Fuso FM260-Based Expedition Vehicle

[JRhetts]

I have not posted for quite a while - busy outdoors. But after Covid has reduced my range, I thought I'd post the results of my last 10 years work.

By mid-2009, I had developed a serious itch to drive around the world, thinking to take several years, including spending time in various countries as they appealed/intrigued me and my wife. She being a physician and surgeon, we had ideas about doing serial volunteer medicine all along the way.
Changes in global politics, plus a divorce, conspired to close the chapter on driving around the world - I did not aspire to do it solo. I remain convinced that this vehicle can circumnavigate as well as any other I have seen or heard about.

A chance encounter with another adventurer in very remote NW Montana connected me to the late Darrin Fink, who specialized in building expedition vehicles primarily on Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi Fuso trucks. From Darrin I acquired:

• a new Fuso FM260 truck
• with a Transonite box [built by Martin-Marietta]
• connected to the frame with a three-point torsion mount.

Both the mount, and the addition of four-wheel drive by Marmon-Harrington with Dana Corp. axels were fully approved by Mitsubishi engineers, totally protecting the truck's 7-year, 250,000 mile warranty on the engine, powertrain, and frame. In my calculus were: Fuso being 50% owned by Mercedes-Benz would give me world-wide access to maintenance and repair as necessary, and Mitsubishi Truck's excellent reputation and extremely long warranty increased my confidence. The Fuso FM-260 as built had very straightforward, minimally-complicated systems, with no low-sulphur requirements whatsoever: meaning I could purchase fuel from barrels in the back of a pickup truck as long as the water content was low enough and the 'chunks' were small enough. I also knew from my decades of overland travel that I could and would design the house with straightforward and reliable systems.




Long story short, I built out the truck and the box to give me an extremely comfortable, capable and reliable expedition rig.


Today, with 53,000 miles on the odo [roughly 40-50% off pavement, and maybe 10-15% truly off-road], I have reached an age when I no longer hunger for remote, expeditionary travel. I have put very little milage on the vehicle since 2014. It's time to get this VERY CAPABLE tool into the hands of someone(s) who does have that hunger.

I began this project with:

• decades of personal experience as an overland traveler, a pilot, a sailor, and a backpacker;
• experience the previous 5 years driving and living in two full-size "expedition vehicles" built by others;
• hundreds of hours pouring over websites of major, European, bespoke vehicle builders [e.g., UNICAT and Action Mobil],
• the skill and experience of a team of (4) craftsmen who had each spent dozens of years building RVs for some major US manufacturers – truly professional RV builders.

I began with an empty box,


I spelled out my major design criteria for the house and its systems [all were important]:

• open, easy access to all plumbing, electrical, and mechanical points;
• open, light atmosphere/lighting inside;
• flexible storage everywhere - with organization, organization, organization;
• all water storage freeze protected - others have big problems with this
• good flexible lighting with low energy consumption - use it whenever you want to
• comfortable seating - to read, talk/visit, rest my crampy back
• no 'blackwater' - gray is fine and necessary
• queen size bed - comfortable for two tall adults
• bed permanently made up - no daily making or stowing the bed
• stable interior temperature in winter - no big hot-cold cycles
• separation between head and galley/eating area [some don't, and I find that nasty]

Thanks to the time I spent viewing dozens of professionally-engineered floor plans from the European expedition vehicle manufacturers [and with their permission], I had formed some pretty concrete ideas about how I would implement my criteria in an 8' x 17' house. The experience of my build team led to suggestions throughout the build that there was 'another way' to accomplish the goals I drew in the plans; they had seen lots of engineering mistakes in their decades of building. Together, this made the final vehicle virtually error-free.

So my basic floor plan quickly came into focus:


The main electrical panel, installed at eye-level, offers a concrete example of the access coupled with professional attention to detail the build team and I achieved throughout:


We built from January to the end of May, 2010. At that point my wife and I moved into the new rig full time, for the next 9 months, including high country winter in Oregon and California. We spent a week at –11°F snowshoeing; the house was an even 72°, a very welcome respite from the outdoors - as beautiful as it was.

 

[JRhetts]

The color of the cabinetry, width of the center aisle, multiple-LED-lighting options, and truly ample storage for everything we needed, made it easy to live full time for a 9- and a 4 month stretch. The many other trips tended to be for a couple of months or less.






