The Chevrolet Blazer isn’t really a favorite among vintage 4×4 nuts. Obviously, the Ford Bronco is having a pretty big run. The Land Rover Defender is seeing equally as intense love from the fans. Jeeps, Scouts, Toyota 4x4s, and most other vintage 4x4s have been going gangbusters, but for some reason, no one seems to really care all that much for the Chevrolet Blazer. Maybe if the Blazer could intersect with the #vanlife crowd? Well, the Chevrolet Blazer Chalet is just that, and it is big-time vintage camper goals. 

Make your vintage camper dreams come true with the Chevrolet Blazer Chalet 

The Chevy Blazer Chalet and its corporate cousin, the GMC Jimmy Casa Grande, are a couple of rare birds, indeed. GM only made these supremely cool vintage campers from ‘76-’77. According to Silodrome, it is believed that only 1800 were made, and fewer than that still exist. 

The idea was solid; a drive anywhere camper, allowing for much more rugged and remote camping while still having a vehicle and shelter. However, it seemed that GM was a few decades early on that market. 

Was this just a normal Chevrolet Blazer with a camper shell? 

The Chevrolet Blazer Chalet wasn’t a purely GM effort. In fact, it was a collaboration between Chevrolet and the other supremely cool vintage 4×4 camper of the day, Chinook. This is the same maker that brought us the Toyota Chinook, one of the coolest 4×4 campers ever made. 

The Balzer Chalets started life on the normal Balzer production line. Somewhere along the line, they were pulled to be camper-ified at the facilities of Chinook Mobilodge Inc. who completed the build process. The finishing touches included cutting out the back of the original passenger cab before installing the steel-framed, fiberglass camper shell back.

Unlike some pickup truck campers, the Chalet camper shell was meant to be permanently fixed to the Balzer. This limited how versatile these trucks could be. Ultimately this lack of versatility is likely why they weren’t more popular in their time. 

The options were plentiful in this vintage camper 

As with any good camper, the Chevrolet Blazer Chalet had a serious options list. You could choose to have two additional fold-down beds (allowing the vehicle to sleep four), an electric refrigerator with an extra battery, cruiser control, AC, and power steering. Unfortunately, none of the options on the list included a bathroom. It was the ‘70s, after all. 

The standard options included everything you really needed, like two beds, seating for four, a small table, a sink with a water capacity of five gallons, a two-burner gas stove, and an icebox (if you didn’t go for the fridge). 

What is a Chevrolet Blazer Chalet Value? 

The one pictured here is a fine example with literally all the options from 1977. This one recently sold on Bring a Trailer from the same family that bought it new. It is in incredible shape and still wears its original factory paint. This rare and funky dream vintage camper ended at $45,000. Considering you can easily spend 10x that on a modern 4×4 camper rig today, I’d say that feels pretty reasonable. Not to mention, where are you gonna get all that brown and orange from a modern camper rig?