Chinook RV

We frequently take longish trips in our 2003 Premier (i.e. trips in the two to six month range).

What we do after each trip is to remove from the RV, and delete from our checklist, anything in the nature of food, clothing, or miscellaneous items that we took but have not needed.

I keep my clothes in the cupboards above the sofa. I use REI stuff sacks for underwear and T-Shirts, and keep the quantity of each to a bare minimum. To be as space efficient as possible, I use several thin layers rather than take any bulky sweaters or jackets. Columbia brand hiking pants take up little space and wash and dry quickly, as does an outer shell jacket for wind/rain protection. Also the the hiking pants have zip off legs so they can double up as shorts. My Tilley hat is great in all weather conditions and folds flat in the cupboard.

I dumped the TV and video stuff in favor of extra cupboard space (details on my blog at http://chinookers.blogspot.com/2014/05/ ... -line.html). So, in the storage bay above the cab we have Jane's clothes (she takes a similar approach to me as described above), paper towel, and a few towels. More specifically, they are hand towels to save space - and yes you can make do with a hand towel when you shower!

Light/soft food items, and a toaster with a short extension cable, go in in the cupboard above the dinette.

Cans (dog food for Dexter the toy poodle, plus a few staples for our emergency use) go under the cooker. Pots, pans, dishes and the like are also kept under the cooker.

The small cupboard under the fridge holds Jane's shoes.

The cupboard above the sink is for cups, plates & dishes (Corelle to save weight and reduce likelihood of breakage and stainless steel wine glasses for the same reason).

Under the sink are some cleaning supplies and anywhere from three to five gallons of drinking water.

Under the forward dinette seat go my hiking boots, a Maxpedition Thermite Versipack daypack, and also an HDX air compressor.

In the aft dinette seat lives our bedding and a large roll of 13 gallon trash bags.

The rear closet has been adapted to hold a large container of dry dog food for Joanie, my 65lb GSD/Kelpie mix, various items of pet paraphernalia, a Stanley 1 gallon shop vac, laundry bag, fabric covers for front & rear windows, and a trash can.

Joanie's custom 32" x 24" x 4" Ultraleather dog bed lives under the table by day, and in the kitchen area at night.

Under the sofa is the first aid kit, a spare water pump, Chinook maintenance log & reference materials, and a few miscellaneous items.

The laptop , which doubles as our TV, and essential papers are stored in a Tumi II messenger bag behind the driver seat.

Extra dog blankets and toys fit under and behind the passenger seat.

The outside rear storage compartment is stuffed with all manner of tools, lubricants, and the like.

In the outside 'basement' storage compartment there are two fresh water hoses (25' and 10'), a compact non-potable hose, 30 amp extension cord, 15 amp extension cord, Adco external windshield cover, tarp, Camco Revolution extension dump hose, funnel, and a few other bits and bobs.

Dependent on whether or not we're towing, folding chairs, a folding table, a Coleman grill, two sets of Camco FasTen leveling blocks, and Jane's Dahon folding bike get dumped in the Honda Fit, or on the Chinook's Baja roof rack.

My mountain bike is carried on a Swagman XTC rack which mounts into a Curt 33055 front receiver hitch.

Hope this helps!

