As we were walking back from our evening walk down to the river last night, this little pairing could not be left unshot, even if it was on Stephanie’s phone since I forgot my camera. Suddenly it’s 1978, and two of the more iconic vehicles of that era are sitting back-to-front: a VW Diesel Rabbit and a Toyota-Chinook pop-up camper.
We’ve done several diesel Rabbits here in the past (here’s one), so let’s take a quickie look at this little brother to my Dodge Chinook. This must be one of last in the series that went from 1973 to 1979, because it’s labeled Econo Concourse, a name Chinook only started using in about 1978, typically as just Concourse for the bigger ones. It’s the first time I’ve encountered this name, and there are quite a few of these still in Eugene.
They were built with Toyota’s involvement and blessing, and sold in Toyota dealerships, starting in 1973. Toyota had to beef up the rear end after a year or so, because folks had a habit of overloading them. They were essentially a competitor to the VW Westfalia camper-buses, and were sold with the idea that they could be used during the week as a reasonably economical vehicle and then taken camping on the weekend. Given that Toyota trucks are rugged, and Chinook’s fiberglass construction is pretty solid, these are long-lived vehicles and became favorites of a certain crowd a long time ago, and still have a bit of a cult following.
My headline “Suddenly it’s 1978” isn’t really accurate , as this Rabbit is a 1981 or later version. There’s a rather eclectic collection at this house, when the two cars in the driveway are factored in: a Toyota Corolla All-Trac wagon and a Mercury MGM with vinyl top. I’m guessing someone inherited Great Uncle Dick’s car. Or someone is being very ironic, given the neighborhood.
As I said, there’s a number of these in town, my favorite one being this well-insulated one. I posted it a year or so ago, and recently, it’s owner found the post and left this comment:
This is my vehicle. It has 4″ of sprayfoam, including the undercarriage. I have camped in -20 degrees and stayed comfortable with no heater, and I have stayed in the desert at 115 degrees and stayed cool. The windows still open I just had them spray over the section that was naturally stationary. The roof still pops up as well, I just had them spray a lip for the roof to drop into, reducing drag from wind. I rebuilt the entire inside, tearing out all the ugly carpet, and cheap prefab wood. I replaced everything with real varnished wood and tile. This camper has been across country three times, to Mexico, and everywhere else you can think of. My mom was the original owner and it still runs strong today.
I just love it when folks find their cars here and leave a comment telling their story. It’s the essence of CC.
I remember these little campers, and their descendents based on the next couple of generations of Toyota truck. However, it seems they went out of production in the late 80’s or thereabouts, followed a few years later by the demise of the camper-van (did they ever offer a Westfalia Eurovan?). I wonder if folks came to expect nicer/more spacious digs, or if the proliferation of SUVs led small trailers to take over from small all-in-one campers?
My dockside classic, a 1963 Pearson Ariel, at 26 ft was considered an affordable coastal cruiser for a family of four back in the day. Today they market 36+ footers for that purpose which will cost you as much as a second home.
There was the Winnebago LeSharo based on the Eurovan, and there was also the Eurovan MV Westfalia camper.
It’s like back to the future what with the Corolla AllTrac wagon in the driveway…have we seen the CC on that yet, rare bird nowadays!
Good eye–that is a Corolla and not a Tercel. Rarer despite being newer!
It was a Tercel in the oz market.
Yes; that’s what the mind said, but the fingers didn’t obey, once again.
Sweet Rabbit!!!! And a diesel to boot!!
Reminds me of the cars I’d see when taking walks with my mother around the SUNY Plattsburgh campus as a kid.
I’ll take that AllTrac, please; now those were popular up North when new.
These vehicles and the next generation are quite commonly used by Rubber Tramps. Sometimes over six of these will be in the Safeway parking lot in Fort Bragg like a 21st Century Wagon Train.
So funny that the owner of that well-insulated one saw the post and commented. I don’t think I’ve seen that before and of all posts it had to be that one. Poor guy! I’ll never forget that comment someone left about how the padding was there to muffle the screams coming from inside, lol. It’s good to hear the insulation is there for reasons having to do with camping in freezing places. The owner is a good sport.
That’s seriously cool, so to speak. It is a rather creepy looking thing moving down the road but I’d love one.
CC effect in action! I saw one of these Chinooks being winched onto a tow truck’s flatbed yesterday evening in Portland! Major traffic jam was in progress so I don’t know if it was the cause of the jam or an overheated victim.
Nice find Paul. Always wanted one of these. Still do but doubt circumstances will ever be right. A Toyota guy told me that they quit making these because, as you said, people kept overloading them past their capacity. I guess it was really bad with the bigger ones. Looks to me like this could use a chassis extension like that Datsun had. Of course it’s lighter than it looks.
What does the guy with the exterior foam do to keep it presentable. Everything foam down here seems to get trashy very quickly.
Quite obviously, she painted it with silver paint. That protects it pretty well from the UVs.
That Chinook is pretty cool. You see these every so often and usually in well kept shape…Im guessing since how often do you really drive a camper? It immediately reminded me of one that I saw while out in The Dalles a few years back. It was converted to 4wd, painted a nice medium blue and a really clean, sharp rig. On a hunch I googled “Toyota Chinook 4×4”, and BAM!
http://toyotachinook.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/the-chinook-guru-timeline-2-blew/
It has Oregon plates, so its a pretty good chance this is the rig I spotted. I mean, how many late 70s bright blue 4×4 Toyota campers can there REALLY be out there? If you scroll down thru the build pics, apparently he has a root beer brown one to match. Super sharp rig, perfect for doing a little desert rat action out in Eastern OR. JEALOUS.
I recall theses a little bit. Presumably very economical as RVs go. The truck looks a little overwhelmed by the camper. Do these move and handle at least reasonably?
Reasonably for the times, yes. Making the camper out of fiberglass is really what made it possible in the first place.
I’d forgotten how much the pop-up roof opened things up:
Had a friend that used to work for the factory in Southern California assembling Dolphin brand motorhomes on Toyota Chassis. They must be really rare today. I do remember hearing about lawsuits concerning broken rear axles back in the day. The white Rabbit reminds me of my 1980 white in color diesel converted to gas with a rattling piston. It smoked and sounded like a diesel but ran on gas and retained the emblem and so avoided smog checks.
From the headline I thought it might have been a van with a pop top, they are very popular here. Of course the Chinook bame was a clue that wasnt so. I think a van-based camper would be a better solution though.