The rig carried me flawlessly: extensively all over the SW USA; up into the remotest parts of the Yukon and NorthWest Territories for 3 months of solo travel; and on highway trips around much of the US. The picture below is at the end of the barely-navigable part of the western end of the "North Canol Road" in the Yukon & Northwest Territories.


The above photo was taken on July 8. I awoke the next morning to 18" of new snow. Driving ±150 miles back to Ross River presented no problem, though certainly no one else was driving in on the one-track trail.

Below felt like the top of the world: on top of Keno Hill in the Yukon, amid old gold mining claims. It was motorcycle from here on!

And, by design, it took less than 2 minutes to fully deploy the motorcycle:
Remove the cover

Lower the bike with the winch

And drive it away

 

[JRhetts]

Below, my grandson and I are "reading in the library" in Death Valley. Yes, we really did that – often; we are NOT 'photoshopped' into this picture. He has always been a voracious reader. At other times, I have watched wildlife from up here, and photographed some very curious bears sniffing me out.

A big storage compartment is accessible through the open hatch in the above picture; it is the rear-most 2' of the vehicle, 8' across, totaling 32 cuft. It sits underneath the bed and is reachable through large exterior doors on both sides.

Along with a pair of full-sized shovels strapped to the ceiling, (12) custom-fit containers organize this 2'x2'x8' of storage. The use of tall bins allows segregation/organization of "stuff" by type, without loose piles that get jumbled after road shaking and tend to develop into and fall out as unhelpful tangles of mixed-together "stuff".

I have routinely carried not only parts, fluids and fan belts, but spare pumps, electric winch … and more. The most I have actually needed so far is a couple of nuts and bolts. There is room for all this – and the security it offers – along with all the toys I have wanted to play with on the road.
The space:




The containers:


Rated Capacity vs Actual Full Load

A final detail I want to explain is: this rig, even fully loaded in no way approaches the safe-weight rating or stopping capacity of the overall vehicle. I previously owned an 'expedition vehicle' which was GVWR to 19,500#, but the brakes developed extreme fading on hot days at over 15-16,000#. This combination produced some very scary long descents down mountain roads, even using the tranny for speed control!

By contrast, this vehicle offers a substantial cushion re: all of its ratings, especially braking capacity. The exhaust brake in addition to the discs really manages any load with total safety and confidence. The Allison transmission is designed to work at this percentage of its rated capacity.


With 245 HP, I can easily cruise on interstate highways at the posted limits. On really steep hills I am not able to keep up such speeds: getting me to my destination at the end of the day perhaps a very few minutes later.

With 516 ft.lbs of torque, low-range transfer case [incl. 4x4 and locking rear differential], I have not come close to getting stopped by deep mud, deep snow, or very loose sand. I have been able and confident to go everywhere I have wanted to go, hundreds of times onto completely unknown surfaces.

And for those who really like statistics and specifications, I offer you as complete a list as I could think of:




I have had an amazing time in this vehicle.
I was so lucky to have been able to obtain/enlist the engineering and professional builders – from the truck, through the 'box', to the final house – to get this done.
The entire build team produced a vehicle in which I have been able to travel in safety with my family to otherwise inaccessible places.

 

[mog]

John was nice enough to give me a full day 'tour' of his truck a few years ago when I was looking for ideas for my Fuso FG (a baby, compared to his truck). His is an amazing truck. Darrin at RUF did First-Class work and then John improved on the layout and systems, so Apex-Class now. Not only is everything well-executed but all the systems are well documented with schematics and operations manuals. If John had done the system planning and manuals for Chernobyl, there never would have been a meltdown! I was able to drive his truck and besides a very roomy cab, it is quiet and rides very nicely. I might add that his truck has a huge dedicated hangar (it is much too impressive to be called a garage) so out of the elements, except when it has been on adventures.

 

[fisher205]

John,
I was thinking of you, your rig and the other FM Darrin built, the other day and wondering what had happened to them. This follow up is great. I still love seeing these rigs. Thank you and take care.

 

[MNmtb]

It's time to get this VERY CAPABLE tool into the hands of someone(s) who does have that hunger.

