Considering a direction switch from our Mog - which FGs to buy and which to avoid

[S2DM]

Hey all,

Heather and I have been about the forum for awhile, you can see our build here

Our composite camper is close to being finished, but we are really considering switching out our base vehicle for something less extreme. We love the Mog and we've gotten it into amazing condition, but our lives have changed (Just bought an farm/orchard!) and we are looking at shorter trips over the border and more domestic trips. For that, I want something built to drive 65-70 all day long, that is still capable off road. The Mog will do it, but thats not what its made for. We will likely toss a flat bed, with frame flex provisions, on so that it can serve dual duty on the farm.

We'd considered an f550, but we'd be insanely long (25ft) and I worry about the serviceability and reliability of that platform. Seems like I see too many trucks with engine rebuilds floating around..And, after the MOG, I just really prefer cab-overs.

So, we are thinking more about an FG. Few specific questions

1) Which years and engines are best?
2) Which trannies? Manual preferred?
3) How many miles is too many on a used truck?
4) We'd planned on buying a new fuso initially, but the combo of USLD and the duonic gave us a cold feet. With the exception of USLD, do the new truck pass muster?
5) Are there many wheel base options in the FG?
6) Our camper is 12' and I am considering building a mold for a composite cab extension to make a doorless crew cab (doorless = entry through the front doors and then pass through middle seat) so that we can carry friends etc in the rig (bench seat in back). What wheel base is best for a 12' camper and a 2-2.5' cab extension?
7) With a little bit of sound deadening effort, how quite can you get your fuso at 65-70mph?

Really appreciate any advice.

-S

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Scott,

Not sure if you remember me or not. We spoke a couple of years back in PMs about composite panel construction. Hope you're doing OK. Sounds like it if you've just bought an orchard!!!

Re: (5) WB options >>> only two from the factory. As a general indication, 2800mm and 3400mm but there were some models that did vary by up to 40mm IIRC.

Re: (6) Crewcab conversion >>> Sounds a bit wild to me. IMO Climbing through to a rear seat through the front doors would be to difficult. Also creating a rear cab section that incorporated the cover over the rear of the engine would also be hell to do. Wouldn't you be better off having your extra passenger seating within your camper module? Of course you would need a wide passthrough for the rear passengers forward view and probably some big alterations to the existing camper to make it happen but having dual purpose seating (eg. being able to use seating when camped as well) would be a much better use of space.

Re: (7) Sound proofing. I don't have access to my old db figures any more but yes, of course you can get them considerably quieter with some sound deadening effort.....of course you will need to throw some under the floor of the camper if you plan a big passthrough too. The noisiest spot is directly above the transfercase area.

Take care mate.

Kind regards
John.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Scott,

Maybe I should have looked at your module first.......might not be possible to fit seating up the front. How far have you gone with the module now?

Regards John

 

[david506th]

Good to see you back on the forum. My wife and I talked to Heather @ Expo East and I sent you some PMs back and forth.

We have a used 2003 FG w/ 172k miles w/ the longer WB (I think its 12 ft from back of cab to end of frame) and we love it because its in the middle of old-school and new technology in design. Ours is automatic which was a requirement since we plan long term driving. I have had it serviced and inspected by two different people, one was a dealer the other a large truck maintenance shop and both have given me good marks on its mechanical condition.

The only issue we had was right after we bought it a seal between the fan and engine gave out. This causes a slight oil leak over the 5 hour drive, which combined with the fan blowing, coated my engine bay in a oily mess. I am not sure if this is a common problem but it was a pain to clean even though I did not lose much engine oil.

The other issue is that I get 55+mph on a good day with a tail wind. The Fuso just isn't a speed demon, a F550 (or equal) would be the only guy who could match the speeds you want.

The passenger mold may work but between the stepped frame and the trannie being higher up you would not have the same cab space as the front if you wanted it to be flush with the cab roof.

David

 

[pugslyyy]

Hey all,

Heather and I have been about the forum for awhile, you can see our build here

Our composite camper is close to being finished, but we are really considering switching out our base vehicle for something less extreme. We love the Mog and we've gotten it into amazing condition, but our lives have changed (Just bought an farm/orchard!) and we are looking at shorter trips over the border and more domestic trips. For that, I want something built to drive 65-70 all day long, that is still capable off road. The Mog will do it, but thats not what its made for. We will likely toss a flat bed, with frame flex provisions, on so that it can serve dual duty on the farm.

We'd considered an f550, but we'd be insanely long (25ft) and I worry about the serviceability and reliability of that platform. Seems like I see too many trucks with engine rebuilds floating around..And, after the MOG, I just really prefer cab-overs.

So, we are thinking more about an FG. Few specific questions

1) Which years and engines are best?
2) Which trannies? Manual preferred?
3) How many miles is too many on a used truck?
4) We'd planned on buying a new fuso initially, but the combo of USLD and the duonic gave us a cold feet. With the exception of USLD, do the new truck pass muster?
5) Are there many wheel base options in the FG?
6) Our camper is 12' and I am considering building a mold for a composite cab extension to make a doorless crew cab (doorless = entry through the front doors and then pass through middle seat) so that we can carry friends etc in the rig (bench seat in back). What wheel base is best for a 12' camper and a 2-2.5' cab extension?
7) With a little bit of sound deadening effort, how quite can you get your fuso at 65-70mph?

Really appreciate any advice.

-S

1) At this point the pre-ULSD models (2007 and earlier)
2) transmission depends on the year.
3) These trucks are built to go a half million miles. It's more how stressed the chassis has been - was it used as a plow truck or dump truck?
4) New is always nice, but lack of a low range may make it a non-starter for you.
5) No, but frame extensions are pretty simple if you need a longer one.
6) That should be fine on the standard 134" wheelbase
7) You aren't going to be going 65-70

 

[yabanja]

I agree with Pugsley on all points.

