New FG owner

[dhackney]

Loading/unloading the container:
In the photos illustrated the container was brought to the shop so they could load the vehicle. This is certainly possible for your initial outbound and last return shipment. It will cost you extra. The challenge is in the ports you ship to and ship from around the world. Where do you have the container delivered to where you can unload or load the vehicle? How do you load and unload the container onto the truck at the vehicle loading/unloading site? The reality of overseas shipping via container is that you will need to load and unload the container at the docks under their rules and conditions. Sometimes it is no problem to spend all day doing whatever you want. Other times it can be a big, big challenge.

And BTW, if you use a fork lift for a jack as in the photo keep in mind that the operator will not be worried about poking fuel tanks, crushing brake lines, etc.


Tying down the load:
If you for even one millisecond are considering not securing your vehicle inside the container I urge you walk/hitchhike/bicycle/drive/etc. to the nearest working port.

Finagle a tour or bring good binoculars or a telescope and watch the giant pickers move the 80,000 lb. / 36,287 kg - 40 ft / 12.2 m containers around the docks like children's play blocks. The rate of acceleration and deceleration is incredible, to say nothing of the drops that precede the very loud booms you will hear.

If it is a large port get an angle on the massive dual rail cranes that unload the container ships. Count how many seconds it takes to cycle that crane, from lock on the container on the ship to unlock on the 100' to 200' high stack of containers on the dock. Do a little mental math and consider the G forces applied to the container and its contents in order to accellerate and decellerate the load to achieve that time.

I guarantee that after viewing this for a few minutes to hours (if you are as hypnotized by it as much as I am) you will be crafting tie down strategies all the way home.

Picker used to move containers around on the docks. You cannot believe how easily they toss around the 80k lb / 40 ft load.

High speed crane used to load/unload containers from ships.

 

[Lynn]

Kerry,

You've seen the Fuso/Alaskan combo that Haven posted on the ' Fuso examples' thread, right?

I know you've been all over the Expo, but just in case you missed it:

IIRC, This camper was custom built by Alaskan for the flatbed Fuso, but Alaskan's normal design is a slide-in. Unfortunately, their normal slide-in has an over-cab section which wouldn't work for you...

Have you talked to them about building you a slide-in without the over-cab section? Their pop-top design would be very conducive to containerization, I would think.

 

[Lynn]

Or...

Didn't you say somewhere that you were looking to replace those tanks in the front of the bed with gear of some kind? Maybe more storage?

Anyway, would it be possible to put a standard short-bed Alaskan in the back such that the over-cab section extends over whatever is in the front of the bed, but doesn't reach to the Fuso cab?

Am I making any sense? I'm envisioning a Hackney BEV w/ an Alaskan rather than the Bigfoot.

Sorry for playing arm-chair quarterback, but I can't afford to build my own rig, yet.

 

[kerry]

Or...

Didn't you say somewhere that you were looking to replace those tanks in the front of the bed with gear of some kind? Maybe more storage?

Anyway, would it be possible to put a standard short-bed Alaskan in the back such that the over-cab section extends over whatever is in the front of the bed, but doesn't reach to the Fuso cab?

Am I making any sense? I'm envisioning a Hackney BEV w/ an Alaskan rather than the Bigfoot.

Sorry for playing arm-chair quarterback, but I can't afford to build my own rig, yet.

Exactly what I have in mind but probably not an Alaskan. I'm thinking of a 10 or 11' pop top with the cab over portion remaining over the front of the utility body and not extending over the cab of the Fuso.

 

[kerry]

Nosed the FG up to a shipping container this morning. The door was not open but I am estimating that by letting some air out of the tires, it will fit heightwise. It will be tight side to side, perhaps necessitating the removal of the mirrors. I'm still trying to figure out how a person gets out of the driver's seat if they drive the truck in. Seems impossible. I'm attaching some photos.

Oops--looks like the picture upload feature is malfunctioning again.

 

[Lynn]

I'm still trying to figure out how a person gets out of the driver's seat if they drive the truck in.

Just stock the cab with plenty of power bars and water...

 

[dhackney]

I'm still trying to figure out how a person gets out of the driver's seat if they drive the truck in.

I vote for a Sawzall and some spare blades.

 

[haven]

Yes, Kym Bolton's expedition truck just fit in the shipping container. They put two vehicles in one 40 foot container:

Kym Bolton writes. "With the side mirrors removed and the tyres let down to 25psi it was a tight squeeze into the 40 footer...The top of the vehicles cleared the container roof by 50mm and the sides by 300mm. The only exit for us from the container after tie down was by shuffling along the floor under the differentials."

Read about the start of Kym's drive across Siberia, Mongolia and western Russia here
http://www.goannatracks.com/2007/10/port-vostochny.html

Chip Haven

 

[haven]

Alaskan Camper will make a custom version of their campers
to meet your needs. Here's a custom 12 foot Alaskan camper
on a flatbed Sprinter.

Here's a standard S&S Ponderosa slide-in camper mounted
on a Fuso FE. The owner boxed in the lower sides of the camper
to provide more storage space

The height of this camper requires that you dismount the camper
from the truck before sliding it into a container. Camper and truck
should fit within the 40 foot length.

Four Wheel Camper and Northstar manufacture truck campers designed
to be mounted on a flatbed rather than a pickup bed. Both companies
sell these flatbed models in Australia, but you can arrange to buy one
in USA.

You can purchase aluminum flatbeds made to your dimensions for
just about any truck. Here's a Scott-Lite from Tafco mounted on a Ford.
(The "Pritsche" style fold-down sides are optional)

Chip Haven

 

[kerry]

Yes, Kym Bolton's expedition truck just fit in the shipping container. They put two vehicles in one 40 foot container:

Kym Bolton writes. "With the side mirrors removed and the tyres let down to 25psi it was a tight squeeze into the 40 footer...The top of the vehicles cleared the container roof by 50mm and the sides by 300mm. The only exit for us from the container after tie down was by shuffling along the floor under the differentials."

Read about the start of Kym's drive across Siberia, Mongolia and western Russia here
http://www.goannatracks.com/2007/10/port-vostochny.html

Chip Haven

Yes, that's about what I imagined while pulled up at the container this morning. I initially thought I might fit mine in a 20' container but I'm right at 20' and the inside dimension of a 20' container is something like 18' 10".

I'm looking to avoid the expense of a custom built camper. I'm pretty sure I can find a standard pop up camper that will fit in the utility bed and not exceed the height of the cab.
I want to stick with the service body since it has so much storage compared to a flatbed and it's already on the truck. The existing service body is built with a step in the floor to match the raised section of the frame on the FG. It's also been on there for 8 yrs and seems to be holding up very well.

I wonder how he got out of the cab and under the truck to crawl out?

I don't see any obvious tie downs in that picture.

 

[ThomD]

Since the vehicle is so tight in the container, I can't see any way to dog it down. But I'm sure there is plenty of room in the container for it to scrape on the sides. What can you do about that?