Fuso to halt US sales? What does this do to EarthCruiser?

[Steve_382]

Not good.

Mitsubishi Fuso Halts New Truck Sales in NA - Expedition Portal

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America has just announced that they will be discontinuing new truck sales in the United States and Canada. According to Mitsubishi, existing dealerships will be given the option to transition to service and parts supply to offer continued support for Mitsubishi Fuso...

expeditionportal.com

 

[Steve_382]

Not good. Time for using F550 or Ram 5500, or maybe even the old E450 with super singles and a beefy UJoint type 4x4 conversion. The new 7.3 gas would be a good motor. Sad that EC just spent a year developing the new platform which looks really good by the way.

Mitsubishi Fuso Halts New Truck Sales in NA - Expedition Portal

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America has just announced that they will be discontinuing new truck sales in the United States and Canada. According to Mitsubishi, existing dealerships will be given the option to transition to service and parts supply to offer continued support for Mitsubishi Fuso...

expeditionportal.com

Here is the official announcement from Mitsubishi:

News & Events | Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Inc. announces strategic shift for U.S. and Canadian markets

www.mitfuso.com

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Odd, didn't they just put a bunch of re-engineering/tooling into setting the Fusos up for NA with gas motors and such?

 

[pugslyyy]

Odd, didn't they just put a bunch of re-engineering/tooling into setting the Fusos up for NA with gas motors and such?

Small businesses are always at the mercy of big business when it comes to decisions like this. You wake up one morning and Fuso says they are exiting your market as part of a business realignment strategy. Capitalism, yay. I have no idea, but would hope that a lot of what they developed can be replatformed to the Isuzu NPR (or Hino).

You can make a lot of arguments for the NPR as a superior platform to the Fuso, it's just that Fuso was the only cabover manufacturer with a 4x4 in the US market. In countries that lean towards cabovers for medium duty trucks (i.e. Australia), Isuzu outsells Mistsubishi and Hino combined.

 

[Regcabguy]

Small businesses are always at the mercy of big business when it comes to decisions like this. You wake up one morning and Fuso says they are exiting your market as part of a business realignment strategy. Capitalism, yay. I have no idea, but would hope that a lot of what they developed can be replatformed to the Isuzu NPR (or Hino).

You can make a lot of arguments for the NPR as a superior platform to the Fuso, it's just that Fuso was the only cabover manufacturer with a 4x4 in the US market. In countries that lean towards cabovers for medium duty trucks (i.e. Australia), Isuzu outsells Mistsubishi and Hino combined.

Interesting. Our Isuzu's at work were trash. ************ brakes,problematic transmissions(auto) and smoked like banshees with just over 120K with excellent maintenance. Conversely our Hino's were the most reliable vehicles any of us had ever had the pleasure to drive. My medium duty went 240K with an ignition switch,door lock cylinder,a seeping head gasket and normal wear items. all city stop and go. I never even let the intercooler cool down. I retired 11 years ago and the sucker's still in business. The government forced us to replace the old ones and we went with International Workforce medium duty tiltcabs. Another failure. They returned to Hino's and even with all the government mandated emission trash they're rock solid.

 

[gregmchugh]

EarthCruiser does build on the Isuzu (with factory 4wd) in Australia so there might be some standardization advantage by going with Isuzu over here...

 

[gregmchugh]

Latest info on Isuzu gasoline engines and transmissions. Fuso has a 6.0 and an Allison 1000 transmission...

Isuzu debuts two gasoline engines for medium-duty trucks

At the Work Truck Show, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America debuted two gasoline engines for its N-Series or medium-duty trucks. Details here on CCJ.

www.ccjdigital.com

 

[shortbus4x4]

Wish they would use a 8.8L PSI engine, it's in buses and is based off the GM 8.1L. I work for an International/Isuzu dealership and the Isuzus don't have too many issues if they are properly maintained.

 

[gregmchugh]

Wish they would use a 8.8L PSI engine, it's in buses and is based off the GM 8.1L. I work for an International/Isuzu dealership and the Isuzus don't have too many issues if they are properly maintained.

That seems like overkill for an EarthCruiser size truck to me. You would have to move up to an Allison 2000 to handle the torque I think. The 6.0 Vortec in the Fuso seems to be giving excellent performance with the Allison 1000...

