2005 Chinook Concourse opinions

[vacuumbed]

I just bought a one owner 2005 Chinook Concourse Ford E350 with the V10 with 105,000 miles for $34,000. It is beautiful and in great shape, except for some surface rust underneath from being parked close to the beach. The 2005 model is the newest Concourse before Chinook went out of business.

I am also in the process of restoring a 1997 Airstream B190, also with a V10. Still needs a fair amount of work to finish.

What are some of the pro's and con's of both of these RV's? I'm trying to decide which one to keep.

Thanks all!

[Islandman]

Chinook is a fine product, your rust issue is probably minor. If the rust proves to a minor cosmetic thing, then keep the Chinook.......nice used ones are hard to find.

[vacuumbed]

Argh I', still deciding which one to keep. :h

[dicknellen]

Around 2004 we looked at new Chinook's, loved them but felt they were priced over our budget. If in the market for a small RV today and found a good Chinook would buy it. Dick

[tpi]

As former Airstream trailer owner and info given I'd keep the Chinook. It looks roomier, it is newer, and Chinook has good reputation. I would have the rust professionally checked out before making a decision to confirm it is just surface rust-in fact have both coaches checked out. I personally think that model of Chinook is cool (if that matters haha).

[vacuumbed]

I'm trying to decide which one to keep and which to sell. I like the dinette, apartment fridge, leveling jacks, and bigger Onan 4.0 generator in the Chinook. The Airstream may get better mileage and better storage over the cab.

The rust on the under the Chinook is just unsightly, I don't think it's bad enough to cause issues.

[kknowlton]

One difference between Airstream and Chinook is that the former is a classic name, recognizable anywhere. Chinook is much less well-known, especially east of the Rockies (they are/were a west coast product). Of course, Airstream Class Bs are pretty rare as well. Both companies had a reputation for quality - or at least tried to have one. (Chinooks are awfully doggone expensive as newbuilds - not a lot of plastic & faux stuff in them.)

I'd be concerned about the rust underneath. East-coasters and Midwesterners can tell you all about the potential hidden problems from rust!

By "keep," do you mean keep one for yourself and sell one, after restoring both, or restore one and sell the other pre-restoration? If for yourself, only you can decide that.

Semi-disclaimer: I'm a former Chinook owner. Bought ours 8 years old, on a Dodge chassis, and after a couple years we were always getting it fixed. That may be a result of previous treatment, or just that the vehicle itself was old. We always had a heat-around-the-doghouse problem with it, among other things.