dhackney
Expedition Leader
(mods - I didn't know where to post this. It's a mog-type thing, but didn't really fit in the mog forum. It's powered by a Hino motor, which is probably is the closest to the Fuso section, but it's not a Fuso or an Isuzu. Not knowing where to put it, I put the post here. Move at will to where you think it fits best.)
We kept seeing these things along the road in Thailand, but couldn't get close enough to see what they actually were.
They were fleeting glimpses of an unknown species; at least as fleeting as a lumbering chassis with tractor tires and a corn sheller welded onto its frame can get.
But, this afternoon, while we were out tooling around the outskirts of a town we didn't even expect to be in until we changed our minds halfway through the day, I spotted it, a captive specimen, pinned to the ground in a mechanic's shop.
I pulled a quick U turn and we pulled over. I jumped out and asked if it was OK to take pictures of the truck.
They all, to a person, looked at me like I had three heads. The owner and chief, well, only, mechanic motioned to a woman to come over. She knew English. She actually knew English really well. That fact in no way lessened her astonishment that anyone would ask if it was OK to take photos of this truck in the driveway of the shop.
"Yes, of course, yes, it is OK," she smiled in that enigmatic Thai fashion.
And so it began, Doug's minutely detailed documenting of a vehicle that is still a mystery.
Here's where you come in, loyal ExPo member.
I have limited bandwidth and online availability here in Thailand. However, I know that with your combined powers of Google Search and the energy that comes from the unknown provenience of a potential expedition camper chassis, you can quickly answer this mystery: What the heck is this thing?
The motor, and presumably the transmission, are Hino. The chassis, I was told, was, or possibly still is, made in Thailand.
It's basically a Thai Mog, a road going truck that can and does do agricultural field duty.
As to who made the chassis, all I could get from the translation from English to Karen (a local hill tribe language) to Karen back to English was "I don't know."
Yes, you followed that correctly. The mechanic only speaks Karen. His sister, who just happened to be visiting from Bangkok when we pulled in, speaks Karen, Thai, Dutch and English. If she hadn't been there, we would have learned nothing. (When things like this happen when you are traveling you know you are in sync with the universe.)
This particular example, and most of the ones we've seen in this part of the world, have a corn sheller mounted on the back. I saw at least one of these chassis in the lowlands with a different payload but I couldn't tell what the payload was.
So, here you go ExPo. Do us proud.
What the heck is this chassis?
And, more importantly, why hasn't someone done a build on one yet?
BTW, take special note of the driveline design. This is Mystery Number Two for me, as I remain somewhat under-researched and definitely under-knowledged about these big chassis.
What is the proper design/engineering name for this type of driveline where the differentials are rotated 90 degrees and the driveline, including the transfer case, can remain elevated?
Take a look at that breakover angle. Sure, there's extra weight and complexity in those gear housings on the diffs, but note the continuous driveline possibilities presented by those U joint flanges temptingly presented on top of the front and rear diffs.
And, OK, yes, sure, there are certainly some Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) issues suggested in the cab, but nothing that early generation Mog owners haven't overcome.
And, yes, you are correct that Steph is not particularly excited about the stock passenger seat. But, I reminded her, "Think about how much your air seat transformed the Fuso."
In my eyes, in the immortal words of Wayne Callison, "All she needs is a little work."
We kept seeing these things along the road in Thailand, but couldn't get close enough to see what they actually were.
They were fleeting glimpses of an unknown species; at least as fleeting as a lumbering chassis with tractor tires and a corn sheller welded onto its frame can get.
But, this afternoon, while we were out tooling around the outskirts of a town we didn't even expect to be in until we changed our minds halfway through the day, I spotted it, a captive specimen, pinned to the ground in a mechanic's shop.
I pulled a quick U turn and we pulled over. I jumped out and asked if it was OK to take pictures of the truck.
They all, to a person, looked at me like I had three heads. The owner and chief, well, only, mechanic motioned to a woman to come over. She knew English. She actually knew English really well. That fact in no way lessened her astonishment that anyone would ask if it was OK to take photos of this truck in the driveway of the shop.
"Yes, of course, yes, it is OK," she smiled in that enigmatic Thai fashion.
And so it began, Doug's minutely detailed documenting of a vehicle that is still a mystery.
Here's where you come in, loyal ExPo member.
I have limited bandwidth and online availability here in Thailand. However, I know that with your combined powers of Google Search and the energy that comes from the unknown provenience of a potential expedition camper chassis, you can quickly answer this mystery: What the heck is this thing?
The motor, and presumably the transmission, are Hino. The chassis, I was told, was, or possibly still is, made in Thailand.
It's basically a Thai Mog, a road going truck that can and does do agricultural field duty.
As to who made the chassis, all I could get from the translation from English to Karen (a local hill tribe language) to Karen back to English was "I don't know."
Yes, you followed that correctly. The mechanic only speaks Karen. His sister, who just happened to be visiting from Bangkok when we pulled in, speaks Karen, Thai, Dutch and English. If she hadn't been there, we would have learned nothing. (When things like this happen when you are traveling you know you are in sync with the universe.)
This particular example, and most of the ones we've seen in this part of the world, have a corn sheller mounted on the back. I saw at least one of these chassis in the lowlands with a different payload but I couldn't tell what the payload was.
So, here you go ExPo. Do us proud.
What the heck is this chassis?
And, more importantly, why hasn't someone done a build on one yet?
BTW, take special note of the driveline design. This is Mystery Number Two for me, as I remain somewhat under-researched and definitely under-knowledged about these big chassis.
What is the proper design/engineering name for this type of driveline where the differentials are rotated 90 degrees and the driveline, including the transfer case, can remain elevated?
Take a look at that breakover angle. Sure, there's extra weight and complexity in those gear housings on the diffs, but note the continuous driveline possibilities presented by those U joint flanges temptingly presented on top of the front and rear diffs.
And, OK, yes, sure, there are certainly some Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) issues suggested in the cab, but nothing that early generation Mog owners haven't overcome.
And, yes, you are correct that Steph is not particularly excited about the stock passenger seat. But, I reminded her, "Think about how much your air seat transformed the Fuso."
In my eyes, in the immortal words of Wayne Callison, "All she needs is a little work."
