Have you checked out the yahoo group for Chinook owners? Not nearly as well organized as this forum but there are guys that know a lot about the nooks. I sold my sportsmobile last weekend and brought home a chinook. Not nearly as nice as yours as mine is a 99 Chassis / 2000 camper. I will still troll this forum bi-daily (ok, multiple times daily) as it is a tremendous resource.
For handling on the nooks, some guys have replaced the sway bars with Helwigs and noted greatly improved handling.
http://chinookconcourse.tumblr.com/ and search the archive for a write up of this done to a 1997. Can be done easily in your driveway.
My overall impressions were that the chinook drove and handled very well. I drove somewhere north of 75 mph and south of 83 mph through the hills of TN and KY and still got over 10 mpg. For a rig this substantial I was impressed. This is close to the 12 - 14 I was getting in my Van. I am not impressed with the rear overhang. I also think that there are many places to make improvements with respect to the shell and interior components.
At the end of the day, like the van, the chinook has several things that are typical RV. Unlike the van it does not have the utilitarian aspect of being able to open the side doors and toss in ten bags of mulch.