my fg/camper pre purchase plan "101"

[Gold Boy]

check list...

new fuso fg - $45000
custom 3 point pivot flat deck - $5000
custom Alaskan camper - $25000
semi portable yanmar diesel generator - $3500
aux deep cycle batteries system - $500
custom front winch bumper with 12000# winch [maybe hydraulic] - $3000
possible rear single wheel conversion ?
aux fuel tank ?

this is all subject to financing at the moment, but i am close to going ahead with the above plan.

anyway... what says you to the above list?

thanks

 

[haven]

nice start

This is a nice start to many years of adventure travel!

Does the 2008 Fuso FG really cost $45,000? It used to be $33,000. Has the dollar declined in value this far?

For hydraulic winch are you planning to use PTO? I don't think it's possible to use the engine to power the wheels if it's in PTO mode.

Chip Haven

 

[Gold Boy]

This is a nice start to many years of adventure travel!

Does the 2008 Fuso FG really cost $45,000? It used to be $33,000. Has the dollar declined in value this far?

For hydraulic winch are you planning to use PTO? I don't think it's possible to use the engine to power the wheels if it's in PTO mode.

Chip Haven

i hope so Chip.

there are so many ways to outfit an fg, but i have decided on this route, myself and the wife are in agreement on this [:wings:].

the 08 fuso price, is my on the road price, which includes tax, insurance and hidden costs. when i budget i try and budget for the maximum cost.

a 12v winch would be my first choice. hydraulic over pto is just a consideration.

one other item which could be useful item, is a small hand pump hydraulic crane for lifting the generator and other have items on and off the flat deck.

an on board welding set up is also a consideration.

not forgetting solar panels.

and most important of all, the kitchen sink................. oh i forgot the camper has one....

cheers
Simon

 

[Tom_D]

Winch

I have a 15K hydraulic winch and all mounts, tanks, pumps, drives, controllers and PTO components to fit an FG. These are take offs from my FG camper. You can see the winch and components on Darrin Fink's RUF-inc web site. I even have a winch bumper and brush bar from my 2004 FG (I don't know if it will fit a newer model).

If you are interested email me and I can fill you in on the details and we can discuss price etc. These need a good home.

Tom

 

[Gold Boy]

I have a 15K hydraulic winch and all mounts, tanks, pumps, drives, controllers and PTO components to fit an FG. These are take offs from my FG camper. You can see the winch and components on Darrin Fink's RUF-inc web site. I even have a winch bumper and brush bar from my 2004 FG (I don't know if it will fit a newer model).

If you are interested email me and I can fill you in on the details and we can discuss price etc. These need a good home.

Tom

thanks

sorry but not at that stage yet...... but i'm sure you will find a good home for that nice setup

cheers :26_7_2:

 

[dhackney]

check list...
semi portable yanmar diesel generator - $3500
aux deep cycle batteries system - $500
custom front winch bumper with 12000# winch [maybe hydraulic] - $3000
possible rear single wheel conversion ?
aux fuel tank ?

I didn't research SRW so I have no idea what the costs would be there. I don't know any of the engineering implications there either, but there have been some detailed posts on that issue.

I would recommend an aux fuel tank.

An aux fresh water tank really helps a lot too. The campers have pretty limited capacity.

For aux. batteries you'll probably spend more than that for one battery unless you are adding very little amp hour capacity.

I recommend AGM batteries and three stage charger/controllers.

I would also say: Don't skimp on that system. If possible, use top quality marine components and marine wiring.

Make certain, FOR SURE, your controller / charger has a profile to match your battery before you pull the trigger, especially if you are looking at Optimas. I was able to program all of our controller / chargers to optimize them for our battery's characteristics. If you mismatch those components you will signficantly shorten battery life and compromise the output of the system.

For sizing, remember that you only discharge to 50% of capacity, and you'll never get 100% effeciency. For instance, if you have a 100 amp hour battery, you only want to use 50 amp hours out of it before you recharge. And you'll never get 100% effeciency out of any component of the system, so you will probably net 45% best case.

A battery combiner system that uses the stock alternator is probably your lowest cost option for recharging.

If you are planning to use this off the grid, and I assume you are or you would have bought a regular RV, then solar panels make a lot of sense. Again, get a 3 stage controller / charger that you can match to your batteries.

And BTW, matching to the batteries goes way beyond "does the controller / charger have an AGM setting for my AGM batteries Y/N". You need the ability to exactly match the voltages, amperages, hold times, etc. between your controller / charger and your batteries' requirements. Anything less and you are paying for a lot of expensive amp hours and are not getting all of them or you are systematically destroying a very expensive deep cycle battery.

And here you thought this would be simple, right?

I remember when I started down this path. "Hey, we're putting a camper on a truck. How hard can it be?"

 

[Gold Boy]

thanks very much for that wonderfully detailed replie :jumping:

I didn't research SRW so I have no idea what the costs would be there. I don't know any of the engineering implications there either, but there have been some detailed posts on that issue.

