Having trouble finding information about Fuso vs Isuzu vs Hino in Canada.

[Mat Mobile]

Following an amazing trip across Europe, Morocco and all the way to Turkey (our Instagram if you're curious), my wife and I are planning a new vehicle better suited to full time living. The base truck would be one of the above. And the next trip will probably be Alaska, then South America.

My big problem is that I'm having lots of trouble finding information on pre-DEF vehicles. And especially if the transmission and engines in these vehicles are common in other countries.

Also, I'm in Canada ?? so vehicles easily acquired seem to be mostly Hinos followed by Isuzu (or GMC) and very few Mitsubishis. We don't really need 4wd because we mostly do "soft-overlanding". In other words, our travels focus on culture (food!) and sports activities rather than just the off-roading part. But a lift and locking diff. makes a huge difference in a vehicle's capability from our previous experience.

So what are your ressources for information for these trucks?

Mitsubishi is a no-brainer but they are far and few so my current choice is an older Isuzu. Should I also be looking at Hinos?

Any help would be appreciated! ☺

 

[Regcabguy]

I can only vouch for Hinos as I drove a 1992 medium duty model for 240K of torturous city deliveries. It was the most dependable vehicle I've never had the pleasure to drive. I never once let the turbo cool down. The huge drum brakes stopped on a dime,and the engine never smoked. I retired 12 years ago and it's still in duty today. It had an inline 4-cylinder with a non-electronic Allison trans.
Our Isuzu's were a disaster. ************ automatics,thin brake pads and mucho smoke. Gutless with tiny cabs. However,they were far superior to Iveco's. Smoked like banshees and the worst brakes with a load I've ever experienced. Our right thighs looked like soccer player's.

 

[halseyt]

2007 4x4 fuso on kijiji now in Edmonton. Truck is in Abbotsford.

 

[Mat Mobile]

2007 4x4 fuso on kijiji now in Edmonton. Truck is in Abbotsford.

Found it: 4x4 Fuso in Edmonton.

Thanks! But I'm not ready yet. Still in the research phase at this point.

But this little photo is really interesting:

I'll have to look out for these when going to see trucks.

 

[Somaji]

Hey there !

I will be following this thread as i am exactly in the same situation.
I'm looking for such a truck but these are so hard to find, or quickly sold.
I'm in Quebec (Montréal).

I was set on Fuso, but it might be troublesome to service here in North America, right?

I saw a bunch of Hinos today on the road, and barely considered them until today. It might be a better choice, but i'm not sure.
It seems Fusos really are top of the line.

But this little photo is really interesting:

Why is that ?
Also why are you looking for a "pre-def" vehicle ― what does it mean?

Cheers!

 

[SkiFreak]

Also why are you looking for a "pre-def" vehicle ― what does it mean?

Older vehicles generally have less electronics and anti pollution equipment, which many see as being more reliable.
DEF is normally only used on newer diesel engines that have a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

 

[Mat Mobile]

Hey there !

I will be following this thread as i am exactly in the same situation.
I'm looking for such a truck but these are so hard to find, or quickly sold.
I'm in Quebec (Montréal).

I was set on Fuso, but it might be troublesome to service here in North America, right?

I saw a bunch of Hinos today on the road, and barely considered them until today. It might be a better choice, but i'm not sure.
It seems Fusos really are top of the line.

Why is that ?
Also why are you looking for a "pre-def" vehicle ― what does it mean?

Cheers!

Bonjour! I'm also from Montreal. Small world!

I don't thing Fuso would be hard to service in North America. There's tons of Mitsubishi dealerships, competent truck garages and Rockauto is a few clicks away.
I would be worried about finding Hino parts in the rest of the world.
Isuzu seems fairly standard but there's no 4x4 availability in Canada (not that I'm dead set on it).
I'm trying to avoid GMC forward trucks because Iran supposedly does not accept American vehicles but that seems to be either an urban legend or a bribing tactic.

Regarding the emissions tag, I meant that when I start going to look at vehicles, I'll be able to look at that tag and get all the information I need to research motor and transmission availability (especially parts) in other countries.

