Fuso on White Rim Trail

[Bajaroad]

Guys, I thought I would share with you a bit on my trip on the White Rim Trial (Canyonlands NP).

The FG140 supported the food(beer) and equipment(bottle opener) of 12 firends/family for 5 days (4 camps) of mountain biking the White Rim Trial. This is the 5th time I've done this trip over the last ten years - the previous trips were supported with my Dodge3500 4x4 diesel.

I nearly worked around the clock over the last several weeks to get the Fuso subframe/flatbed ready for the trip. The temporary deck was made of plywood, to which I bolted 2x4's to position/anchor ice-chests, storage boxes, and other equipment. This makes the daily packing of the truck much faster and keeps gear very secure. I couldn't complete everything I hoped to before the trip, but I did manage to mount a custom 55 gallon water tank b/w the truck frame rails. I had hoped to hook up the water pump but ran out of time and used gravity instead. The tank held up nicely and reduced the amount of water jugs I had to carry. The tank was designed to mount as low as possible to keep CG as low as possible. It will later supply water to the camper.

The Fuso performed very well. Even the 20 hour drive out (we took the scenic route) was a pleasure now that there was finally enough weight to soften the ride. The large tires helped the ride and improved the gearing too.

I couldn't be more pleased with it's offroad performance. My Dodge has great low end grunt too, but the Fuso is much much easier to drive through critical sections - better visability and tighter turning radius. I shared driving on the trial with a couple friends (I want to ride too) - both said the Fuso was easier to drive than the Dodge. The ride is still too stiff for my my taste, so some suspension work might be in the future.

The Fuso drew a lot of positive attention from guys on the trail, and even a cute female ranger came into camp seeking the story behind this unusual rig.



here is an unimpressive video . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVtXPIQBRso

[adventureduo]

Incredible. I love it.

[Michael Slade]

Wow.

[Christian P.]

so awesome.

[LandCruiserPhil]

Very cool!
What was the results in your 3pt subframe testing? Any pics of the set up you are using? How was the performance of the FG140 on the Hwy? MPG, speed, ride, noise, ect.?

[haven]

Bajaroad,

I'm glad to hear you're pleased with the truck so far. Tell us more about the wheel/tire package. What sort of weight capacity do you have now? Did you have any clearance issues?

Chip Haven

[Joaquin Suave]

Looking good Brent!

I have a diesel tank that is similar to the tank on side of your Fuso that you can have. It is on the side of the Mercedes that I'm going to scrap out.

[Grim Reaper]

Sweet! so how deep is first and what is low in the case? Sounded like it had a respectable low range coming up that hill.

[Paul R]

That is a cool rig!
Looks like a great time!

[Bajaroad]

Two of these shots are from Pucker Pass near Dead Horse Point. The Fuso climbed through the one difficult spot without trouble. The Chevy 4x4 got stuck. Ok, ok, the Fuso has much more aggressive tires so not a fair comparison. The limited slip diff on the Fuso performs very well, with the majority of the torque transferring to the non-slippping wheel. On the White Rim, I never needed 4x4 unless I needed 4x4-low range..

-I couldn't be happier with the 3pt design and Barry Mount performance. The Fuso is no Unimog in terms of offroad systems, suspension, etc, but I am impressed with the Fuso's frame flex and offroad ability - afterall this is a delivery truck with a 175K mile warrently
-The Fuso confortably drives at 65-70 on the freeway. The millage definitely is better closer to 60 though. I need to get a speedo check since changing tires, so I don't have an accurate MPG yet. Plus I only have 2700 miles on her, so I suspect it will have to break in before seeing the best performance.
-First gear is 5.175. About 4.75 with the larger tires. I believe 1st-low is about 9.75.
-I reshaped the front of the fender slightly for clearance

Now for the hard part - produce a camper light enough to handle this same trail.