Fuso build help!!!!

[farley]

I am in a major bind. i cant find a fuso close enough with my work schedule to just go out and look over to get an idea for my build so i hope you guys will help me!

the use of this will be camping on light off road excursions.. nothing where i think 4wd will be usefull if i do get stuck ill use the winch...and flat bed obviously has many uses but i will be getting hay for the horses. but also use the camper for when i go drag racing on the weekend... so max load will be the camper...me and a firend or my gf and towing a car trailer with some tools and spare parts... i am sure thats still all well within the weight limit...

ideally i would like a flat bed with a camper on the flat bed.. with an extension over hanging the cab for a decent sized bed... because of this on a fuso i will use electric jacks to lift the camper off of it and i can drive out from under it and be able to use the flat bed and service the vehicle when nessacary.


so..... buy a fuso with a box...take it off and put it on the ground to modify the inside to make into living conditions, using the prexisting shell..and add the overhang for my bed and what not...... and while the box is off...build a flat bed on the fuso. and attach in some sort offashion.

sorry for the long winded story but i read and read this forum and it seems like doing what i have said is the best plan. something along the lines of jhrodd is exactly what i want but i wanna build the flat bed and use the existing box. is that is a better explanation. now the reason i come to you guys is i honestly with my work schedule cant drive the 1.5 hours to go and jsut have a gander at one and talk to the sale reps to cement my decision. so basically i came here to make sure i am not out of my mind. and that this will be a solid truck.


one a side note......has anyone converted there 2wd into a 4wd?

 

[mog]

I think I get what you are asking. Can you take an existing box truck and convert it using the box as a living unit (camper box with it's own floor added) and use the floor of the box truck to support this ‘new' camper box. And with that camper box removed, use the original floor as a flat bed. If that is the question, YES.

I have a 2002 Fuso FG with a 14 foot Marathon box, and yes that is do-able. The floor is 2x6 hardwood on stringer spaced across 2 metal joists. So a very strong floor (commercial loads). You could de-rivet (and I'm guess there might be some adhesive/sealant in that mix), and remove the walls from the floor. You would want to add your new sub-floor to the camper box add strength, before removing. Without the joists/stringers you would have to be very supportive during the removal/installing so you don't get major twisting, but once the camper box is on the original floor, you would be good to go.
This way you would not have to build a new major floor (the flatbed), but use the exiting joists, stringers and floor (2x6s) as the flatbed. If you build a flatbed and put the box on top of that newly built flatbed, if it is constructed like mine box is, you will have 2 inches of joists and 4 inches of stringers added to the height (but also a much stronger off the bed unit). Plus the weight would be much more then building your own floor for the camper box. I would go with the first method if I was going to do this. Either way is do-able.
Another option is to build your interior for camping as removable and pull it out when you are hauling hay, etc and not have to mess with two beds. But that might not work for hay-hauling (loading and unloading). . . Hey I don't know squat about hauling hay.

Converting a 2x4 to 4x4, don't bother. Way too much work for the benefit. The FG has a stepped frame, the FE a straight frame, so the aliment plus everything else would be way too much work for the benefits. Either a find a nice FG (hard to do) and pay the price, or go with a FE. I'd say go with the FE, it will get you most places and much easier to find, at much less cost.

BTW the Fuso's cab tilts for service (even to add oil), so you will need to take that into considerations for anything overhanging the cab.
Also you are looking at 135hp/253 torque (pre-2000) to 147hp/347 torque (post 2005), so take that into considerations when planning your towing.

 

[farley]

thank you very much.


i havent really considered the idea of the weight of the floor plus the weight of the flat bed.

and what about using the existing floor that is in the box? like i said i cant really get close to take a look at one. but literally using the entire existing box and just modifying it to sit on a flatbed i make? (ive made 5 flatbeds my self 2 being for an isuzu npr so i got the flat bed covered) i am just completly lost on the strength and possabilitys of the box. along with a fuso box truck being a rarity for sale..i see them..but always in traveling.

but using the existing floor of the box...and then building a internal alimunum skeliton to give it added strength for the over hand over the cabin...and for better lift point for the jacks?

 

[mog]

If you use the existing box as is with it's exisiting floor and put it on the flatbed you build, it will be plenty strong enough to lift/move, without a problem. These commercial boxes are built like brick ummm hay-houses. Most of the weight in these boxes is the floor (mine is .040 aluminum wall skin on aluminum wall stringer).
If you are building your own flat bed you could add channels in that floor for the joists of the existing box to sit in, lowing the height some and making a rock solid connection.
If you would like any photos, just let me know.

