Building a overland camper on a Fuso FG

Ford Prefect

Expedition Leader
It sounds like a very interesting build. I will look forward to seeing/reading what you have going on in this thread and your truck! Best wishes on your build!
 

driveabout

Observer
Construction of the camper is ongoing. The truck now has super single wheels from Kym Bolton in Australia. Bumpers are being replaced. Aluminess in Santee is fabricating them. The camper work is being done by Four wheel campers in Woodland.
Next is installing the camper on the bed of the truck.

If all goes well should be ready in 4 weeks.

See link to the pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85816890@N02/9088785153/
 

Ford Prefect

Expedition Leader
Brilliant!

You were spotted already and placed in the Spotted Expedition Rigs thread. Going down an interstate somewhere in CA I believe.

Anhyhow, look near the end of the thread, and you can see your rig.

It looks spectacular! Congrats!
 

Chevrolado

Cruisin'
Yeah! I just was driving next to you in El Segundo on PCH recently.
Are you still in the area with this thing? Would love to see more of it and have a chat.
Great rig! Nice work.
 

Robert907

Observer
Did you do a more thorough build thread on this vehicle and camper? I was curious where/how you found your fuso and more of the layout of the camper.

It is a good looking set up. Congratulations.
 

driveabout

Observer
The build is nearly complete. A few things are pending. We had to redesign the tire carrier and I am moving it to the front. Adding storage space over the rear bumpers for Jerry cans and also bicycle racks. In the process of doing trial runs and testing the systems out.

The truck was bought unseen in Connecticut from a dealer there. It had 15K miles when I bought it.

Some info:
Pre EPA engine runs on any diesel.
Heating, water heater and cook tops are diesel
Solar panels and large house batteries run the air conditioners. (no generator)
Has 4 fans in the cabin
All lights are LED.
100 gallons of water
Cassette, 5 gallon thetford black water system
32 gallon grey water tank.
Can pump water from any source including streams and run it through filters.
Can hook up to 110 or 220 volts outside power source
4 wheel drive with a 10,000 lb warn winch in the front and a 15000 lb winch in the back.

Max speed so far 79 miles an hr (somewhat downhill)
Diesel mileage I am not certain but probably better than 14 miles per gallon (I will update)

Can anyone advice me on navigation systems and tell me a good option for both street and off road driving. I have none now. Need to have preloaded maps with GPS. Preferably work off an i pad or android tablet.
Still working on the tire carriers, storage boxes, needs some work on the boot for the pass through, AC systems, and entertainment systems.

Here is a link to some of the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85816890@N02/sets/72157634951907908/
driveabout
 

SkiFreak

Crazy Person
Looks very nice and well thought out.
Maybe it is the perspective in the photos, but that looks like a lot of overhang at the rear.
I don't know what the rules are on your side of the planet, but here we are limited to 60% of the wheelbase as the maximum rear overhang.

driveabout_01.jpg
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
Can anyone advice me on navigation systems and tell me a good option for both street and off road driving. I have none now. Need to have preloaded maps with GPS. Preferably work off an i pad or android tablet.

For roads I use the Garmin Nuvi series. It is worth while getting the ‘lifetime' maps so you do not have to pay for updates. For off road areas I use a Garmin Oregon 450 (this is my ‘Search & Rescue' GPS) that has Terrain Navigator maps. Although I have a mount for my Android table (a Motorola Xoom) I don't really use that normally (just testing) as the small Garmins work fine and are much less distracting. The Xoom has Google Maps and has BackCountry Navigator PRO. The BackCountry Navigator PRO is outstanding and I highly recommend that program. You have to download ‘tiles' ahead of time if no connections (I'd download anyway to be safe) but it is well worth the effort. Also useful for the Android is gmap4 from mappingsupport.
http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4_gis-viewer.html
It lets you see maps in 7 plus formats (Street Map Google, Aerial Google Satellite, Aerial Google Hybrid, Aerial USA, Topo Google Terrain, Topo USGS, Topo High, etc)
 
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Ford Prefect

Expedition Leader
I have read a few people who REALLY love the Montana GPS system by Garmin. It has maps, but you can also load routes in from things like Google Earth and such. It is a pretty cool device... I am fairly sure that it will also do everything the typical Garmin can do as well. You might give it a go.

When you place the tires on the front, how will that effect the air flow to the engine? Also how will the bumper/tires be raised and lowered for vehicular maintenance?

check this out...
 
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Flys Lo

Adventurer
I have a Zumo 660, but if I was buying again I would get the Montana (it wasn't around when I bought my 660), but the improvements with the Montana really amount to being able to import tracks with lots of waypoints. The Zumo series can only handle 5 (I think) waypoints.

For most parts of the world, using MapSource (the Garmin desktop program), and Open Street Maps gets you almost anywhere you could ever want to go.
Some regions have better maps from other sources (like Africa), but OSM is pretty good
Looks very nice and well thought out.
Maybe it is the perspective in the photos, but that looks like a lot of overhang at the rear.
I don't know what the rules are on your side of the planet, but here we are limited to 60% of the wheelbase as the maximum rear overhang.

View attachment 185989
About the only regulation for the US is in some states the require headlights to only be a certain height, and you can't modify a vehicles emissions equipment - otherwise its open slather when it comes to vehicles.
 

biggoolies

Adventurer
I am certainly impressed with what you have done with your truck. Awesome build. Could you elaborate on your system as stated by you? "Solar panels and large house batteries run the air conditioners. (no generator)."
 

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