Chinook RV

Has anyone tried using one of the flash tuners on their Chinook to increase mileage, performance, shift points, ect.... I have been looking at the SCT X4 tuner from 5 star tuning but cat seem to convince myself that its worth the investment.
When i was younger i spent alot of time working on my mustangs and racing them and formed the opinion that mail order tuners/programmers were an absolute waste of money, of course in that scenario i was looking for maximum horse power and performance
the mail order tunes simply could not deliver simply due to differences in climate, altitude, humidity, and the fact that every performance engine is different. My only real complaint with my Chinook is that i have tires on it that are larger diameter than what the factory calls for. Even though my speedometer is only off by maybe 2 mph my shift points seem eratic, it seems to stay in overdrive when it should be shifting down and vice versa. SCT claims that you can adjust shift points as well as specify tire diameter when you use their product. Does anyone have any experience using any brand of tuner on the Chinook that can share their experience?

I came to the same conclusion about mail order tuners.

Right now, the only mods I am considering would be something like the Banks transmission and maybe exhaust kits... although I have heard that the latter is a bit noisy for some.

Most of all, I'd really love an underdrive addon to get more gears!

Re: your situation. What year Ford? (everyone should put their year and model in their signature setup)

You might be able to reprogram the PCM yourself for the different tire size... if that size was a Ford option at the time. That would fix your speedo, and perhaps the shift offsets as well.

Kevin

kdarling wrote: Right now, the only mods I am considering would be something like the Banks transmission and maybe exhaust kits... although I have heard that the latter is a bit noisy for some.

A buddy whom I often go camping with has an other-brand RV with the V10 engine just like ours. He has the full Banks kit. I can hear him coming from a mile away ("no, no need to call me to come out and guide you in; I'll hear you long before you get here"). I'm sure some people like the "throaty" sound, but I would hate it. I tend to like quiet engines anyway, but especially in an RV, where there are times I like to subtly enter and exit camping areas.

He also didn't notice much change in power, and no improved mileage. I still get the feeling the Banks products are good quality, and some may really like them. They also solve any potential exhaust manifold bolt problems, I believe. But yes, they do make the exhaust louder.

I don't know anyone with a tuner. I have read lots of good endorsements of Mike's 5-star, although I haven't particularly noticed anyone saying they had any really notable gas mileage improvements. It was more about shift points and etc. However, I have not had one myself.

TCT (Tin Can Tourists) history says the exhaust and trans kits were Chinook options.

I've seen posts from Chinookers who claim they really help.

Plus, of course, didn't the 1998 Concourse that Chinook used to set that RV land speed record at Bonneville, have Banks mods? Edit: I'm not sure if that one had Banks mods. But according to TCT...

"Eventually, Lukehart would break his own mark with the assistance of a Banks Performance System in the Chinook Concourse, driving it to an all-time top speed of 114 mph – a feat that had not been matched or broken in nearly a decade's time."
Aha. Turns out that yes, even the first one had Banks mods. Not only have people pointed out that it had a Banks sticker on it, but I also actually found a old online post from a Banks employee about it. Check this out:

"The Chinook RV that set a record at Bonneville is powered by a V-10. The people at Trail Wagons (the manufacturer of Chinook) came to us at Banks and asked for help in making an RV go fast at Bonneville. This was something of a natural fit considering that Banks has involvement with both making vehicles go fast on the salt, and builds power product for RV's. In reality, a PSD (Power Stroke Diesel) would have been a more natural choice for the project, however Trail Wagons did want to use the same equipment as what they sell, so the V-10 was it.

"We installed a Banks Power Pack on the vehicle, made some racing modifications to the air inlet system, programmed a special OttoMind for the computer and told them to use AS MUCH OCTANE as they could find! They did run the vehicle in excess of 120 MPH during testing in Washington, but Bonneville is at a high altitude and the thinner air does hurt power. It is also important to remember that the frontal area of an RV will require more HP to motivate at any given speed than the typical pickup truck.

"The Chinook people are serious about their racing endevours. They have either run or intend to run vehicles at the Pikes Peak hill climb, the Baja 1000, and a rally event in the Yukon. In each case, they are usually forced to run in an open class, since there are not many sanctioned classes for RV's! "

I got the SCT X4 from 5 star tuning. Going to backup the factory tune and flash the RV tow tune into the ECU and see if this thing is worth anything.

dougm: I seriously considered getting one last year and decided to wait to see if anyone with a Chinook could provide info. Interested to hear what your conclusions are.

Skillet wrote:dougm: I seriously considered getting one last year and decided to wait to see if anyone with a Chinook could provide info. Interested to hear what your conclusions are.

Oh man, I second that. I urgently need to find a way too keep my E4OD from going into 4th at 35MPH, when it should be 50MPH. My OD override button is wearing out! LOL

I backed up the stock tune and flashed the ECU. I ordered the stock engine 87 octane daily tow tune for mine. When you order you have to fill out a tune request sheet and submit it with your order. You specify your vehicle make and model, engine, modifications to engine, rearend,tire size, gear ratio, ect..... I am pleased with the performance so far, my primary complaint was eratic shift points due to larger than stock diameter tires. It shifts properly now and i do notice a seat of the pants increase in power, perhaps that could just be the fact that the tranny isnt staying in overdrive so much causing poor acceleration ect..... Its pricey for something you flash once and toss in the glove box though. I purchased mine just in time to get labor day sale price so i saved roughly 25 bucks. But if you are having shifting issues that arent due to a damaged transmission then i think iits worth the investment to prevent hurting the tranny or engine from bogging around in overdrive. It can also be used to read and clear DTC codes as well if you ever need to.

Resurrecting this thread.

We took a trip to CO last week. Time of our lives, by the way. LOVE Anookie. She was the perfect third wheel. Towed a trailer, with a 4-seat RZR on it, so about 4,000 lbs in total. Here's what I noticed: It tried to spend a good amount of time in 3rd gear on the trip, which was winding out a good bit. And on a couple of passes, we actually had to drop her in 1st, and crawl at 25mph. Honestly, I expected a bit more power, but I do recognize that we were probably at around 15k lbs, including gear and the two of us. And those two passes were fairly steep and at high altitude. But I was still a little shocked. Maybe my expectations were a little out of whack. But on the passes, I WAS "that guy".

So I started researching, and found this, which is similar to the 5-star. They claim around 60ft lbs of added torque, better gear holding, etc. Any further research/testing from the group? Thoughts in general? The Banks system isn't worth it to me, with the noise, price and potential installation nightmare of headers on that thing.

https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/Ford-V1 ... tom-Tuning

By the way, had to do a front brake job, myself, on the mountain at the boondocking site. Ha! Had to get a Taxi driver to pick up the pads from O'Reily and deliver them to the site 20 miles away. Her name was Katie Cat. Beat the heck out of paying someone to come out, or have it towed in! All in- $90 and we were back on the road.