In the late 1970s, General Motors tried to enter the world of miniature recreational vehicles by building around 1800 full-size trucks with a permanently mounted pop-up camper. This well-preserved 1977 Blazer Chalet is here on eBay in Victorville, California, and it’s almost too nice to imagine incorporating it into one’s nomadic lifestyle.
General Motors built the Blazer Chalet in collaboration with Chinook, an RV company that built other RV trucks during the era. Most models rolled off the production line as the Chevrolet Blazer Chalet, though an identical GMC Jimmy Casa Grande model also existed.
Of course, the interior is just as ’70s as you’d expect it to be. Everything appears to be in excellent condition though, and it would be amazing if the camper’s next owner preserved this time capsule of a cabin exactly how it is.
The front seats feature a plastic protective covering, and there’s also Chalet-specific literature included with the truck’s sale.
Each of these trucks used the Cheyenne trim specification and a 4×4 system, with this particular example using a 6.6-liter V8 engine and a TH-350 automatic transmission. This drivetrain has received attention, thanks to new items such as the water pump and power steering pump, and the seller claims that it “runs like a dream”.
Judging from the photos provided in the advertisement, you’ll have a hard time finding a single speck of rust on the undercarriage of the truck.
At the time of this article being written, bidding for this unique K5 is at $10,299 with the reserve not met. While these Chalet models are undoubtedly rare, could you see yourself owning this, or would you rather a camper-free Blazer?
11k? Cool truck but already way over real value YMMV LD71😄
Its real value, of course, is what the person with the deepest pockets is willing to pay for it, not what we might think it’s worth.
Did GM mount the spare tire in front of the radiator, or was that done later by someone with slightly less comprehension of heat transfer? Oh well, at least that offers a little more protection in the event of a frontal collision.
I’ve seen a lot of them mounted that way so I have to assume they came from the manufacturer that way.
Hey Will – Back in the day, I remember seeing ads & articles on the front-mount spare tires: They were mounted a decent distance out from the grille, and they were designed to actually lean a little forward, ever so slightly. …to allow good airflow. That was the marketing claim, but I never had direct experience with one.
And these were built this way, by GM.
-Jim M.
Rust along the front hood edge. ALmost nothing underneath?
Odd ad.
Modern ( this year or last, more or less) plates. Where has it been?
I guess if you wanted to go where the Bighorn sheep climb rocks and not camp outside, this would be great. For cruising across country on the freeways, not so practical.
The backstory of how it remained so pristine would be interesting
I had one years ago used it on the beach for surf casting on L.I.N.Y. Hit the beach and stay for the weekend. Wish I kept it.
Seems like it would be great for local camping 1-2 nights.
What goes around comes around. 4×4 off road rv’s are the latest trend. Well over $100k. By the way, small block 400 would come with TH400. See M40 on option label. TH350 would be M38.
What is the shaft with the yellow knob??? Can the dining table be removed in order to extend the seat some sleeping?; looks permanent. Have never seen rust like that on the front edge of a hood! Strange!
I see the hood edge rust on midwestern(salt) laden areas. But the frame and underside is so pristine and the rest of the truck clean but then the hood is ructy?
Table pull off the post and the post pulls out of the cone on the floor. the seats fold down for a decent sized bed. that rust on the hood edge is typical of them. Poor design off the hood skin and the hood support, it really never gets 100% moisture free.
Not strange at all with rust on the hood there,from personal experience the vertical front face will catch any flying stone coming your way!Plus, the hood’s framework has a tendency to collect moisture making the hood rust from the inside out unless vehicle was cavity coated when new…
Though Chalets were low-volume, I think this is the 4th appearing on BF so far this year so they aren’t unusual. Considering what people seem to be willing to pay for a C/K today, I’d say a Chalet would be great to ‘re-Blazerize’ – rid it of the chunky camper and put on a soft top and truck gate. Chalets seem to have led much easier lifes than regular trucks, plus you get 400/TH400 with 3.73 gears and HD cooling.You can always redo it should you desire.
Not sure if you can “re-Blazerize” it. When they mounted the camper, they removed part of the roof header to open it up, and the stock rear top won’t fit anymore. My old man bought one of these rolled in hopes of fixing it. It was too far gone and was told a Blazer top wouldn’t work.
I was also abit unsure what happened to the roof during the conversion process, but I’ve found numerous posts of guys removing the Chalet body.
If you examine the interior pics in the ad you’ll see the ‘roll bar'(as GM called it when they executed full-cab K5s!) is still intact and that the Chalet body bolts to the holes used for common half-cab K5s.
As I understand it the ‘re-Blazer’ process isn’t done in a breeze however, but it’s doable. Now, the Chalet in question here has reached more than 20k, meaning it’d be an expensive K5 !!
Nossir. The Chalet camper unit bolts straight to Blazers / Jimmys, more than one member of our Chalet owners & enthusiasts forum has put orphaned camper units onto newer model year same-generation trucks.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ChevyK5BlazerChalets/info
Where have we seen this one before ? Has the price been lowered ?
This particular rig, #1203 (designated by the last 4 digits of the serial number on the little plate by the back door) was last seen in a January Los Angeles Craigslist ad for $9500, probably $2k more than it was worth. This one has been bopping around for sale in Oregon for years, I first saw this #1203 in Scio, Oregon for $2k in rather poor shape. Its original camper interior was gutted afterward by a different owner, and what you see currently is not the least factory original. I’m the guy who tracks these, I’m the current caretaker of the old blazerchalet.com website, and am the former owner of Chalet #1747.
Whoever ends up winning this auction is going to be deeply disappointed when they learn more about what is ‘showroom-new collector value.’
Hey Russell, love all the knowledge of the Chalets, so the blazerchalet website is no more? I’m close to buying one but would love to see if you had any history on it?
Over $20K now. Crazy money. Lol, you could buy a lot of reefer for that. Take a trip and not leave the farm. https://www.bing.com/search?q=don+bowman+wildwood+weed&filters=ufn%3a%22don+bowman+wildwood+weed%22+sid%3a%224aa7df94-67db-9b25-86fb-018e10eae871%22&autoplay=1&FORM=SNAPST