Fuso Expedition truck build in ontario

[cameronsturgess]

Hi all,
we finally secured reasonable insurance for a Fuso and the completed expedition truck. PM me if you are in canada and having challenges getting insurance at something reasonable (ie around 1000-1500/yr vs the first quotes which were 12,000/yr). We now have started down the same path as JETSTREAMING.

We purchased a 2010 FG140 that spent its life as a dump truck, fortunately it was very well cared for and despite being in ontario has very little rust (it was oil sprayed every year). Total composite box panels are currently being shipped from China to Vancouver (thanks Andreas at Total Composites). ITB will be starting the build in June. Prior to then I would love any input as this is the first time we have built an expedition truck. I built a model in SKETCHUP that I am happy to share you want. PM me with your email and I will send it over. I would very much appreciate input on the following:

1. what kind of heater ? diesel is our initial preference. that leads us to webasto dual top (where can we buy these ? does anyone know where to get them serviced if they break ?) or go with Andreas' idea of Planar and a heat exchanger to heat the cabin and hot water. or Truma but I can't figure out of Truma is importing a diesel version ?

Diesel Air Heater Planar 2D-12 High Altitude - Total Composites Technologies Ltd.

Please visit www.expeditionupfitter.com to Purchase Diesel Air Heater PLANAR 2D-12 -PU5 HA comes with a basic installation kit with the High Altitude adjustments and an Operations Manual. Designed to provide safe instant heat to the interior of any type of vehicle! We offer the 12 V version...

totalcomposites.com

Elgena Nautic-Compact Water Heater 10L - Total Composites

Nautic-Compact Air is a hot water boiler designed specifically for motorhomes, Yachts, and sales vehicles. It will work with many styles of diesel air heaters (Planar, Wabasto, Espar). No power is needed to run this unit. Manufactured from top quality materials in Germany with a 5-year factory...

totalcomposites.com

2. where should the heater be located ? under the dinette (away from the bed) closer to the cab ? so we don't hear the clicking fuel pump and sound of the heater, or place the heater under the storage area (directly below the bed)

if there are any other builders that would like to connect please feel free to reach out. thanks again for your help ...Cameron

 

[Spanna 53]

My Furness ,tank and pump,are in under body boxes and can still hear the pump ticking away the heat exchanger and fan are under the bed here in Aus. We haven't used it all that much in the last four years as we tend to head North in the winter Ross

 

[gait]

I have a webasto thermotop E I purchased about 10 years ago. Mounted on front of body about 600mm above chassis rail. Some misguided belief in avoiding filling it with water on creek crossings. The exhaust is high enough I don't have to worry about setting vegetation alight. Header tank above heater loses some water which migrates to vehicle radiator reservoir. I recently added a level switch in place of sight glass. The pump is inside a hatch above chassis rail level very close to the heater, about 3.5m from diesel tank takeoff. Careful mounting of pump minimises click. There is a whistle from the heater (A above middle C). With space heater fans off inside I can just hear whistle and pump click which I find useful to know its starting, there's a delay before hot air from heat exchangers. Failure to start occasionally has been air in fuel - low tank, viscous fuel in cold, poor connections, originally paralleled with diesel cooktop. A bit of messing around to reset if three failures and out. It helps that the transluscent fuel line to heater is easily visible when it doesn't start, for some reason there are always small bubbles from (transparent) filter which always has some air in it. No servicing since new. Its worked between sea level and 5000m, down to -10 deg C ambient. It has a glow-pin rather than glow-plug - reliable. Just in case I carry electronic parts, maintenance and operating instructions.

Frameless diy composite box. Where we travel within Aus ambient temperatures are rarely below zero. Nice to heat up quickly but can become too hot, can't transfer heat away from heater quick enough so heater cycles. 4.5kW can be too much, even 2.6kW (lo fire) can be too much to maintain temperature. Cycling not so much of a problem as solar is now cheaper we have lots. In -10 ambient comfortable in about 20 minutes from cold in the morning. Like heating any "room" takes time to heat through, comfort depends on thermal mass of construction. Heater is also connected to engine, a couple of valves to select various combinations, nice to arrive after drive in cold weather to have "house" warm with hot water. Never had to preheat engine, however engine is a nice heat sink to reduce cycling and give easier temperature control of "house".

Fans in space heaters were noisy when purchased. I replaced a few times before I found balance between air flow, noise and speed control.