I would recommend an aux fuel tank. yes

An aux fresh water tank really helps a lot too. The campers have pretty limited capacity. yes

For aux. batteries you'll probably spend more than that for one battery unless you are adding very little amp hour capacity. yes

I recommend AGM batteries and three stage charger/controllers. yes

I would also say: Don't skimp on that system. If possible, use top quality remarine components and marine wiring. yes

Make certain, FOR SURE, your controller / charger has a profile to match your battery before you pull the trigger, especially if you are looking at Optimas. I was able to program all of our controller / chargers to optimize them for our battery's characteristics. If you mismatch those components you will signficantly shorten battery life and compromise the output of the system. yes, thoe i have heard mixed reports on optimas

For sizing, remember that you only discharge to 50% of capacity, and you'll never get 100% effeciency. For instance, if you have a 100 amp hour battery, you only want to use 50 amp hours out of it before you recharge. And you'll never get 100% effeciency out of any component of the system, so you will probably net 45% best case. true

A battery combiner system that uses the stock alternator is probably your lowest cost option for recharging. yes

If you are planning to use this off the grid, and I assume you are or you would have bought a regular RV, then solar panels make a lot of sense. Again, get a 3 stage controller / charger that you can match to your batteries. yes

And BTW, matching to the batteries goes way beyond "does the controller / charger have an AGM setting for my AGM batteries Y/N". You need the ability to exactly match the voltages, amperages, hold times, etc. between your controller / charger and your batteries' requirements. Anything less and you are paying for a lot of expensive amp hours and are not getting all of them or you are systematically destroying a very expensive deep cycle battery. true and yes

And here you thought this would be simple, right? it has to be simple, for me.

I remember when I started down this path. "Hey, we're putting a camper on a truck. How hard can it be?"

also, i would like to add amp meters, boost and pyro gauges are very important. btw how trust worthy are the stock fuso gauges? i'm not so keen on gauges that do not give you specific data, ie water gauges that just say H or C.

thanks again....... :26_7_2:

 

[dhackney]

also, i would like to add amp meters, boost and pyro gauges are very important. btw how trust worthy are the stock fuso gauges? i'm not so keen on gauges that do not give you specific data, ie water gauges that just say H or C.

I didn't add any gauges. The only one I miss is an amp/volt meter on the dedicated house battery alternator / voltage regulator.

Stock gauges are very basic analog. Easy to read. Temp gauge is accurate.

If you put a bunch of weight on the chassis you will drive by the temp gauge in the mountains.

RE: batteries
We used Lifeline. They offered more amp-hour capacity per given volume and similar mil-spec capabilities as Optima. They can also be equalized.

Check out Balmar for a charging system using your stock alternator.

 

[Gold Boy]

I didn't add any gauges. The only one I miss is an amp/volt meter on the dedicated house battery alternator / voltage regulator.

Stock gauges are very basic analog. Easy to read. Temp gauge is accurate.

If you put a bunch of weight on the chassis you will drive by the temp gauge in the mountains.

RE: batteries
We used Lifeline. They offered more amp-hour capacity per given volume and similar mil-spec capabilities as Optima. They can also be equalized.

Check out Balmar for a charging system using your stock alternator.

thanks again for the tips

did you change your camper 12v light bulbs to LEDs?

 

[dhackney]

did you change your camper 12v light bulbs to LEDs?

I put yellow LEDs in all the storage boxes.

I put white LEDs in all the camper lights.

After living in the camper for five months I put regular incandescents into the 2nd half of all the camper lights. That gives us a low amp LED at the first switch position and a regular incandescent bulb on the 2nd, both sockets on, position.

My low light level vision has deteriorated (possibly too many years in the darkroom) and the blue bandwidth of the white LEDs is not good for me. I use the LED when I just need some light and I use the inc bulb when I actually need to see something.

Doug

 

[Gold Boy]

thanks for the replies :wings:

can anyone tell me about single rear wheel conversion, in real terms, how much stress is put on the bearings?

 

[Tom_D]

Single Rear Wheels

The manufacture recommends against single rear wheels. Your money is better spent other ways than on this questionable modification. Remember too that you will need a way to change wheels/tires on the road so budget for a compressor and impact wrench and special socket. A cheater bar is of questionable use.

I carry a small (nail gun type) 120V compressor and plug it into the AC and run my generator. I use a 3/4" impact that goes to 1000 Lbs. I have to let it re-pressurize between each lug but it does the job and the compressor was inexpensive and packs away easily.

Also be aware that finding replacement Yokohama OEM tires is difficult, so if you are planning to carry more than one spare start looking ASAP. The factory only builds these tires when the back order demand is high enough. I carry two mounted spares although I have not needed one yet (even on the Dempster Hwy.)

Tom

 

[kerry]

How come so many Aussie Canters seem to have single rear wheels?

 

[OutbacKamper]

How come so many Aussie Canters seem to have single rear wheels?

Bear in mind that I have never personally driven a DRW off road:
Many people say that SRW's handle much better off road, especially in ruts (ie: sand, mud & snow). The Aussies have way more offroad driving that is accessible to a large off-road camper than you will find in North America. I talked to a tour bus driver in Western Australia who was driving a DRW Canter (Fuso) tour bus and he said if he owned one, the first mod would be to switch to SRW's. I can put you in touch with an Aussie company that builds lots of Canter buses and RV's and use super single steel wheels.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Jeep]

We have put super singles on many HD trucks. We use Alcoa and if you watch the offset you can get one wheel that will work on both ends of the truck as they can be ordered reversible. I do not know if Alcoa makes a wheel with your required pattern. I have had Canadian Wheel Industries supply me with shells and I would install the centers on odd ball applications, I just got a set of wheels for one truck running 53" Michelin XZL's from Stockton Wheel and they were cheaper than buying shells, laser cutting centers, and building them myself. They were built to specs I provided and fit great. If you set your track width properly you will not be adding any extra stress, you may be reducing stress by reducing the rotating mass of a set of duals. You will increase driveline stress as the tire size grows in diameter and gearing is not compensated for.

Good luck, great project,
Mark