Expedition light truck choices

[Tsunami9001]

G'day all,​

I am a bit stuck at the moment. I am looking at buying a light 4x4 truck in the very near future and building an expedition habitat built onto the back of it. However the choice of vehicle is driving me nuts. Fuso Canter FG, Izuzu NPS or Hino 300 817. Don't really want anything bigger. Don't want the hassles that the Iveco Dailys seem to have and I am not looking at American trucks either as the cabover trucks are more space efficient for size.
I am looking at something that I can reliably take remote in Australia and also overseas, Aus-Asia-Europe-Africa and Americas.
The info I am struggling to find is about reliability and also the ability to 'bush mechanic' on them. I have no dramas doing timing belts, water pumps and stripping gearboxes on the side of the road. However I am sure some options might be easier to source parts and also easier to 'fix'. From my understanding Hino 817 4x4's are really only an Australian vehicle and probably will be difficult to source parts overseas without waiting weeks/months for shipping from Aus.
4x4 ability seems pretty equal between them all once upgraded as far as I have been able to find.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of discussion of what year models to go for either. Assuming the ability to remove/disable certain emissions controls is there really a huge reason not to go for something new vs buying an ex-fire truck with very few body KM and rebuilding an engine?

Being currently based in the Northern Territory, it is a long way to go chat with the expedition guys in Sydney/Brisbane!

Some advice or even other options would be appreciated!

Cheers.

 

[SkiFreak]

There are way too many options to really give any meaningful response to your questions, but I'll give it a go...

Older trucks are pretty much like tractors; simple engine configurations and pretty much bullet proof, but they are normally under powered and pretty slow on the hills.
An old RFS truck is a good option in that regard, but as you probably know, the kilometers on the clock definitely do not match the actual engine hours.

I have a 2010 FG84 Canter, and in my opinion, this was probably the best model Canter, despite it having an ECU.
The Isuzu NPS has always been a decent choice and one significant advantage it has over the Canter is the price of spare parts, which on average is about half.

The Hino is higher and has a much stiffer chassis, which I have been told can be problematic in some off road scenarios, but it does have disks, opposed the drums that the Canter and NPS have.
I have no personal experience with the Hino, but both the Isuzu and Fuso are a pretty robust trucks.

One thing they all have in common is absolutely rubbish standard suspension.
You're probably looking at about $10K+ in costs to get these trucks to be decent enough to drive for any period of time.

You'll probably want super singles too. If you go with a 17" rim and a 37" tyre, that will help with the ride quality to some degree, but be mindful that many of these tyres are right on the upper limit of their weight capacity and there have been many reported failures due to overheating from having excessive weight or driving too fast when aired down.
The 19.5" rim will give you tyres that have a much better load rating, but choices of tyres is extremely limited and that could be worse if you went overseas with the truck.

Be mindful that tampering with emission control systems is illegal, so if you do it... don't get caught.
On a parallel subject... If you are considering a newer truck and are thinking of getting a remap of the ECU, know that a dealer might not want, or be able to, do work on the engine if you have problems.
That could definitely be problematic if you took the truck out of the country and had engine issues.

 

[SkiFreak]

I should have also mentioned that the FGB71 Canter is not a truck that I would want to own.
That 3.0L engine is (I believe) the same as what's in the Iveco. The Fuso does seem to be more reliable, electrically, than the Iveco, but I would not buy either.

If I was looking for a newer model truck today, I would probably buy the previous version Isuzu NPS (Euro 5). It does have an EGR, but it does not have a DPF or AdBlue.

 

[Tsunami9001]

Thanks a lot for your thoughts SkiFreak.

Super singles, upgraded suspension and front lockers were always going to have to happen! I can't stomach the thought of spending the cash and having something less capable than my trusty old NL Pajero. What's the thoughts between 35's and 37's is there that big a ride difference? My concern is fitting into a shipping container, will also be going the pop top route for the camper as well due to this.

How do you think an 'older' tuck will go for parts? At the moment your 2010 would be easy enough for parts, how are the older 90's and early 2000's going in that regard? I'm a bit concerned that in ten years time I will have the same problem as my pajero has now, finding parts out of warehouses somewhere in the UAE. (it was good fun trying to find a speedo drive gear).

Logically (or at least I think so) your Fuso with the (4.9L?) engine should work less hard and therefore last longer than a 3 liter?

I have never owned a car (by choice) that is newer than 2005 as I am clueless when it comes to electronic control systems. By the sounds of things trucks seem to be a few steps behind and up to 2010-15 should still be fine in that regard. How bad are we talking on new FGB71's? Can I hook a computer up to it and clear codes/diagnose or is a case of bringing it in limp mode to a dealer as I am locked out of doing anything at all?

With lower power available in older trucks, are there options to increase with aftermarket turbos and intercoolers or is this not available or just plain a bad idea? Very aware that there is going to be less aftermarket parts than a car that sold millions of copies.

A lot of questions I know, I trying to get to some kind of understanding, before I end up with something I will hate. Especially on the other side of the world where communication may be hand signals at best.

Cheers

 

[SkiFreak]

Personally, I think that 35s are better suited to the gearing of my FG84, but some prefer the 37s.
Currently I have the Toyo M608 light truck tyres on mine and they are a very hard tyre. These are no longer available in Australia, so at some point I will be looking for an alternative.
It is likely that I will go with the Founders, as I have 19.5" alloy rims.
At the end of the day, tyre choice is normally determined by what you want to do with the truck.

Parts for older vehicles is definitely a concern. Here there are still a lot of these older trucks around, but I don't know how you would go overseas.
I hear that parts availability in the US is becoming an issue, after Fuso pulled out of that market. Isuzus aren't that much better, as in the US many of them don't have diesel engines.
I should add that other than in Australia, these 4x4 light trucks are not all that common globally. I remember being told many years ago that Australia had 80% of this market, with most of them being used as RFS trucks.

Basic physics tells you that to get similar horsepower out of a 3.0L engine to that of a 4.9L engine, it will have to work harder. Having said that, engine technology has advanced quite bit over the years, which has enhanced longevity.
What I will say is that a Triton has a bigger engine than a FGB71. That says a lot to me.

The 5.2L Sitec engine in the Isuzu is a tried and true truck engine that has been proven to be reliable. Sadly, the NPS seems to have been derated to some degree, as that engine has much more to give.

Many people have added turbos to the older Canters, but if you are considering one of the these trucks, you're better off just accepting that they are not speed or power demons. You won't be upset if you take that approach.
I guess it comes down to whether you are a destination or a journey kind of guy...

 

[gator70]

Also the MB fire trucks should be considered

 

[SkiFreak]

Also the MB fire trucks should be considered

Unimogs are not really in the light truck category.
As much as these are used in the US as fire trucks, that is not really the case in Australia.