I know nothing of other makes, only alternative was Eberspacher when I made my choice.

 

[cameronsturgess]

My Furness ,tank and pump,are in under body boxes and can still hear the pump ticking away the heat exchanger and fan are under the bed here in Aus. We haven't used it all that much in the last four years as we tend to head North in the winter Ross

Thanks Spanna. Here in canada I expect we will use the heater more than oz Would like it to be as quiet as possible.

 

[cameronsturgess]

I have a webasto thermotop E I purchased about 10 years ago. Mounted on front of body about 600mm above chassis rail. Some misguided belief in avoiding filling it with water on creek crossings. The exhaust is high enough I don't have to worry about setting vegetation alight. Header tank above heater loses some water which migrates to vehicle radiator reservoir. I recently added a level switch in place of sight glass. The pump is inside a hatch above chassis rail level very close to the heater, about 3.5m from diesel tank takeoff. Careful mounting of pump minimises click. There is a whistle from the heater (A above middle C). With space heater fans off inside I can just hear whistle and pump click which I find useful to know its starting, there's a delay before hot air from heat exchangers. Failure to start occasionally has been air in fuel - low tank, viscous fuel in cold, poor connections, originally paralleled with diesel cooktop. A bit of messing around to reset if three failures and out. It helps that the transluscent fuel line to heater is easily visible when it doesn't start, for some reason there are always small bubbles from (transparent) filter which always has some air in it. No servicing since new. Its worked between sea level and 5000m, down to -10 deg C ambient. It has a glow-pin rather than glow-plug - reliable. Just in case I carry electronic parts, maintenance and operating instructions.

Frameless diy composite box. Where we travel within Aus ambient temperatures are rarely below zero. Nice to heat up quickly but can become too hot, can't transfer heat away from heater quick enough so heater cycles. 4.5kW can be too much, even 2.6kW (lo fire) can be too much to maintain temperature. Cycling not so much of a problem as solar is now cheaper we have lots. In -10 ambient comfortable in about 20 minutes from cold in the morning. Like heating any "room" takes time to heat through, comfort depends on thermal mass of construction. Heater is also connected to engine, a couple of valves to select various combinations, nice to arrive after drive in cold weather to have "house" warm with hot water. Never had to preheat engine, however engine is a nice heat sink to reduce cycling and give easier temperature control of "house".

Fans in space heaters were noisy when purchased. I replaced a few times before I found balance between air flow, noise and speed control.

I know nothing of other makes, only alternative was Eberspacher when I made my choice.

Gait thanks for all the detailed explanation and descriptions. Very helpful. Makes total sense about cycling if the heater is sized greater than the heat loss. The hope is in our cooler climate it doesn’t cycle as much. Sounds like you connected your heater to the engine to allow preheat and to allow engine to heat cabin hydronically. Correct ?

 

[gait]

yes, correct. Basically three parts, water and space heating, diesel heater, and engine. Engine can be both a source of heat or a sink (sink for preheat or help with heat balance/cycling). Diesel heater a source. Water and space heating sinks. Everything in parallel (an interesting technical discussion with Webasto until I realised we were using the terms series and parallel in different ways). I found it easiest to draw it with a hot line across top of page and cold line across bottom of page - like an electrical schematic. Then each of the three parts connect between hot line and cold line (in parallel to me). Physically its just a maize of pipes. Rehau make good connectors. Two motorised ball valves (originally just standard heater valves). One in series with engine, other in series with diesel heater. Four combinations, I could have used a four position rotary switch (easier for Ali to understand) but used two separate switches. Standard car heater valves ($20) for balancing flow for water and space. House temperature control with fan speed and windows.

 

[lvivier]

Hi Cameron:

I'm on Vancouver Island with a 2018 Fuso FG140 and soon to follow in your footsteps with a box from Total Composites. I had been planning on importing a Truma Combi D for hot air and water, but after hearing about troubles getting parts and support I'm leaning towards the Planar heater and Elgena Nautic-Compact Luft combo that Andreas is selling. The big Planar dealer is a stone's throw away in Surrey.

Eberspacher has a 60mm "Regulating Flap Valve" to direct hot air out of the cabin in summer time.

This video shows a similar setup with the Elgena:


re: keeping the noise level down, when Andreas is back from Overland Expo I'll pay him a visit and get him to show me what he's done in his own rig. My impression was his setup is pretty quiet.

