Fuso safety

[kerry]

I'm considering a Fuso camper but have some concerns about its safety. I currently drive a Bluebird Wanderlodge motorhome and one of the reasons I chose it was their reputation for safety.
I have concerns about the cabover design. It seems to expose the driver and passengers to greater injury in a head on accident than a design which puts the engine and frame in front of the people. Does anyone have any thoughts, opinions or data on the safety of the Fuso that might aid me in thinking this issue thru.
When I was in the market for a motorhome in Europe a few years ago, I deliberately excluded all the small Toyota and Mitsubishi class C camper vans for precisely this reason. I knew a man who hit a snowplow head on in a mid-60's Ford Econoline van which was very similar to a cabover design. Both his legs were cut off.
Is there a reason to think that a cabover design is not less safe than a front engined vehicle?

 

[Bajaroad]

Crushed

I got a call from my wife a week or so ago warning me of a traffic jam caused by a collision on the freeway. Later that day the towing company, which unfortunately resides across the street from my office, pulled in the vehicle from the accident. It was a cabover Isuzu - very similar to the Fuso FE. The driver went off the road into a bank and was killed. The cab looked like it offered hardly any protection in a rollover, as it was crushed into the driver seat. I would say with some confidence that a standard pickup truck would have saved the guy's life. I was tempted to take a picture to share with you guys, but I was worried my wife would see it.

I'm planning on eventually adding a cage to the outside of mine.

 

[Gold Boy]

a interlocking tilting cab roll cage........

:wow:

 

[dhackney]

Safety is the reason we decided not to buy a Class A when we were pondering doing North America now rather than later.

The RV Consumer group has some very sobering data and images of what happens to the typical NA RV in an accident. The short answer is: they explode. The aftermath looks like a stick and staple bomb went off and left a trail of styrofoam and strings of fiberglass insulation. Don't buy an RV without researching their data.

A properly designed front engined chassis offers more safety via crush zones. The trade-off is payload for a given overall length.

Our integrated Fuso cab cage offers us some protection, but it will not save us in a worst case scenario.

Safety needs to be part of your evaluation matrix and you need to understand what you are signing up for with a cab-over chassis.

But, having said that, I feel much safer in our Fuso than in any Class A I ever sat in, regardless of price point.

 

[kerry]

I agree on the majority of Class A's. It's exactly why I chose a Wanderlodge. It's built on a school bus chassis designed to roll over standards. My previous class A was a Travco which has a steel frame and a solid fiberglass shell. The fellow I sold it to rolled it (2 days after he bought it!). He walked away and was able to repair the Travco. Most class A's are death traps.

My Wanderlodge is a forward control with the driver and passenger sitting beside the engine. It's not the safest configuration either. Someone recently died in one in a head on collision with a tree.

 

[dhackney]

Someone recently died in one in a head on collision with a tree.

I think this qualifies as "worst case scenario."

Sorry to hear that story.

Depending on impact speed, you could die from that in a front engine as well. It would come down to the standards the chassis was built to, i.e. air bags, crumple zones, etc.

I try to avoid trees when there is a large difference between our ground speeds.

 

[Martyn]

I try to avoid trees when there is a large difference between our ground speeds.

Sage advice for all of us no matter what we are driving.

 

[haven]

safety is relative

The forward control vehicles will always be less safe in a frontal crash than a truck that has the mass of the engine, frame and bumper out in front. The cab of the Fuso FE and FG models was redesigned recently (2005?) to add more crush space, give more headroom, and to add a safer steering column.

But it's all relative. If you're looking for the safest vehicle to have an accident in, you'd buy a cement truck. Or maybe an International MRAP.

Chip Haven

 

[dhackney]

Or maybe an International MRAP.

There will be some interesting rigs out there when these hit the surplus market.

 

[Tom_D]

Roll over protection

My FG was built with an external roll over rack. Building one on the tilt cab is straight forward but anchoring it to the frame (like a Land Rover Defender) would be very difficult. I am sure the cage will help in a slow speed tip over but In a highway speed crash I imagine it wouldn't help much.

You can see pictures of my truck on the stick message that shows examples of FG campers. I have also removed the big front bumper assembly that appears in the picture.

I was visiting the Portland Freightliner last year and looked at the infamous Unimog U500 that rolled over. Really scary looking. I was told that the driver lived but that was a miracle given the condition of the cab. I believe you can find photos of that wreck somewhere on the net. It was a famous case that called into question the auto tire inflation system and MB's choice of tires.

Tom

 

[charlieaarons]

I was visiting the Portland Freightliner last year and looked at the infamous Unimog U500 that rolled over. Really scary looking. I was told that the driver lived but that was a miracle given the condition of the cab. I believe you can find photos of that wreck somewhere on the net. It was a famous case that called into question the auto tire inflation system and MB's choice of tires.

Tom

A couple of facts I have heard about that accident:
The vehicle was grossly over GVW/GAWR.
The tires were underinflated and the driver ignored the CTIS warning light/buzzer.

Charlie

 

[Tom_D]

U500 wreck

I don't believe the rig was overloaded but a tire under-inflation warning was ignored by the driver and he was traveling at highway speed. The rig was a boom truck with a big composite boom arm. The details were a lively topic of conversation a couple of years ago on the MOG forum. Several groups were involved in the investigation and I will see if I can find a link to those discussions.

This wreck had an unfairly large effect on U500 commercial sales in the US.

As far as I know the rig is still at the Portland headquarters... which,BTW, is a great place to go and shop their amazing bone pile.

Tom

 

[HINO SG]

The details were a lively topic of conversation a couple of years ago on the MOG forum. Several groups were involved in the investigation and I will see if I can find a link to those discussions.

This wreck had an unfairly large effect on U500 commercial sales in the US.
Tom

very interested in the topic. please.

 

[kerry]

Tried to find the pictures but it looks like they were posted at YahooPhotos which is now closed down.

 

[MB309basket]

I think this qualifies as "worst case scenario."

I try to avoid trees when there is a large difference between our ground speeds.

Extraordinary words to live by.