3 point pivot frame info

The most common question we get about our rig from people who are researching these vehicles is about the 3 point pivot frame.

I added a page to our web site that describes what it is, why we implemented one, and how we implemented it along with photos of our pivot frame during its phases of construction and implementation.

http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/index-pivot-frame.htm

They are good pictures and a good explanation as to what it does and how it works. Do you get any noises as it twists? Mog's do, they sound a big spring twanging. Mogs typically have a fixed center brace above or very near the back axle and two pivots. How does yours work with only a single?

I have attached two pictures of a mog which show crazy frame twist, check out the angle between the cab and the box and the cab and the bumper. The bumper is bolted to the end of the frame rails but cab has a stress free three point mount.

How is the cab mounted on a fuso?

Rob

Rob,

Awesome MOG twist shots. Amazing what that vehicle can do. Truly a go anywhere solution.

The pivot frame on our rig is attached to the FG frame at the rear wall of the garage. It pivots about half a meter behind the rear axle. It seems to provide adequate articulation, at least in the limited testing we've done.

You can choose either a front or rear pivot point, and both designs have been executed on the FG. We chose a rear pivot to enable our storage boxes to stay on the same stress paths as much as possible.

Our 3 point pivot frame only makes a few squeaks, very occaisionally, when we're moving around in the camper and we haven't deployed the rear camper jacks to lock it in place. I have not lubricated the pivot in any way. I never thought to ask our fabricator if he greased it when he put it together. Another detail through the cracks...

I have no idea if the pivot frame makes noise while we're moving because the cab is so eerily quiet. I'll try rolling down the window when we're off road listening for pivot frame noise. We didn't notice any in the cab when we did the off-road articulation tests in December and nobody who was out on the ground mentioned anything about it.

The cab on an FG is bolted to the frame via two hinges at the front ends of each frame rail. At the rear of the cab it sits on two rubber bumpers that provide some flexibility. There's no massive seperate twist of cab & frame such as that illustrated in your MOG shot.

Doug