 miles of actual driving I had put on the 22R engine it had never betrayed any sign of weakness, yet there was no arguing with the test numbers. From MN to VT to FL, FLTLNDR™ had performed exceptionally, and would likely continue to do so, but with what I knew about the engine I had to pull the vehicle off the market and re-calibrate my thinking.

I pondered driving the vehicle until the engine failed, and then mounting the cabin on a newer 4x4, a Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma will fit perfectly. Instead, I contacted the prospective buyer and dropped the price to $5000 to provide a $1850 budget for possible future engine repair/replacement. The sun was shining, I wore my silkiest tongue, and we went for a test-drive. Sold.
PRICE: USD$5000
ODOMETER (MILES): 36576 (or 136576).
© FLTLNDR™

BOCA RATON>KEY WEST

This is the 2000 Chinook Concourse I was hoping to buy, the first Concourse to catch my eye. The vehicle initially listed at $25000, and though it was a stretch for me to buy it, I nonetheless had been in touch with the owner since late 2010. I could not fathom why this vehicle was not selling if it was in the condition it appeared in the photographs the owner sent to me. Spotless. It was May before I had a chance to visit the seller and inspect the motorhome, and I did so by combo-ing it with a trip in the Toyota Chinook to Key West to visit my friend Randy, and have a great ropa vieja at El Siboney.

It was a blast driving the Toyota Chinook around Key West as this flat landmark is the perfect arena for an aging four cylinder motorhome, and its throwback style was complimented by the place. While I was boondocking there I experienced some of the challenges faced by the freeloaders of Key West: direct sunlight & police surveillance. I felt like a crab on the beach at low tide. On my way out of town it was time to meet the seller of the Concourse, and only then did I discover why this vehicle had not yet sold.

First of all it was not on Key West but Geiger Key, so not heaps of drive-by traffic. None at all in fact. Secondly, the listing was on an RV search site, not Craigslist, so fewer eyeballs. Then, a week before I arrived, the seller listed the vehicle on CL and dropped the price to $23500. Bingo: offers. By the time I made an appointment the seller told me he had a buyer flying in from New York the very next day who was prepared to buy it if it met expectations. I decided to visit anyway to learn what I could about the Concourse model, and be first in line if the buyer balked. He didn't. He saw what I saw and bought it on the spot. Meanwhile I had the scent of the good life on six wheels and there was no looking back - the hunt was on for another Concourse!
© FLTLNDR™

AUDIO: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

COST (DASH HEAD UNIT, TWO CAB SPEAKERS, NEW WIRING TO COACH SPEAKERS): USD$
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TINTED: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

COST (SEVEN WINDOWS): USD$190
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SOUTHPORT>BOCA RATON

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BOLTON>SOUTHPORT

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INSPECTED: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

COST (STATE INSPECTION): USD$35
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CHAINED: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

COST (SET OF CHAINS): USD$100

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SUSPENSION: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

COST (SIX LEAF SPRINGS, CHOCKS, LEVELING): USD$
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ELECTRIC SYSTEM: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

COST (ALTERNATOR, ISOLATOR, WIRING, PLUGS, TUNE): USD$320
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REGISTERED: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

COST (TAX, REGISTRATION): USD$325
COST (VANITY PLATE): USD$38
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ARDEN HILLS>BOLTON

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PURCHASE: 1977 TOYOTA CHINOOK MPG

How did I get mixed up in this ridiculous hobby? Well, I mainly blame the good folks at Toyota Motorhomes and other devotee websites for making it all look like so much fun. The wealth of information & enthusiasm at Yahoo! Groups like Toyota Mini-Motorhomes, Toyota Chinook, and ChinookRVOwners made it too easy to develop a keen interest in these rolling homes.

I quickly became well-informed about a vehicle I'd never seen in real life. I could identify year, make & model, and discuss the merits of various floorplans & configurations.
COST: USD$ CLASSIFIED
ODOMETER (MILES): 31068 (or 131068). 1977 Toyota pickup trucks featured 5-digit odometers.
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DEDICATION

This is a photograph of my Dad at Arches National Park in Utah circa 1972. Over the course of two consecutive summers our family traversed the western states in rented RV's exploring US National Park Service properties, my Dad at the helm, white-knuckling it over heady mountain passes. I am forever grateful. Thank you!
© FLTLNDR™