Size question

[loonwheeler]

Great thoughts folks; thanks for the responses. A couple fine tuning questions.

1) we were slogging thru some muck. I wondered how would these 20k trucks might do compared to my 12k Fuso. I don’t hear of issues.

All the input by others has been spot on as far as I am concerned. However, I will point out that not all trucks have to be around or above the 20k (lbs) mark in terms of weight. Our U1300L camper is right at 15k as we pay special attention to packing the truck with what we think we need for one adventure vs another. Horses for courses, everything can be modified, customized, or suited an individual's needs (compromises).

Putting it another way... Coming from a 12k Fuso, do you feel like you have to jump to 20k+ vehicle, or can you find a vehicle that meets your needs without having to make a huge leap in terms of size and weight but possibly better off road ability?

 

[GR8ADV]

All the input by others has been spot on as far as I am concerned. However, I will point out that not all trucks have to be around or above the 20k (lbs) mark in terms of weight. Our U1300L camper is right at 15k as we pay special attention to packing the truck with what we think we need for one adventure vs another. Horses for courses, everything can be modified, customized, or suited an individual's needs (compromises).

Putting it another way... Coming from a 12k Fuso, do you feel like you have to jump to 20k+ vehicle, or can you find a vehicle that meets your needs without having to make a huge leap in terms of size and weight but possibly better off road ability?

No need to jump at all. Our FUSO is near perfect. 14k gvw, 12.5 k actual, custom box built to our needs, front and rear limited slips, solar, lithium, indestructible 19.5’s with over the top capacity, yada yada yada. The only thought is improving on the parabolic suspension with an MB OR MANN. With the exception of airing down on beaded rims I am seeing little reason to spend a few hundred grand.

And it fits nicely in any parking space

 

[lost1]

The Fuso FG would have been high on my list of overland trucks for camper conversion as it has great road manners and is quite capable off-road. Coming from a light/fast motorcycle travel background the Fuso would have been a logical choice for a family camper considering that the majority of my travels are on decent roads and I tend to avoid the extreme off-road stuff when set up for travel. The Fusos that were on the market at the time were few and highly priced. The double cab was/is rare. I had some concerns about the reports of cracked/broken frames on the heavily laden Fuso campers. Eventually I ended up with the Unimog because quite simply I got a great deal on it. My mog camper dimensions are quite similiar to the Fuso builds that I have seen.
The mog has some things going for it like having the 1/2 life span of plutonium (if maintained well) and operating costs are reasonable (excluding tires which it eats like gumdrops). I appreciate the higher carrying capacity which is a bonus for bringing toys. Regarding the suspension, it handles corrugations and bumpy roads OK and will continue to do so for hundreds of thousands kilometres without mechanical drama.