 

[farley]

well that reply officially sealed the fuso purchase... i guess ill be making some phone calls on monday. thank you very much.


and any pictures or sketches,ideas, thoughts even something remotely usefully i will be much appreciative of. i am a pretty good welder and fabricator(cnc day job) but i am at complete odds when it comes to campers..never owned one, never had one.. but sleeping in a tent at drag strips all summer got annoying and my gf might ditch me if we do another summer like the last one lol. any other things you can think of that you ahve seen that just dont work... or something you know for a fact works great i am open to any and all advice. i am a big function or style person. so the more rugged and long lasting it is the better.

but on a side note just so i make the clear.. i am not about to try and go out offroading with this thing to see how much flex is in the chassis...90% of its life will be like rough gravel roads..dirt driveways.. or the fields of a drag strip or the roads going to and from. those are literally the only uses i will ahve for it.. minus maybe the occasional fishing excursions..which will equal rough dirt roads.

 

[farley]

another question.... why do i see people converting the rear to a single wheel? better off road?

 

[mog]

another question.... why do i see people converting the rear to a single wheel? better off road?

Yes, better performance on unimproved roads, market roads, dirt roads, etc.
There are quite a few threads discussing SRW for the Fuso here are the portal.
The Aussies are the experts and have been running them forever.
SRWs also help with going to a larger diameter tire to help with the final drive ratio / engine RPM. The Fusos, depending on the model year (diff ratio) can use a 10-20% help at highways speeds.
IMO with your planned usage and towing, DRWs will work just fine and save you a bunch of money.

 

[farley]

awesome. i hadnt planned on making the switch unless there was a very good reason. i wasnt sure if it was a load rating...or DOT reason. i am sure my usage will be less than "destructive" or as harsh as some others on this site.



and if you can find any pictures you might think will be helpful thank you in advance. you info and comments have been leaps and bounds helpful.

 

[mog]

and any pictures or sketches,ideas, thoughts even something remotely usefully i will be much appreciative of.

I would not go with the hassle of the cantilevered ‘bed’ over the cab. It will be a huge amount of engineering and building for not a lot of gain. Plus having to ‘pull/lift/etc’ the camper just to service the oil or tighten a fan belt would be a major PITA. There is plenty of room inside without having a cabover bed and many owners raise the bed either forward or aft and use the huge volume under it for storage accessible from inside and outside. Plus the cabover bed is going to increase your height even more. Wind/drag is what kills my Fuso in speed/fuel consummation, so the less frontal area, the better.

 

[mog]

I wasnt sure if it was a load rating...or DOT reason. i am sure my usage will be less than "destructive" or as harsh as some others on this site.

Quite to opposite. It is a challenge to get two rear tires that will have the combined load rating as four rear tires. Also more expensive (not counting new wheels at $2,000+). Four 315/80-16 will run you $1100-$1800+ (sometimes hard to find depending on brand, etc), while six 215/75-16 tires will run you $660 or less (and one of the most commons sizes in the US)

 

[farley]

true. that would make it easier to run all the electrical and batteries and stuff for the tv shower,grey water,bathroom and whatnot.id have a big amount of space. and i could just cut access doors into the side to get to anything else. and without putting an overhang i guess that would allow me to put an airconditioner on the front i have to look into the hang style vs the roof style.

ive seen alot of cool ideas which i would love to use in this camper swap. i am currently running through the plans i had been drawing up over the passed couple of months... although ill have to try and set up and idea without the overhang.

sadly without the over hang the space i had planned to use in the rear for water and batteries and main wirine and what not ill move up front, but the loss of an overhang kiss the idea of a passthrough.




your comment about keeping everything below the roof line..... theres a build on here where the just custom built a roff that was side cut so it slipped on the inside of the roof and kept the camper below the roofline during travel. that is interesting build and a great camper it looks like. but he also has alot of time invested into that build.

 

[farley]

just based on cost i will def be keeping the 2 rear tires..wow thats expensive. i am gonna have to look through my state regs on home built campers. but i am assuming that there shouldnt be to much more than a homebuilt car.


i am just glad that this forum is so full of information. i would have been lost without it.

 

[lehel1]

very doable

hello

i built my 08 fuso fg with a flatbed for use for our general store hauling, and had a camper built to mount on it. i do use my rig for offraod excursions and it has served me well for the last 4 years. my camper was less than 20k but certainly can be done for much less yourself. it was well worth going to super singles, i went with 285/70 19.5 commercial tires. the increased diameter made crusing on the hwy doable at 65 and are great offroad. as well overall mileage of over 60,000 miles more than offset the cost of the stock 16 in tires that dont last long

 

[goneover]

I got just what u need,, as soon as i get a total of 15 posts I can list it for sale on EP