FG in a box!!!

whatcharterboat

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Hope you find this interesting. I know there were alot of questions raised about containerization once before so......

Went down to Brisbane to help with the loading of the RTW truck bound for South Africa. We were only there just in case of any technical problems. The loading was done by the professionals. Only thing was they weren't quite ready for the truck. Little communication problem between the guys responsible for the loading. Anyway we made a start to see if it was all going to fit even though they didn't have the tie-downs organised.

Firstly the overall length of the truck was only a couple of inches too long so it was always going to have to go in a "high cube" 40ft container instead of a standard "high cube" 20. Apparently 30's are pretty hard to come by but that would have done. Taking the spare wheels and the 2 extra tyre carcasses off and possibly stowing them inside might have seen it in a 20 if it was that important.

Originally we thought that the 4 x 19.5" wheels would have to be swapped for standard wheels with some old 7.50R/16 tyres to lower the height as the long travel suspension sees it sitting up quite a bit higher than normal. So we got 4 together beforehand in case.

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Body clearance was OK but the mirrors only just made it. Reversing it in straight was much harder than we thought. It just would not go in straight. Very hard to drive it in looking through the mirrors when the truck just disappears into the darkness. No problem for the professionals though. They simply nudged the back of the container around with a forklift.

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In the end we had to swap the front wheels only. It was either that or remove the roof rack. Only 4 bolts holding it on to the scrub bars but the comms guys hard wired and glued the sat antenna to it so it was easier to just swap the wheels and with a spare 20 feet in the box there was certainly an abundance of room to stow the others.

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Note the pad made from wooden pallets. Again, made things easier to load as the truck went in very level. If you were wondering, the truck was pushed in the rest of the way. Actually it was pushed all the way into the centre of the container to balance the load and the guys slid under the diffs to tie/dog it down. When I slid under the diffs in a T-shirt I got plastered by splinters off the floor. Ouch. Worst thing was how hot it was on the day. I needed to lose some weight anyway.

Apparently the wheels were well tied down as was the body to eliminate any swaying movement. Not sure if they ended up using chains and dogs or heavy tiedown straps but I'm sure Robert will eventually have something in the diary on his website about this www.doubledutchworldsafari.com. A double ended container would have been handy for this but they can be hard to get too, and as we said, you can get by anyway. Just watch out for splinters.

Oh BTW the batteries were all disconnected before it was pushed the last bit of the way.
 
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whatcharterboat

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Hey Thom, How are ya?

the guys slid under the diffs to tie/dog it down.

Yep. Not really a problem with an FG even with the standard wheels and tyres (and a standard waistline. Lol)

When I slid under the diffs in a T-shirt I got plastered by splinters off the floor. Ouch. Worst thing was how hot it was on the day. I needed to lose some weight anyway.

Regards John
 

Token

Explorer
Man that's a tight fit.. I'm betting by the time it gets to Africa there's some sort damage on the top edges of the rear box from rocking around..

Hope yall included unpacking instructions in the box..
 

kerry

Expedition Leader
Excellent pictures and description. When you say it was pushed in, do you mean by hand or with something like a forklift? It seems that the driver would not be able to get out were it driven in? I like the pallet idea. I had nosed mine up against a container we have a school and wondered how much of a problem the angle would be with one set of wheels inside and one outside. Was there a specific reason for disconnecting the batteries or just a general precaution? Was there any issue about whether there was propane in the tanks or not?
 

dustboy

Explorer
Wow, cool. I was going to ask how ya get out of the cab once it's in, but I guess that's what the forklifts are for!

Man that's a tight fit.. I'm betting by the time it gets to Africa there's some sort damage on the top edges of the rear box from rocking around..

They filled it with styrofoam peanuts.:sombrero:
 

kerry

Expedition Leader
I remember seeming pictures of a VW motorhome shipped across the Atlantic in a container. They draped the vehicle with moving blankets to protect it inside the container. Don't know if it did any good but they don't take up much space and I doubt they are very expensive.
 

whatcharterboat

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Man that's a tight fit.. I'm betting by the time it gets to Africa there's some sort damage on the top edges of the rear box from rocking around..

About 4" on each side of the body at floor level. The walls slopes in so there's about 7 " on each side at the top. As I said, I didn't see the final tie down but the plan we discussed was to tie the truck in by the wheels (or possibly the diffs) and also to tie the body at the recovery points on the front and rear bars to limit any movement through the suspension. I think everyone was very confident of a safe trip.

4336341340_4abb9a3eff.jpg


Wow, cool. I was going to ask how ya get out of the cab once it's in, but I guess that's what the forklifts are for!

Nah, the owner drove it in as far as he could. After that , it was an easy thing for a couple of guys to push. Remember it was all level cause of the pallets.

As for the batterries, ....disconnected to eliminate as much discharge as possible and also for safety sake I suppose. LPG (our version of propane) was in 4 x bottles not tanks which are held in cradles under the body. The fuel and water tanks were all full to help weight it down ...that was the plan anyway. Let's see how it all went in 7 weeks when it gets opened up in Durban.
 

whatcharterboat

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Dan. Very sorry . Guilty as charged. You got me. Obviously something that gives more shade than the average Aussie verandah would not fit under the FG diff so I opted for my new and more compact Fuso cap. Hope no one from Isuzu ever reads this though. Haha.

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DontPanic42

Adventurer
This is completely off topic but the title "FG in a Box" got me to thinking. Always a dangerous thing. Does anyone make a diecast model of a FUSO? I expect I am not alone in collecting diecasts of the cars I have owned over the years - 2 "67 Camaros (the original in "67 and the one I have now), '69 Charger, '70's El Camino, "54 Bel Air, etc. Toyota even sent me an FJ like the one I bought in '06. It would be great to have a FUSO and try to make it look like the "RoadHippo"
 

ThomD

Explorer
Hey Thom, How are ya?



Yep. Not really a problem with an FG even with the standard wheels and tyres (and a standard waistline. Lol)



Regards John

Hi John,

Soggy here. Winter is the rainy season and we've been making up for a 3 year drought. Other than that, mostly working.

Keep posting, because it inspires us dreamers.
 

Tony LEE

International Grey Nomad
Any figures on the total transport costs?

Be a couple of years before I might need to take my OKA overseas, but it would be nice to get a ballpark figure.
 

Harald Hansen

Explorer
I spoke the other day with a bloke who had sent his Defender 110 from Norway to Australia and back in a container a few years ago. The costs came to about $5000 in US money. Just a ballpark figure for you, and it might be cheaper these days because of the economic climate.
 

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