Should we read this as the vehicle is looking for a new caretaker? Reading your post leads me to believe it has a soul and needs more than an owner.

 

[Imurphy]

I have to say that is a nice layout and one I had not even thought about in my quest to build a vehicle. Usually, you see these with an E/W arrangement and not a N/S layout. You have shown that this provides for more counter and drawer storage space. While the N/S does not give you as much auxiliary sleeping area, it's a darn good idea. Now I need to go through and redraw some of my test layouts.

 

[waveslider]

In a word: brilliant.

 

[Kurben]

Hi JRhetts,
What a great RV. Are you selling it ? If yes, what is the price?
Rolf

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

The folks that linger on here whose passion is searching ads to simply call out missing details are going to be stumped with this one!

Bravo!! Beautifully done!

 

[DirtWhiskey]

The folks that linger on here whose passion is searching ads to simply call out missing details are going to be stumped with this one!

Bravo!! Beautifully done!

This thread is two things: 1st an amazing truck. 2nd an equally amazing Dada-esque "for sale" street performance.

 

[SimonBelgium]

What a great truck!
Your tires seem to be a little less chunky than what you'd see on other overlanders, how did you end up choosing those, and how do you like that setup? Also interesting to see you're running dually on the rear axle.

 

[JRhetts]

Sorry to have gone silent, but Covid has limited my contact with the outside world – even electronically.

Thanks especially for the nice comments from the several posters in Oct & Nov, after my last visit here.

Simon Belgium: chose the tires for their sufficiently chunky tread that would not be worn down too badly by pavement on the way to where I really wanted to adventure. After 53,000 miles they have plenty of tread left, and the chunks have gotten me through deep mud [axle deep for many miles] as well as sand and snow [3+ feet in NV one winter]. I think they are a great optimization, even though they may not look like the biggest/baddest chunks you can find. I absolutely would do them again!! [And the price is not too frightening]

As to the dual rear wheels: This was determined by Dana Corp. [axles]. Their engineers would not sign off on any single conversion geometry that we could find, though now 11 years later I cannot remember the details of their stated reasoning. I had already had lots of experience [many hundreds of miles] pulling big horse trailers through genuinely rugged “roads” with dually-equipped pickups, and I had never encountered any of the ‘jammed rock’ or ‘not enough traction’ issues that some [theoretically?] write about. In fact, one of my earliest tests with the finished rig was to go out on loose and packed sand dunes, which we have lots of in Oregon, to see if I had to worry about my rears not tracking my fronts, as some books about North African sand worry about.
I have been utterly unable to wedge a rock or to get myself stuck, to the point that I feel confident that when I turn off a track into a sand wash or deep-mud with low-range and 4x4 I can move on through. I have multiple times engaged my rear diff lock, but always as ‘insurance’ [since I have it] and never yet to actually extricate myself. So far, I’ve been unstoppable and I have caused no tire damage. [One day we drove 80-100 miles across open lava scabs in Eastern Oregon, unexpectedly arriving in the back yard of a ranch. The rancher was astounded, saying he could not do that in his pickup. Slow and steady gets ‘er done.]

Though I have practiced the process, and one person can do it, I have never had to replace a tire except to rotate wear.

 

[SimonBelgium]

Thanks for the write-up, and great to read your experiences!

 

[JRhetts]

SOLD … … NOW FOR SALE - in Bend, Oregon

After a lot of soul searching and definitely some agony, I have decided to sell my expedition rig. Pride of design and build, very fond memories of wonderful trips, and just plain resistance to accept that a big chapter of my life is really past — all conspired to make this hard for me. But I am getting too old to be using it much solo, and my grandkids live 3000 miles across NoAm.

It is listed in the Classifieds section for $285,000. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/fuso-fm-260-expedition-rig.225063/ This includes many backup parts from both construction and what I carried as 'insurance' on remote trips. These include pumps, furnace, winch, GPS, as well as many smaller parts. [Never had to replace any of them; but I had them.]

The vehicle is ready to leave on an extended trip tomorrow. I will answer any and all questions from any serious buyers.

I've had several inquiries about the some of the above pictures taken in the Yukon. The maps below show my route over 3+ months driving to the end of most every road I could turn onto, and then dropping my motorcycle or my boat when that became impassible.