All Terrain Warriors campers

[whatcharterboat]

Hey John,
In your opinion, is it easier to put a dual cab onto a SWB or cut the chassis on a LWB,.
Thanks,
Chock

Hi Chocko .... still doing the aviation thing?

Cut a LWB dual cab down ... very easy for a man of your talents. The alternative would be considerably more work and dollars.

I'm not sure with the new exhausts

Are you refering to the new FGB ??? Mate ... they are a very different thing to the previous 84. They may not look too different but wow, so much to learn. We were really lucky...I made sure we got the first one in the country so we could get a good head start on the development path. We've already done a few buses on them.....have one going out next week and will post some pics if you like.

While the exhaust may look like it's from another planet, that would be the least of your worries.

 

[engineer]

I've heard that they cut them down on the isuzu's and had great difficulty with the gas flow meters...
I never believe everything i hear though...LOL

 

[whatcharterboat]

I never believe everything i hear though...LOL

Know what you mean. Haha.

I've heard that they cut them down on the isuzu's and had great difficulty with the gas flow meters...

Yeah... well I only heard of one body builder ggetting into trouble with the DPD on an NPS tipper in the begining but we took that lesson from Isuzu on board at the start and have never had any dramas. We've been certainly OK with the new Fuso DPF's and the exhaust mods we've had to do.

You driven a new B71 one yet? Gee they motor along OK.....will pull up to 100kph in 4th on singles , no problem and so much power down low too. I think max power comes in around 1450rpm right through to 2650rpm and redline is way up at 4250rpm....I think that's right....anyway, the gear splits are great on hills, hauling loads, etc. Not sure how they'll go on sand yet ...... that's always the test for me.

 

[1leglance]

Hey John...we are looking at coming over to Australia for a 2 month holiday instead of a work contract (could not get insurance coverage on my fake leg) and I would really like to tour your shop if that is allowed.
We are planning on doing 1 month of 4wd camping and then 1 month of train travel/hotels. Our 4wd camping will focus on Coffs Harbor in the south up to the Dantree up North...basically enjoy Queensland to know if we want to make the move after I get my next leg built.

Looking forward to seeing these builds in person, cracking a cold one with you and if you partake we can share a good cigar
Also I really want my family to see these since we used the have a Sportsmobile, it will be cool to compare/contrast the platforms.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hey John...we are looking at coming over to Australia for a 2 month holiday instead of a work contract (could not get insurance coverage on my fake leg) and I would really like to tour your shop if that is allowed.
We are planning on doing 1 month of 4wd camping and then 1 month of train travel/hotels. Our 4wd camping will focus on Coffs Harbor in the south up to the Dantree up North...basically enjoy Queensland to know if we want to make the move after I get my next leg built.

Looking forward to seeing these builds in person, cracking a cold one with you and if you partake we can share a good cigar
Also I really want my family to see these since we used the have a Sportsmobile, it will be cool to compare/contrast the platforms.

Lance, I'd be offended if you didn't drop in. I'll give you the heads up on a trip to Fraser when you come by and my family were early pioneers in the Daintree so could probably tell you a thing or two about that too. Actually I'll bet there would be quite a few Expo members between Coffs and the Daintree River that would be happy to have you camp in the back yard for a night or two if you put the word out !!! Sorry about the beer and cigars ... don't touch the stuff ...thanks anyway ... how about my shout for caffiene?

could not get insurance coverage on my fake leg

Mate, you must come up against all sorts of dramas. PM me if you need any help with the planning for the trip anyway. Also while you're here, I want to introduce you to that ER nurse from SOS I told you about. Regards John.

 

[whatcharterboat]

So looks like they made it down OK!!!! Can't wait to see the new motorhome on this chassis ... is going to be a real offroad performer.

BTW Toyo Tyres want to borrow this truck to have on their stand at the Brisbane 4wd Show next weekend..... if any wants to chat, I was going to try to make it there myself on the Friday or maybe Saturday ..... that's on the Toyo stand. Regards John.