I like to avoid packing/unpacking so my Chinook is always ready to launch. Further - and it might be a tad paranoid - there are wildfires and earthquakes where I live, so if there's the slightest hint of evacuation, I'm not going to dally. My rig is far from stock and I've created a good bit of additional storage, so please keep that in mind if you choose to read my prattle. I have two comprehensive tool boxes (one mechanic, one electric). There's a large clear plastic tub filled with spares of various flavors like headlamps, batteries, tubing, wire, rope, safety glasses, earplugs, spot light, spare phone, temp gun, tire gauge, tire chuck, 17 types of tape, back up hard drives, blah blah I'm starting to bore myself. Then I have another tub with a bow saw, hatchet, metal tongs, wire brush, etc. for outdoor cooking/campfires. There's a tool bag full of cordless tools like a drill motor, sawzall, work light, batteries, charger. That's all under the starboard berth. A small satellite tool bag lives under the closet; hard to explain but I "modified" the cabinetry in that area so I can store stuff on the floor and reach it from outside without climbing into the rig, you know for the occasional tape measure emergency or 4-in-1 screwdriver or bug spray or utility knife. There are a couple extension cords; I think two 10 footers and a fifty footer under the sink on the wheel well. In the back locker I have a generator, beach umbrella, jumper cables, life jackets, 10x10 screen room, and a few large beach towels. Outside in the locker under the water heater I have an inflatable kayak and paddles, a box full of chemicals (mineral spirits, motor oil, undercoating, WD40, axle grease, loctite, dielectric grease, buffing compound, a dirty piece of scotchbrite which I can't bring myself to throw away, rubbing alcohol, sandpaper, butyl tape, acrylic caulk, and on and on). Also in that compartment I have 4 ratchet straps, tire plugs, a mini 12v compressor, a spare cap for the dump port, RV water hose, a foot long length of garden hose with a ball valve on it for filling bright tanks, a water thief, a squeegee for the windshield, a long telescoping brush for washing the rig, uhm there's more but you're probably falling asleep. The space where the Onan once lived is now full of golf batteries, inverter, solar controller, fuses, a window air conditioner and a couple AC fans. In the closet oh man you'll have to ask my better half about that. I know there's an AC heater, a telescoping ladder, a couple camp chairs, and dog food. I really try to go easy on the upper living room cabinets, so those are just clothing really. The overcab is quite sturdy though. In there I keep a 12v TV despite never using it, a Wave 3, a tent, couple sleeping bags, extra bedding, books, games, computer, camera gear, R.C. toys, etc. I usually have a good amount of canned food which is always stored low, mostly on the floor under the stove. Glacier R.O. vending machines are awesome, so we keep gallon jugs of drinking water to the right of the brown box (more cabinet "adjustments"). I have a pair of light duty plastic tire chocks under the driver seat for rapid deployment and a big can of bear spray. In the console I have a pocket knife, a flashlight, phone cables, GPS unit, a road atlas, and snacks. Under the sink is kitchen stuff like soap, cling rap, foil, spare sponges, napkins, laundry detergent, etc. Cabinet above the sink houses plates, bowls, cups, (mostly plastic), kettle, Aeropress, coozies, and. Where teh microwave used to be are dry goods and cooking utensils in small clear tubs. Pots and pans and more food are under the stove. In the cabinet above the fridge are kitchen towels, toilet paper, light duty first aid stuff, wet wipes, shower towels, and other bathroom spares. There's a square plastic basket that fits into the left portion of the kitchen sink. That's usually full of fruits and veggies, and can be lifted out quickly when the sink is needed. Instead of the sink lid insert thingie that Chinook provided, I just use a large cutting board which covers the whole sink. Under the fridge is a butane camp stove (love it), cutting boards, and our "spice box" which is elaborate (we cook a lot). I have two drawers to the right under the sink, one is silverware and cutlery, the other is that kitchen drawer everyone has filled with miscellaneous debris like scissors, rubber bands, super glue, deck of cards, dog treats, half-dead AA batteries, a flashlight, magnifying glass, couple wood screws, whatever that plastic thing is that broke off the other day, and probably a solitary zip tie. I also bring a hydro jack and a big breaker bar. In the water tank area, I have a full sized broom, a mini broom and dust pan, a second fire extinguisher, an amp and subwoofer, and a jump pack. I used to carry a spare water pump but that unit has been called into service; glad I had it when the original one started leaking. I also have a 5 gallon Scepter military fuel tank in a rack bolted to the bumper on the right. If you look under the rig on the driver side next to the drive shaft, there's a huge space; I stored my inflatable kayak there when I knew we were't going to use it for a while; I used ratchet straps to lash it to the crossmembers. We bring a folding table and a couple camp chairs, which are very nice when boondocking. My fatbike is on a rack mounted to the rear hitch. There's more, much more, but that's the best I can do for now. I try to live by "bring what you need, not what you want" but as l look back on what I just listed, I seem to have a slightly bloated inventory.

Scott, are you sure you are on the right forum? Sounds like you have a 40 footer diesel pusher, not a Chinook.

chin_k wrote:Scott, are you sure you are on the right forum? Sounds like you have a 40 footer diesel pusher, not a Chinook.