 

[cameronsturgess]

I have been working on the truck for a couple of weeks. Plan is to drive it out to ITB in surrey next week. Total composites box is arriving the end of May.

First step was to pull apart the cab and clean it. As a former dump truck it had dust everywhere. After cleaning the cab out the next step was soundproofing. Installed dynamat then foam over that on roof and walls. Floor now has dynamat and mass loaded vinyl. The result is the only noise in the cab comes from wind now.

 

[cameronsturgess]

Second step after sound deadening was to address the surface rust on the chassis and deal with rust in the footwells. The previous owner has crown sprayed the truck which was perfect for rust protection but brutal to remove. Lots of degreasing required to get down to clean metal. Then metal etching. Finally POR15 was applied to the entire chassis. As POR15 is not UV stable I applied a two part epoxy top coat. Now the chassis and seams in wheelwell should be rust free for a long time. Added a layer of rubberized undercoat to the wheel wells.

 

[cameronsturgess]

Last mods to cab were better seats and a center console to make use of the large space between the seats. I will sew a vinyl cover for the console at a later date.

 

[cameronsturgess]

In the spirit of sharing my learnings with others.

Corbeau seats are nicely built and comfortable but the only suspension is in the seat cushion you’re sitting on. There is no springs or mechanical suspension other than the seat bottom. I was a bit surprised as I had expected some spring suspension.

POR-15 is an amazing product. If the surface is well prepared (degreased and etched) then this paint stick well. It also sticks to skin. So wear a tyvek suit and cover your face in sun tan lotion on the hopes that you’ll be able to get the stuff off with acetone.

Seams in the footwells are the most prone to rust. To address them you need to pull the floor mat out. Then scrape off the anemic sound deadening. Do this from inside and outside. Then apply por15 to the rust. And reseal with rubberized underspray.

Working on the truck to do things like changing the oil is easy enough if you have the right tools. It takes a 27mm socket to do most of the gear oils. Be sure to get the LSD specific oil for the rear diff. Also order a full set of washers. This means two washers for each of the front diff, rear diff, transfer case and transmission. One more for the oil and a final O ring for the fuel filter. The original washers will be squashed and likely not reusable.

To change the lug nuts you will need either a nut buddy or be much heavier than me. I could not move the lug nuts with a 3/4 breaker bar and a 5 foot pipe. I had watched the truck shop retorque the wheels to the correct torque when the truck was safetied but still I couldn’t move them. Nut buddy or a knock off is a good answer unless you have power tools.

Your average tire shop won’t touch a commercial truck. They need special insurance to change tires on commercial vehicles. Easy enough but be sure you ask first or you May have ordered tires that they won’t put on truck and have lug nuts you can’t remove without a nut buddy. All lessons I learned .

Finding a diesel mechanic was fun. Ask around to friends who drive big trucks and you’ll get some recommendations. Then take the “cute little truck” to a shop. The one I took it too had every mechanic crawl around the truck and check it over. Apparently they are very unique little trucks. They would not let me pay them anything. Instead wanted to see the build at the next stage. They will be helpful when we upgrade the shocks and suspension

Getting to know your local fuso dealer is helpful. Things like spare keys or LSD oil can’t be ordered from a mitzibishi car dealer they must be ordered from the fuso truck dealer. You’ll need your VIN. I ordered new vinyl flooring, set of washers for oil change, and a spare key.

Airing tires down helps a bit with the ride. It’s a brutally hard ride with 80psi in tires. Using tire load charts you can air down a lot to get a bit more compliant ride.

Hope this helps other builders

 

[SkiFreak]

Things like spare keys or LSD oil can’t be ordered from a mitzibishi car dealer they must be ordered from the fuso truck dealer.

I bought key blanks off eBay (FG84/FG140), but when I went to get them cut at a locksmith I found that they had the same blanks in stock (genuine OEM blanks). Could have saved time and effort if I checked first...
I also bought some spare keyless entry fobs on eBay, as the ECU is cabable of storing information for 3 of them. The process for linking them to the truck was a bit like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time, but the process is clearly detailed in the service manual and is not a task that needs to be done at a dealership.

 

[cameronsturgess]

Thanks. I would love to get a fob to work with the truck

 

[Spanna 53]

Cameron while you are going on the Center consol I made for my truck and our local Rescue Truck a map book holder in front of your existing top running down to the floor to hold A3 map books , I still like paper maps . The only down side to Dynamat is I can hear the boss talking to me ha ha !

 

[Spanna 53]