EarthCruiser/Fuso Driving Experience from a Sportsmobile Perspective

[geoffff]

These are my impressions from test driving the 2020 Fuso FE (EarthCruiser EXP) with the gasoline V8 (GM L76) and Allison 1000 6-speed transmission.

My current vehicle is a 2004 Ford E-Series Sportsmobile 4x4 conversion van with the gasoline V10 engine and a 4-speed transmission.

• Visibility - excellent. I loved having nothing between me and the road ahead - not even the stubby hood my Ford has. EarthCruiser provides a rear camera and 7" display which replaces the rear view mirror. This works great. On the trail, I was very comfortable with my sense of vehicle & wheel placement. It felt rather similar to my van, which after 16 years feels like an extension of my body.
• Ride - On rough roads (rocky trails and washboard/corrugations), the EarthCruiser (with its 37" tires at full tire pressure) rides like my Sportsmobile (33"s) aired down to 2/3 pressure, but without the undamped wallowing that comes with airing down. Nice.
• Cab noise - tolerable, comparable with my Sportsmobile. EC has put a lot of effort into adding sound insulation to the Fuso cab. Yes, I could readily hear the engine roar while accelerating, but this is no big deal. Talking with my passenger while cruising at 45 MPH is easy. I did not get an opportunity to test the Fuso at highway speeds (60+ MPH), where my van lets in a lot of wind noise.
• Seats - The aftermarket seats installed by EarthCruiser are very nice. Firm in a comfortable/supportive way. I love all the adjustments they allow. I also find the simple Ford stock seats in my van to be plenty comfortable, though they offer minimal adjustability.
• Safety - The Fuso has no driver or passenger-side air bags. Let's not talk about frontal collisions in a forward-cab vehicle, other than mentioning that the seats are above the roof of most cars.
• Acceleration - adequate. The EC feels heavy, because it is. It weighs close to 15,000 lbs, while my Sportsmobile is under 10,000. My Sportsmobile feels like a muscle car with its larger V10 engine. While the EarthCruiser with its V8 can achieve 75 MPH, my Sportsmobile can easily accelerate from 75 to 90 to pass others going uphill. Of course, all this is unfair - my van would be a lot heavier if it had all the long-term travel goodies the EarthCruiser has. I can't imagine driving the older Fuso EarthCruisers with their smaller diesel engine.
• Transmission - I found the Fuso's Allison 6-speed transmission experience to be somewhat frustrating. The engine computer tries hard to learn what's best for the driver & fuel economy, but I prefer the more direct control provided by my old-fashioned Ford 4-speed auto. I'm told the Allison experience improves over time as the driver learns to compensate for the transmission, and the transmission learns from the driver. And custom aftermarket transmission programming can be done. Here is an example of some quirky behavior: From a standstill if you floor the accelerator and keep it floored - the Fuso remains in first gear for only about a second, then it winds up through the gears 2...3...4..., not letting the revs get too high (for fuel economy, I'm told), and then somewhere around 45 MPH the engine roars as the Fuso decides to downshift again! Still, I'm confident I would get used to all this over time, for street driving. However I am afraid I might miss the ability to select specific gears while rock crawling in low range. On my Ford 4-speed, I can select gears 1, 2, 3 ("D" with overdrive "off"), and 4 ("D" with overdrive "on"), but while the Allison 1000 has 6 gears, it still only allows four selections which are: "2", "3", "D", and overdrive on/off. 1st gear cannot be selected, and there is no ability to choose between 5th and 6th gears (that is, in "D" with overdrive "on"). The inability to manually select the low first gear while rock crawling on the Allison may not turn out to be much of an issue, however, as I calculate the overall drive ratio (transfer case in low range) of the EarthCruiser in 2nd gear (30.2:1) is almost exactly the same as my Ford van in 1st (30.1:1). I probably don't need direct access to the Fuso's super-low first gear.

Fuso vs. Ford​

• Brakes - The vertical steering column prevents the left foot from accessing the brake pedal. Sometimes in delicate rock crawling situations (picture a roadside drop-off) I like the abililty to drive two-footed.​
• Steering - The horizontal steering wheel makes me feel like I'm driving the bus. Which feels fine, it turns out. The steering is a bit sloppy, but no worse than my van. The steering column has two adjustments: wheel height and forward/back.​
• Entry/Exit - The high climb requires learning some new physical skills, but isn't bad. However, an issue I ran across, is that the steering wheel must be all the way forward (away from the driver) in order to get out of the driver seat! Otherwise the steering column is between my legs, blocking my right leg from squeezing between the steering column and the front of the seat. I have some fear that the need to adjust the steering wheel (or push back the seat) every time I leave the vehicle will subconsciously lead me to not want to bother jumping out to walk over and visit curious things along the trail - which is a big part of exploration for me. Or maybe I could just learn to drive with the steering wheel forward.​

Fuso steering (forward) vs. Ford


Fuso steering wheel: forward and close​

• Controls - I love the simple climate controls. Separate fan, temperature knobs. No pesky auto-thermostat or touch screens.
• Sun Visor - This was really wimpy. I'm afraid it won't last long.
• Offroading - I didn't really get the chance to put the EarthCruiser into tricky situations, but it has a similar setup to my Sportsmobile 4x4 - but with larger tires, an extra diff locker, and more front axle travel. Like my Sportsmobile, I'm confident it can go anywhere size allows.

