2007 NPS 300 ISUZU MOTOR HOME BUILD

[trackadda]

Hi all, i have been lurking on here for a while now and at the stage of being ready to buy a base for an off road motor home build. i think i have settled on the isuzu nps 300 and am going to look at one in the morning. can any one tell me why i shouldn't be buying a 2007 [2006 build going by specs ?] has the isuzu name at the bottom of the windscreen not above grill and is the sitec 150 4hk1tcn motot. has 110,000 ks on the clock and is x energex i think. was wanting to put the parabolic springs on it but am hearing thar atw no longer do that year, also going super singles and front locker. is this the last model before the particulate burning exhaust thingy came into play?. i have 2 auto sparkie sons that tell me that this model should be able to be remapped to increase performance ect, is this right?. end plan is for a pop top motor home style unit for towing the boat around australia when i retire in a few years. allmost forgot, the asking price is around 37,000 aussie dollars, does this seem a fair deal as is well within my budget. thanks in advance Gary

 

[Mr Rehab]

Hi Gary. I have the 2010 NPS with basically the same engine. I had mine remapped 2 years ago to increase power and torque by about 20%, and take out the particulate filter. The particulate filter introduced with the 2008 model. The truck has done about 35,000km since the mods without any issues and drives much better with the extra power, holding gears better and with better acceleration. At 5800kg or thereabouts it's still no sports car but the extra torque lets the gearing work better with the larger single tyres.

 

[Alastair D(Aus)]

yes

I have an early 2007 NPS300 and have found it a good basis for building my rig.

2007 was the transition year from the chassis with the rise up just behind the cab to the completely straight rails front to rear. This change makes the building a little easier but the model change also included other changes which I wanted to avoid for my remote travel vehicle. In particular it added the DPF and some changes to the fuel and management systems.

The engine computer can be remapped to give a lot more power as this is basically what is done by the manufacturer on the larger trucks with the same engine.

Good truck and better in regards to the lack of potentially problematic pollution gear. I am not against reducing pollution, I just prefer the approach of better basic design rather than add on band aids to meet the new rules.

The later Isuzu did a lot to improve the suspension and creature comforts. I tested a brand new 2010 model and was impressed by the better ride and comfort but when faced with the 2007 unit with only 45K for less than half the new price with 12 months warranty, I went against my wife who wanted the new one. Risky stuff but it has worked out so far.

 

[NTSteve]

Gary, I went thru the same exercise, looked for 18 mths for a good late model single cab, all of the 07 or earlier I found had either lots of km's or had been flogged, and the only decent 2010 or newer were all round $50-55k, dual cabs are much more common than single, ended up with a brand new 2015 for low $60k with all the new gear like abs and hill start assist and a higher payload, I also like to think that most of the emission issues have been better sorted but time will tell.

Good luck with the hunt.

cheers steve

 

[corrupt]

The older the better, but while simpler and more reliable it does come at the cost of fuel economy. This might not be the same for the 300s but when pricing up a engine chip for a 03-07 fss550 it was $1000 more than the 08+ and had to be hard wired as apposed to just plug and play.

 

[trackadda]

 

[trackadda]

thanks for the advice all, this is the outcome and will be the base of my motor home project. i will probable become a serial pest now with another million questions

 

[whatcharterboat]

thanks for the advice all, this is the outcome and will be the base of my motor home project. i will probable become a serial pest now with another million questions

Hi Gary,
.
Pomona....just up the road.
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Yeah, IMO this will be a great platform for you. Looks like ex-Energex to me ... maybe made by Allweld in Maryborough. Anything like that on the modplate or badges on the tray? If you're lucky it'll still have the hydraulic APE rear winch which were very cool (and mega dollars to set up).
.
That '07 model was always a good thing. Do not let the chassis put you off. It is one of the best out there in my opinion. Chassis rails were one piece and nice and thick. You also got the big motor too. Every '07 I drove had plenty of power compared to others in this class.
.
ATW never really officially offered parabolics for these. They did a couple with parabolics springs designed for another truck but the amount of work required to make these fit was not worth it. I've done an '07 NPS (back in "07) with long span springs and dual shocks but it was a lot of work.....about 5 days IIRC with another good guy in a good workshop i.e. with all the right chassis stands and proper lift gear. The result was very sweet but not sure who would do this today if anyone.
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As you said, ATW Front diff lock and single wheel conversion will be well worthwhile.
John

 

