Cargo rack for cab of FG [Archive]

kerry

12-12-2008, 10:50 PM

Prior owner of my Fg must have had something mounted on the cab roof since there are mounting screws to which I could easily attach some artificial gutters for a roof rack. I'd like to put a cargo basket up there. Anyone have a source for a nice sized cargo basket or cargo rack that would fit on the cab of an FG?

whatcharterboat

12-13-2008, 01:55 AM

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/3084413182_c1b49fd3b7.jpg

Kerry , All the small Japanese trucks we'ved worked on have these mounting points on the cab roof as standard. Not just Mitsubihi's either. I am guessing as they are predominantly work trucks it is to make the fitting of safety lights easier. Strobes, flashing Ambers , etc. The one in the pic was done by the owners bur we regularly utilize these points for fixing scub bars, spotlight bars, etc. It might give you some ideas anyway. Good luck with it. John

kerry

12-13-2008, 02:09 AM

Yep, that's just the kind of rack I'm looking for. I thought mine looked pretty professional for an aftermarket addition to the truck.

whatcharterboat

12-13-2008, 07:56 AM

kerry

12-13-2008, 02:09 PM

Kerry, I should’ve said before or maybe you already guessed it, but if you put any weight up there you’ll probably have to compensate for it by giving the pre-tension (on the cab-tilt torsion bar) a little tweak. Any weight up that high can make lifting (and lowering) the cab, a little difficult if you don’t do the adjustment

Thanks. I was looking for a mechanism for adjusting that torsion last weekend because it seems a tad too hard to lift at the moment but I couldn't find any adjustment. Can you point me in the right direction?

kerry

12-13-2008, 09:43 PM

A little more snooping today turned up an adjusting bolt which pushes on an ear. I assume I tighten that bolt in to get more lift. Any tricks to it? It became visible once I lifted the cab and walked over to the passenger side.

whatcharterboat

12-13-2008, 10:31 PM

Any tricks to it?

Nah not really. Straight forward enough however there is a trick if you run out of adjustment (let me know if this happens) but hopefully you won't get that far. BTW if you wind them up too much they get really hard to pull down so don't over do it by thinking more is better.

And double check your stay is locked in correctly for safety.

Regards John

kerry

12-13-2008, 10:51 PM

Looks like adjustment should take place while the cab is in the down position? Looks like my adjustment is currently about halfway down the bolt.

whatcharterboat

12-13-2008, 11:44 PM

Looks like adjustment should take place while the cab is in the down position?

Kerry Maybe your setup is different on the LHD model. IIRC we do them when the cab is up so the load is off the torsion bar. Can't you access the adjuster bolt when the cab is up ???? I can't see you being able to adjust it while the bar is loaded. I think their would be a lot of pain on the adjuster bolt in the down position and you might end up doing some damage to the bolt head or the thread something worse. Be careful.

kerry

12-14-2008, 12:09 AM

Definitely not easy to access it with the cab up. It's accessible from the front with the cab down, maybe accessible with an open end wrench with the cab up. Perhaps it is accessible with the cab up if I remove the center grill portion.

whatcharterboat

12-14-2008, 12:30 AM

Definitely not easy to access it with the cab up.

Well things are different then to what I'm used too. The centre grill is easy to remove .>> only 1 X 12 gauge self-tapping screw in the middle and then carefully pull back on the clips at the top of the grill and starting from the sides (maybe 5 of them) . Then there are 2 more clips at the same level as the screw but out at the sides right next to the head lights.

I'd still be trying to adjust the bolt with the cab up if at all possible.

Can you post any picks??? I'd like to know about as many differences as I can find between LHD and RHD.

kerry

12-14-2008, 12:45 AM

I'll try to get some pictures. I built a shelf and got the spare tire mounted between the cab and service body today so I wanted to get a picture of that anyway. However, while it was sunny and 50 degrees today we are scheduled to have a blizzard and high of 9 degrees F tomorrow so it may be a while before I can get good pictures.

whatcharterboat

12-14-2008, 01:14 AM

I built a shelf and got the spare tire mounted between the cab and service body today so I wanted to get a picture of that anyway

Sounds great, mate . Look forward to seeing them.

we are scheduled to have a blizzard and high of 9 degrees F tomorrow

Man, It's midday here and I'm sweltering just in my board shorts. Not a pretty sight. Way too tropical. Talk to you later.

whatcharterboat

12-14-2008, 08:07 AM

Well things are different then to what I'm used too. The centre grill is easy to remove .>> only 1 X 12 gauge self-tapping screw in the middle and then carefully pull back on the clips at the top of the grill and starting from the sides (maybe 5 of them) . Then there are 2 more clips at the same level as the screw but out at the sides right next to the head lights.