No kidding!

Ha, reminds me of when you tie your sailboat up to a dock and unload all of the contents: The boat may have been tidily stowed and completely uncluttered but the huge mound on the dock now towers over boat

LOL yeah it does sound a bit excessive, but everything has a place, there's usually little clutter, and we're sometimes pretty remote for weeks/months at a time so it's nice to have it all. I've removed some big items: Onan generator (HUGE), microwave, absorption fridge, furnace. All added up to a lot of storage. The compressor fridge I have now has the same internal capacity of the original Norcold yet it's much smaller dimensionally. I've reconfigured a lot of stuff like adding dual beds/sofas instead of the jacknife and club lounge, which made a big change in usability. Plus my Chinook was pretty stripped down to begin with. Zero entertainment gizmos, no oven, no safe, central vacuum, etc., all together make a difference. I modified the cabinetry in areas as well; there were a few spaces in this Chinook that were just wasted volumes. Under the kitchen drawers for example. Also the cabinetry inside the rear locker was pretty odd, and under the closet was an unused couple of cubic feet; in my case it was a flat floor and didn't dip down behind the generator box. It's not as "Class A" as it once was, but it sure is more practical and fun.

Hey Scott and others who have removed major pieces like the generator, dinette, AC, etc...

Did you notice any change in peppiness or MPG?

I'm thinking back to my teen muscle car days, when removing a hundred pounds coukd radically speed up a carl

Or are Chinooks already so heavy, that removing a few hundred pounds makes no difference?

Kev

I removed quite a bit of weight from my Chinook. On the interior stuff, probably a wash as I carry tools and etc. But I did also take the ~110# Air conditioner right of the very top cake layer of the roof, and I didn't put anything up there to make up the weight. I can't say as I noticed anything dramatic, but then I did already have some suspension mods (beefier anti-sway bars, better shocks, newer front end, etc.).

What I mostly noticed was how much lighter it looked. It just always felt "heavy" to me with that giant blob perched on the upper tier of the Chinook, like a giant heavy toad perching on my sleek machine. And I notice the bright light of my skylight every day (and at night, when I choose it, like last night with the full moon).

If I ever get around to mounting my roof solar panels (ground panels are just so darned easy and effective they make me lazy ), I'll be putting around 60# back up there, albeit not on the top tier. Maybe I can subtract 10# for the TV antenna (gone) and for the original solar panel (also gone).

On the generator topic, I am SO ready to remove that thing. One thing I've been thinking about is that I'm so perfectly balanced side-to-side, weight wise (thanks, Chinook!). Getting close to 200# off from behind the rear axle doesn't bother me at all, but I hope the side-to-side isn't an issue. Of course I'll be using that space for storage, but since it's a larger space it would likely be bulky/lighter things (outdoor gear, etc.). I did consider moving my battery bank to the dining side, but I think I'll wait and see (also, my next bank will likely be lithium and not as heavy). It may turn out fine between what I would put in the compartment and a little bit of shifting of heavier items inside, so possibly an idle worry.

kdarling wrote:Hey Scott and others who have removed major pieces like the generator, dinette, AC, etc...

Did you notice any change in peppiness or MPG?

Most of the changes were made right after I took ownership, so there wasn't really a comparison to be made. Like the headers I installed... I did that right away and had no reference points for MPG or power. Also, much of the coach stuff I removed was quickly replaced with new stuff. The Onan was 161 pounds, but was replaced by batteries and an air conditioner and other components. Sort of related, some of the Chinook stuff is surprisingly heavier than it looks. The fold out card table assembly, the bathroom door, the jacknife, even the valences are stout. It all adds up. But just to clarify, I didn't do any of this with weight reduction or performance in mind. I was shooting purely for practicality and comfort.

OMG, yes, the flip out club table in my rig was incredibly heavy! Even the "spice cabinet" was heavy (3/4" oak). Also the upper cabinets were over 80# apiece (that wasn't so surprising though).

I did my mods for much the same reason as you did, Scott: Basically to increase the utility and enjoyment factor for me and how I use it.