Regarding DEF, for the whole story, here's a good start: Diesel exhaust fluid wikipedia.

Well @SkiFreak is correct. Plus there's this belief amongst Overlanders that DEF isn't available in some 3rd world countries. That and, to my understanding, newer diesel engines have more trouble with diesel of lesser quality. That's why Overlanders appreciate non-DEF vehicles.

We'll see what happens because non-DEF vehicles are harder to find and I'm unsure finding DEF is that much of an issue where we plan on going (in our last trip DEF was never an issue... actually DEF Diesel would have been preferred to gaz in most places but Europe, Turkey, Morocco and parts in between that are fairly developped countries).

 

[Somaji]

Hey! Thanks for the reply, sorry i didn't follow through.
Nice to hear from a fellow Montrealer! We should hang out and talk projects!

I understand what's at stake here regarding DPF.

I have found a pre-DPF 4x4 Fuso (not sure though, still enquiring, FG84D 2006 manufactured in 04/05).
But when enquiring for a pre-buy inspection, one of the mechanic told me Fuso might not be the best choice regarding part availability, that it may take weeks to get a part shipped.
When on the road, this could be a deal breaker.

Any thoughts about Fuso's parts availability in the Americas ?

 

[SkiFreak]

Are you sure it's an FG84?
I could be totally wrong, but I thought that those were not available in USA/Canada, as that is an Australian model (I know, because I have one).
The corresponding model on your side of the world is the FG140.
That aside... neither the FG84 or the FG140 has a DPF.

 

[Somaji]

Oh you may be right, it's a FG140. It says FG84 on the VIN check, so i took that as a better info.

I'm actually letting this one go... realizing i may have undrestimated the project's need for time and ressources, and it is not one i can carry at this time, in my current condition living in an appartment in the city, no land, no tools, not much metal skills, no heavy truck driver's license, probably not enough $$ to carry to the end.

....but the decision is so hard to make cause these trucks are so rare, and my dream still strong!

 

[SkiFreak]

....but the decision is so hard to make cause these trucks are so rare, and my dream still strong!

And sadly, getting more rare as time passes...

 

[Mat Mobile]

Just a quick question to simplify this thread:

1- Are there Hinos in South America?
2- Are there Hinos in Europe?

They're a dime a dozen here so it would make it pretty easy for me if I could just buy one of those!

 

[Mat Mobile]

Great news! I've got a lead on a 2005 GMC W5500 (Isuzu's were sold as GMCs in Canada at one point) with less than 100,000kms. Also, I put a deposit on a new Bigfoot model C9.6SB. ?

But after reading this post, I'm curious why a truck with a payload of 12,000 lbs. would not be able to handle a camper similar to the one I chose (mine has a dry weight of 2930 lbs).

Also, if we compare it to the typical pick-up used to haul these campers, like a Ford F-350 with a 7.3l and dually, it would have a payload of about 7,000 lbs in pretty much optimal conditions.

No offense to the poster but I don't understand the concern (excluding the discussion about lengthening the frame of course).

To me, the bigfoot is roughly similar to my Fiberglass body Roadtrek and it's hauled on a 1ton van chassis. I don't see why an Isuzu NPR couldn't handle a medium-size Bigfoot...

Can somebody please explain the "math" before it's too late? ? Thanks in advance!

 

[SkiFreak]

As I see it... your are comparing comments made about extending a frame for a 19 foot camper against a 16 foot 6 inch camper.
Am I missing something here?

 

[Mat Mobile]

As I see it... your are comparing comments made about extending a frame for a 19 foot camper against a 16 foot 6 inch camper.
Am I missing something here?

Thanks for attempting to reply Mr. SkiFreak. ?

My main concern was with the weight as I have no plans to extend the frame.

Not trying to pick and choose out of context but here's the essentials of the mentionned post:

"If you need that big a camper this truck is not the vehicle for you. [...] The second issue is that these trucks only have a 14000 pound gross vehicle rating. Many of the larger camper builds are far exceeding this legal weight limit."

How is installing a 3,000lbs camper "far exceeding the legal weight limit"?