I also have a separate write-up here on the EarthCruiser's "house" experience: EarthCruiser EXP from a Sportsmobile Perspective

-- Geoff

 

[waveslider]

I did not get an opportunity to test the Fuso at highway speeds (60+ MPH), where my van lets in a lot of wind noise.

Bummer. You didn't get to experience the single biggest difference between the two platforms then.

Great write up and completely consistent with our experience/comparison.

 

[kcshoots]

Thanks very much @geofff. Excellent review of the differences and your experience. How is is in the E series and NPR to move/"walk" from the driver seat to the passenger seat and exit out the passenger door. I do this regularly in my Sprinter and find it super convenient as well as the ability to walk into the cabin.

 

[geoffff]

Bummer. You didn't get to experience the single biggest difference between the two platforms then.

You are leaving me hanging here...! What did you experience at highway speeds? How was the wind noise? Or do you mean something about engine power?

I did try to get some highway speed testing in, but there weren't any straightaways in the Bend area long enough to get the Fuso up to speed (this, while exceeding the posted 45MPH speed limit).

-- Geoff

 

[waveslider]

Geoff,

There is simply no other way to put it than the FUSO is an absolute POS on the highway. More so as compared to what you’re used to.

There’s likely a bunch of people that are going to get all riled up and start attacking like rabid dogs, but that isn’t going to change the fact that the FUSO is a terrible choice for an over-the-highway, long trip vehicle. There’s all kinds of rationalizations that will come out- “why be in a hurry?”.....”stop and enjoy the roses” and all that mess. Whatever. The reality is it’s not purpose built for highway driving for distance so you have to decide what you are willing to accept. Plenty of things going for it that may- or may not - make up for it in your mind and with your use case.

That doesn’t mean the builders using it (such as EC) are bad. Quite the opposite, they can be fantastic, but they still have to work with whatever limitations the platform offers.

As usual, it goes back to what you want to use it for. If you are going to be making short trips on the freeway and spending most time on gravel- I’m sure it’s brilliant. But if you are going to be spending lots of time on the freeways and highways- you need to adjust your expectations.

Fire away.

 

[charlieaarons]

I think that the inability to select the not-very-low 3.09 1st gear in the Allison is a BIG problem. Torque converters don’t help going downhill. And they get hot being used as a substitute for low gears. Surely software/firmware could be tweaked to allow this?
In the FMTV 3700SP (6.93 1st) and MTVR 4700 (7.63) 1st is selectable. Of course the engineers made up for this good deed by not including low range in the transfer cases.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Geoff,

There is simply no other way to put it than the FUSO is an absolute POS on the highway. More so as compared to what you’re used to.

There’s likely a bunch of people that are going to get all riled up and start attacking like rabid dogs, but that isn’t going to change the fact that the FUSO is a terrible choice for an over-the-highway, long trip vehicle. There’s all kinds of rationalizations that will come out- “why be in a hurry?”.....”stop and enjoy the roses” and all that mess. Whatever. The reality is it’s not purpose built for highway driving for distance so you have to decide what you are willing to accept. Plenty of things going for it that may- or may not - make up for it in your mind and with your use case.

That doesn’t mean the builders using it (such as EC) are bad. Quite the opposite, they can be fantastic, but they still have to work with whatever limitations the platform offers.

As usual, it goes back to what you want to use it for. If you are going to be making short trips on the freeway and spending most time on gravel- I’m sure it’s brilliant. But if you are going to be spending lots of time on the freeways and highways- you need to adjust your expectations.

Fire away.

Agree whole heartedly!

I looked at ALL platforms for my current build.

I have 2 friends that have Fusos and absolutely LOVE them. We swapped vehicles on a trip and i drove it for less than 100 miles and wanted my truck back. Horrendous on the freeway!

But folks that love them, REALLY love them. For each is own.

 

[lanceatm]

Not all FUSO 4x4 trucks are created equal - A V8 has certain advantages.

 

[gregmchugh]

Not all FUSO 4x4 trucks are created equal - A V8 has certain advantages.

That Fuso he passed is a great DIY build that is pretty well known...

 

[Rufus]

Those of us who own diesel powered EarthCruisers are laughing our asses off at the suggestion that our rigs are a “POS” on the highway. It seems that everybody who has never driven one is an expert.

You guys who are always in a hurry will eventually figure it out, or not.

 

[waveslider]

Right on queue.

 

[glennm01]

Let's see here -- after two whole weeks, two perfectly constructive responses suggesting the alternative view, fueled by real-world experience no less, and neither one even remotely "all riled up" or "attacking like rabid dogs."

Your "Right on queue" seems a stretch. Might I suggest: Primordially hinting at a queue, but in no apparent hurry to do so?

 

[waveslider]

By all means, suggest away.

Geoff, lets us know when you get a chance to open one up on the highway. I’ll be curious to hear.

 

[Howard70]

Whenever I'm in our Fuso FG based EarthCruiser - driving backroads, camping remotely, negotiating tight twisty tree-overhung tracks, or on the highway - I'm definitely "Happy as a pig in ********". I guess that makes our truck a POS!

Howard

 

[waveslider]

I feel the same way when we are in the Kenworth.

But that doesn’t mean you can polish a turd.

They are both awful over-the-Road highway vehicles that make up for it in all the other ways you mention. since this thread is about the differences between a FUSO and a SMB van, it’s worth pointing out that they aren’t even in the same league when it comes to bombing down the highway, pulling grades, and passing slower moving vehicles.

Regardless of how much of a “hurry” you are, or aren’t, in.

I will await Geoffs assessment with baited breath.