Another Fuso Build Thread

[John M.]

Hello friends.

The day has come to start this thread. I welcome your comments, critiques, recommendations, and most of all, your encouragement. For the past year or so I have been lurking here, commenting occasionally and asking a question or two, and the community has impressed me with its generous spirit and overall cooperative feel. I hope to contribute where I can.

First - about me. I'm a Canadian guy in my 50's from Vancouver. Handy at many things but not especially good at any, learning new skills as they become useful. Mostly unafraid to try something new. Lots of outdoors experience but new to trucks bigger than a Toyota Tacoma.

Second - about the truck. She's a 2003 Fuso FG649 Long wheel base. Sold to me a year ago by a friendly guy in Northern California and imported at great expense to Canada. She came as a flat deck with a lot of service boxes.

Third - about my project. The goal is an expedition-worthy camper with an emphasis on practical comfort and functionality. I am not planning to travel outside North America but hope to be off-grid for a couple weeks at a time. The Yukon is calling...

So far the plan has evolved from dropping a cargo trailer on the flat deck and going from there, to the installation of a Morgan 14' insulated box. The box has been the best step forward so far.

I hope to bring this project to you as it happens. So many others have inspired me and helped me to make own plans, perhaps I will helps someone else, even if just a cautionary tale!

John


Here's some pictures of her progress so far:

Home from California:



Deck Off Corrosion Management:



Lower boxes removed and Super Singles installed:



Morgan Reefer Box installed:




So many things to do. Pulling off that Carrier 40X reefer unit is one of the first. Anybody in western Canada need one?

Cheers!

John

 

[Czechsix]

Well, if you ever do head south into the deserts, that reefer would be a mighty fine thing to have.

 

[kerry]

You already shot right by my opinion.

 

[John M.]

Well, if you ever do head south into the deserts, that reefer would be a mighty fine thing to have.

This has been given some real thought! The unit is 300 pounds (up high!) and needs an additional AC compressor mounted on the engine. I could solve this in future with a $99 window unit and some creativity...
The Black Rock desert is on the list of places to visit, so something will be figured out!

 

[Czechsix]

Yes, that's the thing, there's always a compromise to be made.

On the older EarthCruiser I had, the AC unit was mounted in the rear, between the frame rails. Nice and low, but hard to maintain, and due to limited space also had limited cooling capabilities. In that case, anything was better than nothing. Running a window unit might well work enough to give you an edge in that environment, and if one isn't enough there are no rules against using two of them. Even though I'm well acclimated (or used to be well acclimated) to desert environments, I still opted for the AC as a comfort item, but also in the back of my mind as an emergency health item. Miles from emergency services with heat related health issues that might pop up, especially for us since we're not that young any more....AC isn't a bad insurance item.

You might also want to drill those wheels so you can run valves on both sides, the rears are a real pain to access sometimes. Especially if you air down and up regularly.

For your truck year and what you're trying to do with it, maybe Yabanja will pop up here, he did a great low budget FUSO build.

 

[John M.]

You already shot right by my opinion.

That’s funny it was set up like yours when I first looked at it. I declined to buy the camper....

 

[John M.]

Yes, that's the thing, there's always a compromise to be made.

On the older EarthCruiser I had, the AC unit was mounted in the rear, between the frame rails. Nice and low, but hard to maintain, and due to limited space also had limited cooling capabilities. In that case, anything was better than nothing. Running a window unit might well work enough to give you an edge in that environment, and if one isn't enough there are no rules against using two of them. Even though I'm well acclimated (or used to be well acclimated) to desert environments, I still opted for the AC as a comfort item, but also in the back of my mind as an emergency health item. Miles from emergency services with heat related health issues that might pop up, especially for us since we're not that young any more....AC isn't a bad insurance item.

You might also want to drill those wheels so you can run valves on both sides, the rears are a real pain to access sometimes. Especially if you air down and up regularly.

For your truck year and what you're trying to do with it, maybe Yabanja will pop up here, he did a great low budget FUSO build.

Excellent point about heat related health emergencies. The insulated body has yet to be tested in any environment - one might just do the trick.

The rims have 2 stems so I can air from either side

 

[kerry]

That’s funny it was set up like yours when I first looked at it. I declined to buy the camper....
View attachment 633845

I’d turn down a high top camper too.

 

[John M.]

I’d turn down a high top camper too.

I gave some real consideration to pop-top and Alaska style designs for my camper. Unfortunately my climate is west-coast wet and Canada cold. Mildew is a real problem here, and anyone with a tent trailer has to go to lengths to dry them out after every trip. The real advantages of the lower wind resistance and center of gravity are hard to ignore, but in the end the inconvenience of moisture management was too much.

 

[kerry]

That explains it. I'm in Colorado where moisture is never an issue apart from the lack of it.

 

[b jeepin]

Hello friends.

The day has come to start this thread. I welcome your comments, critiques, recommendations, and most of all, your encouragement. For the past year or so I have been lurking here, commenting occasionally and asking a question or two, and the community has impressed me with its generous spirit and overall cooperative feel. I hope to contribute where I can.

First - about me. I'm a Canadian guy in my 50's from Vancouver. Handy at many things but not especially good at any, learning new skills as they become useful. Mostly unafraid to try something new. Lots of outdoors experience but new to trucks bigger than a Toyota Tacoma.

Second - about the truck. She's a 2003 Fuso FG649 Long wheel base. Sold to me a year ago by a friendly guy in Northern California and imported at great expense to Canada. She came as a flat deck with a lot of service boxes.

Third - about my project. The goal is an expedition-worthy camper with an emphasis on practical comfort and functionality. I am not planning to travel outside North America but hope to be off-grid for a couple weeks at a time. The Yukon is calling...

So far the plan has evolved from dropping a cargo trailer on the flat deck and going from there, to the installation of a Morgan 14' insulated box. The box has been the best step forward so far.

I hope to bring this project to you as it happens. So many others have inspired me and helped me to make own plans, perhaps I will helps someone else, even if just a cautionary tale!

John


Here's some pictures of her progress so far:

Home from California:

View attachment 633615

Deck Off Corrosion Management:

View attachment 633616

Lower boxes removed and Super Singles installed:

View attachment 633617

Morgan Reefer Box installed:

View attachment 633618


So many things to do. Pulling off that Carrier 40X reefer unit is one of the first. Anybody in western Canada need one?

Cheers!

John

Do you know the empty weight of that Morgan box?

 

[Abitibi]

Nice looking Fuso, especially after your mods. I'm also from Vancouver BC and seriously considering getting a Fuso. Not sure yet if I'd sell my current ambo or transfer the box onto the Fuso as I really like that box...

I'm on a roadtrip across Canada but once back in September I wouldn't mind catching up to check your Fuso and your progress!

Cheers
David

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

 

[gator70]

Do you know the empty weight of that Morgan box?

seems to be 2900-3200lbs