[trackadda]

thanks for the info John, picked the truck up on friday and drove up from brisbane, bloody hell arn't these rough with no load in them and hard tyres lol. i got the bonus i was hoping for as the seats were not around when i made the offer but as i thought they were stratos suspension seats under the covers in the photo so with a bit of adjusting they made a big differance. it is an x ergon truck from cairns area with the name rv fabrication on the plate.All the tool boxes on the back are alloy and mostly in good nick so i am going to try to sell the complete tray, boxs and crane set up as a unit, any idea what these would be worth?. the pto winch on the back works well and looks like it has never been used so that will stay on the truck. do you think that with the super singles on and quality shocks the ride will settle down once it is loaded or should i look at spring work. all the springs look very good nick and i feel they may have been replaced recently. i have another 999,996 more questions to go but maybe i should start a build up thread? have a great day every one. Gary

 

[canter tourer]

picked the truck up on friday and drove up from brisbane, bloody hell arn't these rough with no load in them and hard tyres lol. ...... do you think that with the super singles on and quality shocks the ride will settle down once it is loaded or should i look at spring work. all the springs look very good nick and i feel they may have been replaced recently.Gary

my 2 cents, no truck is going to ride nicely without a load on it, my canter certainly didn't, advice from the local spring man made sense, build it up to where you want it, then get front and rear axle weighed and they can make springs to suit with some confidence, anything done earlier will be guess work and probably money wasted. Look forward to seeing the build!
Dave

 

[Bris31]

.......................... i have another 999,996 more questions to go but maybe i should start a build up thread? have a great day every one. Gary

Starting a new build thread will be good. Very keen to see yet another build.

Cheers

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Gary

I reckon just continue this thread with your build. Everything will be in the one place then. If you're really worried about the title change it or ask a moderator to do it for you but I think it'll be fine.

I plan to reply in detail to your last post later tonight.

John

 

[corrupt]

my 2 cents, no truck is going to ride nicely without a load on it, my canter certainly didn't, advice from the local spring man made sense, build it up to where you want it, then get front and rear axle weighed and they can make springs to suit with some confidence, anything done earlier will be guess work and probably money wasted. Look forward to seeing the build!
Dave

and why they are at it get 2" or 3" of lift put in to give you some room above the bump stop, that way the suspension will actually have some room to do its thing.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Gary,

it is an x ergon truck from cairns area with the name rv fabrication on the plate.All the tool boxes on the back are alloy and mostly in good nick so i am going to try to sell the complete tray, boxs and crane set up as a unit, any idea what these would be worth?

Nah. What its worth and what you can get are two different things. Sure it would be nice to get $5k to $7k for it but there is a lot of that sort of thing around now. As an example, three years ago, I paid $3k for a steel dropside Canter tray (no boxes though) that had never been used and they threw in the second hand crane. I know that the cranes cost a lot initially but without costly recertification its worth absolutely zip commercially. Dealers will not touch them ....it'd still be cool for someone as a bike loader maybe. I'd certainly let some of the local truck dealers know what you've got as they will sometimes get second hand stock in as chassis only. Otherwise gumtree, trucksales, etc. I guess. Push the fact it's ex-Energex as they only ordered top spec stuff.

the pto winch on the back works well and looks like it has never been used so that will stay on the truck.

Yeah, that's cool. Surprised it hasn't been used much. They normally copped a lot of use pulling power cables. About 5 years ago I know someone that had one of the big hydraulic shops in Brisbane fit the same winch/pump/tank/cooler etc to his '07 NPS.......$5800. So you scored. With all the hydraulics already installed I guess you have the option of fitting a second unit up front if you wanted. ....or whatever. Plenty of options.

do you think that with the super singles on and quality shocks the ride will settle down once it is loaded or should i look at spring work.

No. Singles help a little but you need the springs to move and standard springs don't.....and if they do move a little they usually bottom out straight away. Better bump stops help mask that but still not really an answer. Shocks won't help standard springs either. I'd talk to Southside Springs in Gympie....about 30minutes drive from you probably. Russell made some excellent long span spring packs for '07 NPS's back in the day. If he's still around, he might be able to offer some solutions even for the standard span springs.

Also Dave has given some really good advice too......it's no good trying to sort suspension properly until your truck is close to it's final mass.

all the springs look very good nick and i feel they may have been replaced recently.

It doesn't mean they are going to be any good for a touring motorhome though. As a matter of interest, how much bump stop clearance is there and what are the shackle angles like?

i have another 999,996 more questions to go but maybe i should start a build up thread?

Would be OK to chat sometime. I was in Pomona today. Dumb road closures with the Noosa Triathlon and had to go via Eumundi and Pomona to get to Boreen Point!!!

Regards John

 

[trackadda]

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