One other thing-check the frame for rust. These are high tensile steel frames which were assembled first and then painted. That means that they will rust very quickly in between frame and any bolt on bracket as there is bare metal there. The primary use for these was for plow trucks and the salt destroys them in short order.

To add to what Pugsley said about speed- depending on camper frontal area these will do 70 mph on flat ground if you don't make them too heavy and you put on larger diameter tires, but the slightest grade will result in 50-55mph and heavy grades will bring you down to 40 mph.

 

[S2DM]

Hi Scott,

Maybe I should have looked at your module first.......might not be possible to fit seating up the front. How far have you gone with the module now?

Regards John

Hey John,

Definitely remember you and really appreciate all your advice!

We are pretty committed on our box, our water tank is right on the front wall. We also have a hard sided pop up design, not unlike westyss build or the pangae lt. It makes the pass through hard, but not undoable. I think the pass through is one of those personal preference things and there isnt a right answer, only whats right for you. I came out of the gates hard in favor, and am now pretty hard against, just from a utility standpoint. But, it would be much harder to make our box pass through worthy now and the engineering involved in making a hard side pop up with a pass through is maybe even more difficult than a cab extension! We arent sold on a cab extension at all, just early ponderings of what to do next if we switch, and the capacity to have an extra person or two in the cab is very appealing.

Here is a dangerous shot I took this morning (standing on a 1" wall) of the dinette kitchen, showing the water tank pocket in front.

 

[S2DM]

Good to see you back on the forum. My wife and I talked to Heather @ Expo East and I sent you some PMs back and forth.

We have a used 2003 FG w/ 172k miles w/ the longer WB (I think its 12 ft from back of cab to end of frame) and we love it because its in the middle of old-school and new technology in design. Ours is automatic which was a requirement since we plan long term driving. I have had it serviced and inspected by two different people, one was a dealer the other a large truck maintenance shop and both have given me good marks on its mechanical condition.

The only issue we had was right after we bought it a seal between the fan and engine gave out. This causes a slight oil leak over the 5 hour drive, which combined with the fan blowing, coated my engine bay in a oily mess. I am not sure if this is a common problem but it was a pain to clean even though I did not lose much engine oil.

The other issue is that I get 55+mph on a good day with a tail wind. The Fuso just isn't a speed demon, a F550 (or equal) would be the only guy who could match the speeds you want.

The passenger mold may work but between the stepped frame and the trannie being higher up you would not have the same cab space as the front if you wanted it to be flush with the cab roof.

David

David, yes, def remember, how is your build going? Do you have a build thread?

with the longer wheel base, what is the total length of the truck? Or perhaps better stated, if I put a 12 foot box on a fuso, without a cab extension, how long would I be?

 

[S2DM]

1) At this point the pre-ULSD models (2007 and earlier)
2) transmission depends on the year.
3) These trucks are built to go a half million miles. It's more how stressed the chassis has been - was it used as a plow truck or dump truck?
4) New is always nice, but lack of a low range may make it a non-starter for you.
5) No, but frame extensions are pretty simple if you need a longer one.
6) That should be fine on the standard 134" wheelbase
7) You aren't going to be going 65-70

Thanks for the info! Curious about the quoted speed discrepancy on the new trucks canter page versus real world observations.. Our Mog cruises at 65 pretty easily with the over drive, but it isn't quiet. At all

 

[david506th]

David, yes, def remember, how is your build going? Do you have a build thread?

with the longer wheel base, what is the total length of the truck? Or perhaps better stated, if I put a 12 foot box on a fuso, without a cab extension, how long would I be?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/Dco506th/IMG_17011_zpsf2826b53.jpg

I will go out back after work and measure the entire length but this is the stock form after we got it and the service body is exactly 12' 11" from the back wall of the cab.

 

[Michelle@EarthCruiser]

Thanks for the info! Curious about the quoted speed discrepancy on the new trucks canter page versus real world observations.. Our Mog cruises at 65 pretty easily with the over drive, but it isn't quiet. At all

Our experience has been the new models like 65-70.

 

[pugslyyy]

Our experience has been the new models like 65-70.

Yep, the new ones are a different game altogether. There are a lot of things I like about the new ones.

 

[kerry]

The older model manual transmissions (mine's a 99) like to eat up syncros. I had mine rebuilt with a new clutch. About $3k at the dealer. Mine has about 206k miles. Engine was replaced at some point prior to my purchase. On the flats I cruise around 62. Never hit 70.

 

[pugslyyy]

The older model manual transmissions (mine's a 99) like to eat up syncros. I had mine rebuilt with a new clutch. About $3k at the dealer. Mine has about 206k miles. Engine was replaced at some point prior to my purchase. On the flats I cruise around 62. Never hit 70.

Is your first gear syncroed? (It isn't on my 2007)

 

[pugslyyy]

Hey John,

Definitely remember you and really appreciate all your advice!

We are pretty committed on our box, our water tank is right on the front wall. We also have a hard sided pop up design, not unlike westyss build or the pangae lt. It makes the pass through hard, but not undoable. I think the pass through is one of those personal preference things and there isnt a right answer, only whats right for you. I came out of the gates hard in favor, and am now pretty hard against, just from a utility standpoint. But, it would be much harder to make our box pass through worthy now and the engineering involved in making a hard side pop up with a pass through is maybe even more difficult than a cab extension! We arent sold on a cab extension at all, just early ponderings of what to do next if we switch, and the capacity to have an extra person or two in the cab is very appealing.

Here is a dangerous shot I took this morning (standing on a 1" wall) of the dinette kitchen, showing the water tank pocket in front.

You should post some updated pictures. I think I saw it at XP Camper, right?