FG's in Action

[whatcharterboat]

Hi David. Man , both of those bodies would be over 10 years old now. Not sure about the age of the chassis as they may have been replaced. Some of the beach bus chassis only last about 3 years. Sometimes 4 if they are really religous on their corrosion proofing.

 

[Amesz00]

hold up. in the second pic, i assume they are 255/100s on the left and old 9.00 XZLs on the right, not 255s and 11.00s...

 

[Witchdoctor Oz]

Amesz00,
You are onto it........ but they where runing a combination, ie one size on one side of the truck & the other size on the other side :Wow1:.
Is this a good thing?

Cheers
David

 

[Amesz00]

well if the tyres on the driver side are 9.00s, then (in theory) they are identically sized to the 255s, if they are 11.00s, then they're considerably bigger. running 900s and 255s shouldnt be a major issue, but i would have the difference front/rear not side/side.

 

[Lynn]

Amesz00,
You are onto it........ but they where runing a combination, ie one size on one side of the truck & the other size on the other side :Wow1:.
Is this a good thing?

Cheers
David

They're compensating for the slope of the beach, right? :wings:

 

[DzlToy]

why dont they just powdercoat or galvanise everything in heavy/thick layers to prevent the corrosion? Seems to be much better alternative to replacing chassis every 2-3 years.

 

[whatcharterboat]

why dont they just powdercoat or galvanise everything in heavy/thick layers to prevent the corrosion? Seems to be much better alternative to replacing chassis every 2-3 years.

3 to 4 years.......Its not just the chassis that goes. Even the gearboxes used to corrode through from salt sitting on top of them. You would almost have to completely pull the chassis apart and galvanize everything seperately to be effective. It's in between the plates, cross member connectios etc where they really suffer. I've seen a trial where they completely painted a chassis in tar epoxy....really top quality commercial corrosion protection.....they reckon it was useless. This is severe use....much worse than you can imagine. Basically , the chassis driven on a wet salty beach all day then they hose them down every night. They are almost constantly wet from the first day they use them. Only the salinity changes. And because everything is flexing it only takes a crack in the paint or powder coat for the corrosion to get under and you can't detect it until it's too late. Believe me, they've tried everything and now the operators have settled on thier own corrosion proofing methods that work best for them......and don't think I haven't tried to find out what they use....it's like Kentucky Fried Chicken Secret 13 Herbs and Spices.

BTW The Fuso chassis is assembled completely before it's painted.....so if you remove a spring hanger or cross member as an example , there is no chassis paint under it. Some of the operators used to try running around all the plates with Sika-Flex in an attempt to stop the salt from creeping in between the plates.

After 4 years , it just isn't viable to keep them running . After 3 , they can still get a set trade in price and are often sold to farmers out west for watering trucks , etc. It's a financial decision in the end.

 

[whatcharterboat]

What else could be a more fitting post for ANZAC Day.....Robert's Canter at ANZAC Cove Memorial, Gallipoli. Sorry the pic isn't clearer.

 

[EarthCruiser]

Gary shot this at the OverLand Expo, shame about the wally in the hat.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssaQl-fumdk"]YouTube - FUSO FG at Overland EXPO 2011[/ame]

 

[DzlToy]

^^ no audio..

 

[Ford Prefect]

Found a couple videos I liked, so I thought I would share...


(I wonder what the guy in the small truck coming at him thought of seeing this rig...)

This one is a fellow who was building it into a camper, and took it on white rim, but I never heard if it ever got finished. Still nifty none the less.

 

[kerry]

That last video is Brent's truck I believe. He did finish it.

 

[EarthCruiser]

EC UTE FG dual cab

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X08wlZr2BHk

 

[EarthCruiser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B4JnXaQQtyE&noredirect=1

 

[westyss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B4JnXaQQtyE&noredirect=1

OK,, what's going on in the second to last image on that video?? Looks like the back end is in the air but nobody driving??

Nice video though, good portrayal of the abilities and benefits of these vehicles!