Sorry Kerry, The 2 clips on the very end of the grill assembly which are on the side of the truck next to the edge of the doors >>>> dont pull out on those, they are different and are slotted to allow everything to move forward.

I know I'm making way to big a deal about this but if it's your first time removing these trims and panels etc, I know how easy things can break especially when they've got a bit of age to them.

Haha, I can sleep now.

whatcharterboat

12-14-2008, 08:10 AM

I know how easy things can break especially when they've got a bit of age to them.

Or the plastic is at 9 deg F.
Better you than me.

DontPanic42

12-14-2008, 12:11 PM

As usual I have learned something from you guys. I wasn't aware there was a lift adjustment. Could you post a picture or describe where it is before I go mucking about and start twisting the wrong thing. I have been noticing that the cab with the solar panel on the roof seems to be getting more difficult to lift . Couldn't be that I am 4 years older and my shoulders are more worn out. I swear as soon as you sign up for Medicare within a year you start falling apart.
My big box bumper and brush guard may make getting the grill off difficult but we'll give it a go.
Not 9 F here though it has been in the teens (deg F) here with 35 - 40 mph winds.
Thanks for the help.

kerry

12-14-2008, 03:40 PM

At the pivot points on the front bottom of the cab there are two large 'cans', one on each side. On mine, the right side can has an 'ear' on the back with an adjusting bolt with the head pointed towards the front. If you tilt the cab and look over the oil cooler you can see it. I don't know if you can see the head of the bolt from the front with the cab down given your bumper. On mine, if I look just over the top of the bumper down the right side of the right frame rail, I can see the head of the bolt. It has a lock nut holding it in place.

kerry

12-14-2008, 03:45 PM

Sorry Kerry, The 2 clips on the very end of the grill assembly which are on the side of the truck next to the edge of the doors >>>> dont pull out on those, they are different and are slotted to allow everything to move forward.

I know I'm making way to big a deal about this but if it's your first time removing these trims and panels etc, I know how easy things can break especially when they've got a bit of age to them.

Haha, I can sleep now.

I had mine off a week or so ago because I was installing a front receiver hitch so I can carry a winch and bikes up there. It took me a while to figure out how to get if off, but marvel of marvels, I didn't break it! I had to take it off because I had installed a piece of 6" steel channel on top of the frame rails to carry the receiver hitch and the grill was hitting the back wall of the channel when I was lifting the cab. I ended up having to cut off most the back rail of the channel in order to get it to tilt. It was all the tilting and holding halfway up to see how much clearance I needed that made me think I needed to find the adjustment for the mechanism.

DontPanic42

12-14-2008, 08:51 PM

Found it. Now all I have to do is figure out if I can get to it around my ark of a bumper. I may pull off the grill this afternoon and then give it a go Monday before the temperature drops. Surprisingly, it has reached 81 today so doing the grill guard would be best done before sunset. Better get moving
Thanks for the help.

whatcharterboat

12-14-2008, 09:57 PM

Kerry (and DontPanic42), I don't have a FG at work today but I might be able to take some pics in a couple of days. I presume the "oil cooler" you mentioned is actually the Air/Con condenser cause ours is on the lefthandside as is the adjustment. Yes > what you are describing definitely sounds like the tilt adjustment but again>>I still would be trying to do this in the up position. Maybe if you have better access when the cab is down then undo the lock nut, then put the cab back up and you should be able to adjust it with an open end spanner if it is unloaded.

Use a bit of your own discretion here. Maybe if it is a bit stiff back it out and apply some anti-sieze .

Again I don't know if I can be much more help than this. Somewhere along the path of LHD to RHD swapping around back in the Fuso factory they must have slipped up cause it should be a relatively easy adjustment.

kerry

12-14-2008, 10:14 PM

Kerry (and DontPanic42), I presume the "oil cooler" you mentioned is actually the Air/Con condenser cause ours is on the lefthandside as is the adjustment. .

