Building a overland camper on a Fuso FG

[driveabout]

I bought a pre EPA 2006 Fuso Fg with just 15k miles. Four Wheel Campers are building a one off camper for me.
Below are the links to the pictures of the trucks and the outline of the camper.

I have a few questions and I welcome any suggestions:

Has anyone incorporated the cabin as part of the living space?
How big can the pass through be? Does the cabin need to be reinforced if the pass through is bigger.

Front dinette vs side dinette? Any comments,

I was planning on stripping the closet. Adding storage on the exterior under the bed will compensate some?

Diesel and water, I was planning on replacing the existing diesel tank with two 50 gallon diesel tanks and in addition having two 50 gallon water tanks, all going under the bed.

More to follow.

I will post the pictures at the same flickr site.

sunny

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85816890@N02/sets/72157632155075283/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85816890@N02/sets/72157631397968856/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85816890@N02/sets/72157632155198311/

 

[SkiFreak]

Looks like you have found yourself a nice truck there.

The pass through in my FG84, done by ATW, is reasonably large, but in reality it is still really a "crawl through".
Unless you replaced the cab itself, like ATW did with their Conqueror, I do not think that it would be that simple to make the cab area part of the living space.

 

[JRhetts]

We I use the crawl thru literally daily, including when parked to move stuff to the cab.

Therefore, I think dinette on side NOT across front is very important.

Closet for hanging clothes or 'brooms' is wasted space. We carry clothes in plastic boxes in cupboards or drawers; much more efficient.

 

[mog]

I bought a pre EPA 2006 Fuso Fg with just 15k miles. Four Wheel Campers are building a one off camper for me.
Below are the links to the pictures of the trucks and the outline of the camper.
Has anyone incorporated the cabin as part of the living space?
Front dinette vs side dinette? Any comments,
I was planning on stripping the closet. Adding storage on the exterior under the bed will compensate some?
Diesel and water, I was planning on replacing the existing diesel tank with two 50 gallon diesel tanks and in addition having two 50 gallon water tanks, all going under the bed.
sunny

Very nice and welcome aboard.
It is nice that you could find such a low mile pre-'08 FG.

With a large pass-through the cab could 'feel' like part of the cabin (see Doug's photo below), but there no way to have swivel seats up there, so they could not become seats for the dinette, etc.
If you are not going to have the closet (good idea as John has stated) perhaps move the door and have the galley across from the side dinette?
All these layouts show the door on the driver's (left) side. The normal is the passenger side (right) since that is the curb side when parked. Any special reason for the driver's side?

I'm sure fuel quantity is very controversial, but I think 100 gallons of fuel is overkill (just IMO, so no flames). My good friend Bill Caid has traveled extensively and in conversations I've had with him, he has always used just a stock fuel tank in the 35-45 gallon range on both his U1300 and 1017A supplemented by a few jerry cans, and never has felt lacking. He likes his 'aux' supplies in jerry cans so he can carry extra fuel OR water, depending on his travel plans.

BTW I had a 'normal' (Grandby) camper for many, many years on an F-250, and was very pleased with the quality.
Photo copyright Doug Hackney as posted to Expedition Portal (click on photo to enlarge)
View attachment 134175

 

[Overland Hadley]

Fuso + FWC = a great camper rig in the making.

Will be fun to follow this build.

 

[SkiFreak]

I'm sure fuel quantity is very controversial, but I think 100 gallons of fuel is overkill

The general rule of thumb here for a 4x4 to have enough fuel to cover about 1000 Km.
Mind you... we have some fairly open spaces.

 

[redthies]

From looking at your mock ups, I would go side dinette too. Both plans would work, but you would have to move the table to use the pass through on the front dinette version. Are you going to go to a super single wheel? I would try to get a taller tire on there so you can use some sidewall height to smooth out the ride. I drive an '08 Fuso 4x4 at work and love it, but it rides quite rough. It has been pounded hard off road for years now, by many different drivers, and has yet to have ANY issues. I wish I could put my camper on one, but the overhead would not allow the cab to tilt for service. That, and lack of cash conspire against me!

Can't wait to see how this comes together!

 

[driveabout]

Looks like you have found yourself a nice truck there.

The pass through in my FG84, done by ATW, is reasonably large, but in reality it is still really a "crawl through".
Unless you replaced the cab itself, like ATW did with their Conqueror, I do not think that it would be that simple to make the cab area part of the living space.

View attachment 134037 View attachment 134038 View attachment 134036

Thanks. Other than the framing for the pass through did you have to reinforce the cab because of the size of the cutout?
sunny

 

[driveabout]

Agree about the closet. That is what I thought.
thanks
sunny

 

[SkiFreak]

Other than the framing for the pass through did you have to reinforce the cab because of the size of the cutout?

Other than the 25mm steel RHS hoop, that you can see in the first shot, there is no additional reinforcement.

As I said... this mod was done by ATW and they do them like this all the time. If you have any technical questions, you could ask John (whatcharterboat).

 

[driveabout]

thanks.
I will have them make the pass through as big as possible. Probably the limitation is to maintain the structural integrity of the cabin.
I hear you about the swivel seats. It is not possible to swivel it because of the lack of space. The question is can the seat be placed on a mount that raises, then swivels and lowers. The same process is reversed for turning it forward. I do not know if there is sufficient space to do this. Will have to look at it. The whole questions becomes moot if the pass through is not big enough. Once the pass through has been cut, we will have to take a look and see if it is feasible and makes sense.

Good catch on the door. It is supposed to be on the passenger side.

The burners, hot water, heater all run on diesel. Other than solar and house battery the only other power source is diesel. So that is part of my reasoning in having 2 diesel tanks of about 40-50 gallons each, one for the engine the other for the camper though fuel can be pumped between the two tanks if needed.

By the way, I had the opportunity to visit with Bill Caid and look at his setup. It is impressive and rugged.
sunny

 

[driveabout]

thanks.
will keep updating as I go along.
If you have any ideas feel free to let me know, since I am quite green at this
sunny

 

[driveabout]

i was looking at 1000 miles plus. Also it is going to be all diesel appliances. So I want to separate the house tanks and the driving tanks.
sunny

 

[driveabout]

We are building a mockup which is modular. So we should be able to try out the different options and see what works. I think the size of the cutout is going to define the options. If I go with the front dinette then we will have to have a a flip up table that can be dropped down when needed.

yes super singles. I will have to source the wheels.

Do I hear you right, your are recommending 16 inch rims?

sunny

 

[driveabout]

reply

driveabout

We are building a mockup which is modular. So we should be able to try out the different options and see what works. I think the size of the cutout is going to define the options. If I go with the front dinette then we will have to have a a flip up table that can be dropped down when needed.

yes super singles. I will have to source the wheels.

Do I hear you right, your are recommending 16 inch rims?

sunny