 

[1leglance]

Thanks John for the offer of trip advice, I will pm you soon on that...

Speaking of the Brisbane Show do you know of any shows in June or July around the country...I tried searching but didn't come up with much. We will be train hopping in late June & July so easy to make something cross country. Late May & June will be Queensland.

I will be starting a new travel thread soon so as not to clutter up this on too much...

Oh and just to keep this post on track with your thread....that platform is amazing with the articulation. I am sure the coils ride nice but I am curious about the final road wgt when a camper is built? How many kilo's do these end up being?
Also kudos on the Toyo tire thing...that is great extra exposure for you guys.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Speaking of the Brisbane Show do you know of any shows in June or July around the country...I tried searching but didn't come up with much. We will be train hopping in late June & July so easy to make something cross country. Late May & June will be Queensland.

Are you kidding.....start of June is the Brisbane Caravan & Camping Show. June 6 - 12 th. That's a long weekend here with the last Monday being a public holiday. . Some of the suppliers that go to all the shows say it's the one to go to. Scott Brady did a thread on the 2011 show and I did one on the 2009 and another on the 2010 shows . Have a search.

I will be starting a new travel thread soon so as not to clutter up this on too much...

Yeah....do that.

Oh and just to keep this post on track with your thread....that platform is amazing with the articulation. I am sure the coils ride nice but I am curious about the final road wgt when a camper is built? How many kilo's do these end up being?

Good question. I don't think it would add much to the rear , coils only weigh a fraction of what a leaf spring pack with over riders would but there is a bit in all the bracketry. I'll see if I can work it out and get back to you.

Also kudos on the Toyo tire thing...that is great extra exposure for you guys.

Yeah ... free too. Although so they should ...... Canter drivers buy enough of them.

 

[Ford Prefect]

View attachment 91767

Wow that is amazing articulation! Congrats John, it looks really spectacular.

I have to tell you though, you can not imagine just how strange this photo looks to the Americans. I mean if you showed this to 99% of the country they would wonder why in the heck you would EVER do that to that truck, and what the heck the purpose could possibly be. Then they would be equally shocked upon hearing your retort!

It looks great! I just wish we had the infrastructure to get people interested in this type of vehicle. Of course we only have three or four hundred different models of vehicles being made every year for this country already right. sigh

Really jealous of what yall do down there, congrats again and thanks again for sharing the photos!

Regards,
Brian

 

[whatcharterboat]

looks like a military version of one of these

http://web.iveco.com/uk/Products/Pag..._benefits.aspx

according to our iveco dealer in perth they are importing them soon. gotta say they look sweeet.. parabolics all round, standard diff locks and standard XZLs.. oh yea and it has a 6sp gearbox with maybe a splitter and 2 low ranges.. anyways total 24 forward gears if the cab didnt still look like a van id have one straight up.. the new eurocargo 4x4s also look pretty mean.

Hi Andrew,

You guys looked at these yet for campers and buses? I talked to Craig (in Perth) about 18 months ago regarding these but obviously it's taken them far longer than expected to get RHD and ADR compliance. They look OK.....no passenger / driver airbags though which is a big thing here in commercial applications. Everything else looks good. John.

 

[bptp7270]

Hi John,

I did a fair bit of investigation into the iveco before buying the FG84. They look ok but they have some drawbacks like being taller overall and the iveco trucks generally are seen to be badly finished. With F & R diff locks, parabolics and a flash dual low range transfer case, they would be capable off road. The dual cab has a maximum tray length of only 2.5m as well. We see a lot of the daily here as motorhomes and they all complain of the interiors falling apart. There are plenty of you tube videos on the net with these trucks.

Anthony

 

[Amesz00]

Hi Andrew,

You guys looked at these yet for campers and buses? I talked to Craig (in Perth) about 18 months ago regarding these but obviously it's taken them far longer than expected to get RHD and ADR compliance. They look OK.....no passenger / driver airbags though which is a big thing here in commercial applications. Everything else looks good. John.