My mistake. I'll get a closer look once the weather improves. 3 below zero F right now. It may be easier than it appears.

DontPanic42

12-15-2008, 02:17 AM

Ok, I am stuck again. Here is a shot of the grill of my 2004 FUSO. I found and removed the screws at each end of the open area of the grill bounded by the head lights and the silver and amber reflective material. I also undid the two (2) clips top and bottom at the center of the opening below the "S" and the 3 diamonds. I tried to pull it free but the whole grey piece is still attached somewhere. I found 2 grommet fittings near the amber side markers near the doors. Does this pop loose and how do you get at it? Also are there anymore clips I need to ferret out? I hate to just start pulling away at things and start breaking off pins and clips.
Looks like the colder weather is not coming this far south now, so I'll have time to work on this now.
Wow, 3 below and still dropping. Reminds me of when I was in school in Colorado in the early "60's. Stay warm.
Thanks again.

http://http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/2687/2045192870101252971S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2045192870101252971JYarvv)

http://http://inlinethumb24.webshots.com/41047/2871849370101252971S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2871849370101252971JtCRUH)

kerry

12-15-2008, 02:56 AM

Right behind the 'Mitsubishi Fuso' and along that whole grey strip are a series of clips that hold the piece in position. Once I had the bottom of the center section loose and I pulled on the ends to loosen them from the to clips which old them in and are visible if you look down the strip from back around the corner, I just kept pulling and wiggling and the rest of the clips pulled out of their sockets one at a time. You may be hindered from being in a good position to do that by your bumper.
I'm not completely convinced that removing the center section will make it easier to adjust that bolt because I think it's slightly to the left (looking from the front) of where that section comes out. Mine now comes out easily but given your difficulty it might be worth trying to adjust it without removing the center grille. Your bumper looks slightly higher and closer to the body than the OE bumper so accessing that bolt could be difficult. Can you tell if removing the grille will allow you to access the bolt with an open end wrench from the grille opening?

whatcharterboat

12-15-2008, 07:48 AM

DontPanic42

12-15-2008, 12:03 PM

The pictures and descriptions are a big help. Now if the weather will co-operate. Turned off cold again. So much for the forecasters.
I'll take the time to visit Harbor Freight and look for a universal joint for my socket set. I'll try to do the adjustment as remotely as possible. Get the proper tool for the job - right! I plan to loosen the lock nut before I lift the cab. Then I'll try the adjustment.
Will let you know how it goes.
Have a great Christmas guys.

kerry

12-15-2008, 01:50 PM

Kerry Obviously I am not being much help. After seeing the pics of the grill from DontPanic42 I realise that our '04 grill is also completely different. Ours are much the same as the picture of the truck with the basket on the roof. Must be different lighting rules. I took this pic today to show you what our adjuster looks like anyway.

As you can see this one has quite a lot of adjustment left in it. This shot was taken at the left hand side , in front of the tyre and looking up at a 45 deg angle. I imagine your steering box would be here instead.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/3109412455_d15b009649.jpg

I can now understand how adjusting yours is easier. Without the AC condenser in the way, it looks like it is quite accessible from below. I hadn't noticed that bolt in a slot above the adjusting bolt on mine. I had thought I just needed to loosen the lock nut on the adjusting bolt but from your picture it looks as if the additional bolt has to be loosened also. Now that I see that bolt it's clear to me that removing the grille will not give better access to the additional bolt. Laying on the right side tire and reaching forward to loosen it seems like a feasible option.

whatcharterboat

12-15-2008, 08:54 PM

the additional bolt has to be loosened also

Yep

Laying on the right side tire and reaching forward to loosen it seems like a feasible option.

Sounds good.

Without the AC condenser in the way

This normally where it is. Maybe this ones has been moved to a more protected location. We normally move them to fit the big wheels , but not the case here????

whatcharterboat

12-15-2008, 08:57 PM

DontPanic42 said

Have a great Christmas guys.

Hey. You too.

kerry

12-21-2008, 08:38 PM

Here's my cab cargo rack. The feet are standard Yakima gutter towers. Two bars are 3/4" painted galvanized pipe. It's heavier than the standard Yakima bars. The carrier is a Yakima Load Warrior with an extension. It is temporarily mounted to the bars with cable ties at the moment. Feet are attached to artificial gutters I made with 2" steel channel bolted to the OE nuts set into the cab roof.