Signed contract today for new FG

[oz101]

Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas.

Mounting anything on the front could cause problems, as I have had overheating problems in the past, when I mentioned it to the dealer they blamed it on the bull bar restricting airflow into the radiator, Also I am near maximum weight for the front axel already.

The spaces at the back near the steps is where I'm going to mount my Gray and Blackwater tanks, so not much room underneath to mount the spare wheel

Hi John, when I read your comment about mounting the trailer with a large overhang, It got me worried so I rushed out to check it out, but the towbar does stick out from the back about 3 inches so I hope that should be enough.

Another idea I had was to build a trailer and put my bikes on that, also I could mount one spare on the back of the truck and have maybe a couple more on the trailer, but I was really trying to avoid towing a trailer if I can,
Has anybody had any experience in towing a trailer with a Canter in series off-road conditions?

 

[jhrodd]

I towed that trailer full of scoots including one on the front for about 5000 kilometers Down the Oregon Coast, through the California Redwoods, around the desert Southwest, and back up through the Idaho Panhandle without a whiff of overheating and the camper alone weighs over 2000 kg here we are on the Snake River at the foot of Whitebird Hill :

 

[Amesz00]

Mounting anything on the front could cause problems, as I have had overheating problems in the past, when I mentioned it to the dealer they blamed it on the bull bar restricting airflow into the radiator, Also I am near maximum weight for the front axel already.

thats bollocks. well maybe not totally, it could be contributing. but pretty much every FG84 ive driven has had overheating problems. skipper trucks in perth says it is an issue with some dodgy sensor that needs replacing, and has done a couple of ours under warranty. they do run hot tho. IMHO (other than the sensor) its due primarily to the EGR and severely choked off exhaust. the egr heat exchanger runs directly off the radiator, and is basicly a never ending source of intense heat.

Has anybody had any experience in towing a trailer with a Canter in series off-road conditions?

i did once tow a double axle trailer with not much in it up lancilin beach north of perth (quite soft 4wd/motorbike beach), that was pre dp-chip too. truck did admirably well, but with the 1100 michelins at 14psi it was a foot flat afair alot of the way. in other offroad conditions where lots of manuevering is required, i think that would be the biggest pain, as the truck is so much more work than say a cruiser as it is...

as far as the max overhang issue, i dont know about eastern states but over here in WA if the trucks getting close to max length without spare wheels we have got it licensed without then bolted them on after. they are normaly inside the width of the truck anyway so is not a drama. never heard of anybody being pulled up over it either.

Andrew

 

[charlieaarons]

Make the device easily removable, take it off when you get the inspection, then put it back on.

Charlie

 

[oz101]

I would only be about 50mm (2") over with the spare wheels on, so it would be no problem to leave them off for the inspection, but can anyone tell me how would it perform off road with max overhang?

 

[Ford Prefect]

Perhaps I am missing something, but why not elongate the wheelbase?

You already did the custom suspension, why not just get someone to slide it all back 50-100mm. It should not change your break over angle too dramatically if you did that, and then you have the added 25-60mm you would need to add that tyre and rack etc. Heck you could move it back half a meter if you wanted and really have room on the back for whatever you needed back there. I presume you may have to think about lengthening your frame to do this, but as you have already done so much to customize the truck, perhaps a frame stretch is not such a bad idea to get it where you want it. That and a new drive shaft and you would be good to go.