Hey john

ummm was this meant to go in the other thread perchance?? oh well.
do you mean the daily, or the eurocargo? there has been a 15t one at skippers in perth for quite some time, very impressive looking beast, 3900 WB and 395 XZLs. yea we actually have looked at using them, think itd make a real nice camper. MAN probly still better suited to buses, but like i said i think the new TGMs have too much junk on them for serious offorad use. no airbags.. isnt that a good thing??

Andrew

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hey john

ummm was this meant to go in the other thread perchance?? oh well.

Hi Andrew,

Nah. Not posting there. Maybe we should start a new Iveco thread.

do you mean the daily,

The new daily. 5.5T.

there has been a 15t one at skippers in perth for quite some time, very impressive looking beast, 3900 WB and 395 XZLs.

Yeah.....I reckon. Saw that a while ago. Very tough.

no airbags.. isnt that a good thing??

Rule number one for mine use here..... I know some special services and military of course would rather not have them but you can't even let anyone sit in the middle seat of an NPS or FG on a Qld or NSW mine anymore cause they only have 2 airbags.....I'm just thinking of overall sales here.....not specifically for sales of trucks for offroad campers.

 

[Amesz00]

John,

The new daily. 5.5T.

yea we're definelty wanting to do some sort of offroad camper on it. not sure how suited it would be to a bus though, maybe a bit much $$ for not a heavy duty enough vehicle?? wouldnt get too many seats on one. sure thered be a few niche offroad operators who would have a use for them, maybe fraser, etc..

Rule number one for mine use here..... I know some special services and military of course would rather not have them but you can't even let anyone sit in the middle seat of an NPS or FG on a Qld or NSW mine anymore cause they only have 2 airbags.....I'm just thinking of overall sales here.....not specifically for sales of trucks for offroad campers.

hmm yea that is a sad point.. the way i see it, if you're driving a truck and you hit something so solid you need an airbag to protect you, you need a hell of a lot more than an airbag to protect you... just makes it a pain in the bum to mount bullbars to.

btw have you seen the sticker on the drivers door of the new canter?? it reads.. ""This 4wd vehicle is designed for on-road use only. No specific design for offroad use is applied."
what a joke..
Andrew

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Andrew,

yea we're definelty wanting to do some sort of offroad camper on it. not sure how suited it would be to a bus though, maybe a bit much $$ for not a heavy duty enough vehicle??

We'll see soon enough.

sure thered be a few niche offroad operators who would have a use for them, maybe fraser, etc..

I would bet that too.

the way i see it, if you're driving a truck and you hit something so solid you need an airbag to protect you, you need a hell of a lot more than an airbag to protect you

Yeah...know all about that and the airbag still didn't go off ...but I think it's more about ticking all the boxes in a commercial situation re: OH&S.

btw have you seen the sticker on the drivers door of the new canter?? it reads.. ""This 4wd vehicle is designed for on-road use only. No specific design for offroad use is applied."

If you are in the business of modifying trucks I reckon this is a good thing. Bwhahaha. If all trucks were unimogs, where's the challenge in that? Haha. Honestly, we have never had to do so much development in such a short period of time as we have since the introduction of this model. They are so different but the aftermarket gear we're planning for the new FGB71 is certainly "designed for offroad use" .... all the new B71 units we've put into the mines so far are holding up really well ..... and you would know first hand the type of abuse they get there ..... once we address the "low-range" issue, the recreational / general market will be next.

You driven one yet? The power delivery is awesome ..... so good on hills and hauling loads...... You never seem to need to grab gears all the time. They've got a huge payload too.

Andrew, you said you were building a new bus on a B71 .... have you met SAM yet? He lives in the ECU and has a warning light named after him .... I am sure his sole purpose in life is to turn auto-electrician's hair grey !!!!



Regards John.