My thought exactly. Europeans built a lot on used trucks.
Impressive Fuso FM 4WD Expedition Rig
- Thread starter mhiscox
- Start date
My thought exactly. Europeans built a lot on used trucks.
jmacjgm
...
Darrin spoke of not actually "needing" to build these vehicles. He said he was "bloody tired" of it.
I think we have to remember, there isn't a large profit margin on these vehicles and sometimes it gets to be a pain in the @$$ dealing with all the new emission controls. Many of us would LOVE to have one of his rigs, but I doubt everyone is willing or able to front the cash.
I think we have to remember, there isn't a large profit margin on these vehicles and sometimes it gets to be a pain in the @$$ dealing with all the new emission controls. Many of us would LOVE to have one of his rigs, but I doubt everyone is willing or able to front the cash.
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
There are three important things to remember about Darrin. One is that he doesn't really run a business building campers. He doesn't track overhead, pay himself, account for the electricity, amortize the tools, etc. My personal guess is that he's never made any money on the campers if he takes his true costs into account. He only built them because he knew how and was good at it and enjoyed seeing what he could do.
The second thing is that Darrin is no fan of modern emission-controlled engines. He likes to be able to understand what's wrong when something isn't right, and you can't do that with modern cars and trucks. (The newest car he has anything good to say about was the mid-80s M-Benz diesel sedans.) So there's no chassis out there now that he's enthusiastic about using and there may never be again.
And the third thing is that he has plenty of other stuff to occupy his time. Beyond having a 9000-acre property to manage, he has an old Land Cruiser to rebuild, a Paris-Dakar Porsche, several Mogs, etc. So he thinks he has plenty to do.
All this said, though, he is very talented and experienced builder and I'm not ready to believe that he will never build another rig. It would likely take the right client, though, maybe one willing to start with a pre-2007-engineed chassis and one with enough money to do the job right. And someone who shares Darrin's rigorous engineering standards. Darrin doesn't put singles on an FG because Fuso's engineers told him not too, and he's not likely to ever disconnect factory equipment because of the liability that might result, and he's going to need a client who buys into his rigorous approach.
All in all, he doesn't see how building another camper advantages him, but that view might not last forever. Michael Jordon missed playing basketball enough to unretire; maybe in a while Darrin will unretire and build something new. Or not.
The second thing is that Darrin is no fan of modern emission-controlled engines. He likes to be able to understand what's wrong when something isn't right, and you can't do that with modern cars and trucks. (The newest car he has anything good to say about was the mid-80s M-Benz diesel sedans.) So there's no chassis out there now that he's enthusiastic about using and there may never be again.
And the third thing is that he has plenty of other stuff to occupy his time. Beyond having a 9000-acre property to manage, he has an old Land Cruiser to rebuild, a Paris-Dakar Porsche, several Mogs, etc. So he thinks he has plenty to do.
All this said, though, he is very talented and experienced builder and I'm not ready to believe that he will never build another rig. It would likely take the right client, though, maybe one willing to start with a pre-2007-engineed chassis and one with enough money to do the job right. And someone who shares Darrin's rigorous engineering standards. Darrin doesn't put singles on an FG because Fuso's engineers told him not too, and he's not likely to ever disconnect factory equipment because of the liability that might result, and he's going to need a client who buys into his rigorous approach.
All in all, he doesn't see how building another camper advantages him, but that view might not last forever. Michael Jordon missed playing basketball enough to unretire; maybe in a while Darrin will unretire and build something new. Or not.
In my opinion, he is a very wise man. (by the way, I happen to currently own 2 of the aforementioned vehicles and have owned two motorhomes/campers with the same engines
)So buy something like this 2001 Fuso FM for 15 grand:
http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=2198327
Sell the lift gate and box for a few grand and gut whatever is left. Install a mechanical 12 valve Cummins ISB, which can EASILY make 500hp and 1000 pound feet of torque, couple it to a medium duty transmission and transfer case and build the RV portion however you want.
Common suppliers like Eaton, Meritor, Rockwell, Cummins, Dana/Spicer, etc have offices and suppliers all over the world. You may not be able to walk into a Mitsubishi dealer in Uganda and get service, but you could get parts.
A truck like this could easily be made to fit Darrin's expectations of old fashioned, simple and straightforward and would solve all of the problems mentioned above and then some.
http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=2198327
Sell the lift gate and box for a few grand and gut whatever is left. Install a mechanical 12 valve Cummins ISB, which can EASILY make 500hp and 1000 pound feet of torque, couple it to a medium duty transmission and transfer case and build the RV portion however you want.
Common suppliers like Eaton, Meritor, Rockwell, Cummins, Dana/Spicer, etc have offices and suppliers all over the world. You may not be able to walk into a Mitsubishi dealer in Uganda and get service, but you could get parts.
A truck like this could easily be made to fit Darrin's expectations of old fashioned, simple and straightforward and would solve all of the problems mentioned above and then some.
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Boy, did he make that sound simple. :sombrero:
People with enough talent can do anything, but it might be worth noting that Fusos have less interchangability than you'd find among the PACCAR/International/Freightliner/big Ford/big GM conventionals. Part of this is the cabover design and part is the fact that the Asian diesel manufacturers design principally for their own engines.
Again, not saying that this sort of gut-and-rebuild process is impossible, but just for a frame of reference, it's considerably upwards of $20K to get Marmon-Harrington just to do the axle swaps on the Fuso FM to make it 4WD, and not easy to talk them into the one-off conversion in any event.
gait
Explorer
even easier already done ........
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140366310406&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:AU:1123
already done ........http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140366310406&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:AU:1123
I believe many customers would be happy to pay someone like Darrin to build an AATREC on an older simpler chassis, than on a 2010 model truck with crap that could cause problems or that they dont want . If your goal is to travel and explore, you dont want to be working on your truck. Simple is the best design.
12 valve Cummins motors came in and have been swapped into everything under the sun, they run on a few wires and have tons of options for transmissions. Making gauges and such work is straightforward, as is upgrading axles, suspension, etc, when you are building a fully custom vehicle as Darrin does. From what I know about Darrin, I do not believe that he would have any trouble with any of this. If you are so inclined, leave the stock driveline intact, turning the pump up a little if you want more power. For me, 200hp is not adequate for a large AATREC type truck that probably weighs at least 15-20k pounds.
My point was simply that one could assemble a custom truck following his philosophy of simple/basic design and have a quality, capable custom vehicle on an older/used chassis. Someone like Darrin who does not like the new ones, should also keep costs down (be more competitive) by paying 10-20k for a used chassis instead of 50-60 grand for a new one.
I would never pay MH anything near $20K for a 4wd conversion, but that's just me.
Flame suit on.
12 valve Cummins motors came in and have been swapped into everything under the sun, they run on a few wires and have tons of options for transmissions. Making gauges and such work is straightforward, as is upgrading axles, suspension, etc, when you are building a fully custom vehicle as Darrin does. From what I know about Darrin, I do not believe that he would have any trouble with any of this. If you are so inclined, leave the stock driveline intact, turning the pump up a little if you want more power. For me, 200hp is not adequate for a large AATREC type truck that probably weighs at least 15-20k pounds.
My point was simply that one could assemble a custom truck following his philosophy of simple/basic design and have a quality, capable custom vehicle on an older/used chassis. Someone like Darrin who does not like the new ones, should also keep costs down (be more competitive) by paying 10-20k for a used chassis instead of 50-60 grand for a new one.
I would never pay MH anything near $20K for a 4wd conversion, but that's just me.
Flame suit on.
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