 

[Steve_382]

That seems like overkill for an EarthCruiser size truck to me. You would have to move up to an Allison 2000 to handle the torque I think. The 6.0 Vortec in the Fuso seems to be giving excellent performance with the Allison 1000...

I agree. You would have to think that combo would be at least as good as a Class A 34' motor-home running a Ford V-10. Probably a lot better really. Still going to be a little slow going up a long pass, but my Sportsmobile with the V-10 doesn't exactly fly up the grade from Bishop CA to Mammoth CA.

 

[mog]

Wish they would use a 8.8L PSI engine, it's in buses and is based off the GM 8.1L.

That seems like overkill for an EarthCruiser size truck to me. You would have to move up to an Allison 2000 to handle the torque I think.

The Chevy/GMC C4500/5500s that were equipped with the 8.1L Vortex V8s are standard equipped with the Allison 1000. The Allison 2000 was an option on the C5500s. Some good info on the Allison 1000 'hp ratings' HERE
Great engine, with a load of HP/Torque (heck you can get pass 610hp/640tq without much work Raylar ) with the downside of going through fuel like a B17 with flak holes in it wings.

 

[gregmchugh]

The Chevy/GMC C4500/5500s that were equipped with the 8.1L Vortex V8s are standard equipped with the Allison 1000. The Allison 2000 was an option on the C5500s. Some good info on the Allison 1000 'hp ratings' HERE
Great engine, with a load of HP/Torque (heck you can get pass 610hp/640tq without much work Raylar ) with the downside of going through fuel like a B17 with flak holes in it wings.

It seems that for PSI 8.1 L gasoline commercial medium duty truck applications, as opposed to heavy duty pickups, the Allison 1000 does not seem to be used much, looks like Allison 2000 series or Eaton are more common.

In any case, as you said, the fuel economy penalty is there and would seem to me to outweigh any advantage to added power from the 8.1 L. For an expedition truck I wonder what advantage you would get by going to higher power for either off road or on road when EC has shown that the 6.0 L Vortec provides plenty of power for highway use and off road also. Long range between fuel stops is an advantage for overland travel and lower fuel economy will not help there.

 

[mog]

It seems that for PSI 8.1 L gasoline commercial medium duty truck applications, as opposed to heavy duty pickups, the Allison 1000 does not seem to be used much, looks like Allison 2000 series or Eaton are more common. In any case, as you said, the fuel economy penalty is there and would seem to me to outweigh any advantage to added power from the 8.1 L. For an expedition truck I wonder what advantage you would get by going to higher power for either off road or on road when EC has shown that the 6.0 L Vortec provides plenty of power for highway use and off road also. Long range between fuel stops is an advantage for overland travel and lower fuel economy will not help there.

Agreed. While is it nice to blast down the freeway at 75+ (when that is the posted speed limit ) and pull hills at whatever speed you like, that is not the point of an 'expedition' 'overland travel' truck. Driving at reasonable speeds, the C4500's MPG is not too bad, mine on 42s gets 8-12 mpg (17,500 GVWR). My Fuso FG (on 37s) get 10-15 mpg (Class 4- 14,050 GVWR), and my MB1017AF on 46s (Class 6- 25,500 GVWR) gets 8-13 mpg. I would choose the 6.0L Vortec in my 'next' Earthcruiser over a 8.1L Vortec any day of the week.

FYI - C4500/C5500 are Class 5 'medium duty trucks' (17,500-19,500 GVWR), not 'pickups'. As the thread is about 'Fuso' and what Earthcruiser might do, I don't see them jumping from a class 4 Fuso to a class 6 truck.
The Allison specs for the 1000 series is up to 26,001 GVWR 'general use'


And the Allison specs for the 2000 series is up to 26,500 GVWR 'general use'

 

[gregmchugh]

Agreed. While is it nice to blast down the freeway at 75+ (when that is the posted speed limit ) and pull hills at whatever speed you like, that is not the point of an 'expedition' 'overland travel' truck. Driving at reasonable speeds, the C4500's MPG is not too bad, mine on 42s gets 8-12 mpg (17,500 GVWR). My Fuso FG (on 37s) get 10-15 mpg (Class 4- 14,050 GVWR), and my MB1017AF on 46s (Class 6- 25,500 GVWR) gets 8-13 mpg. I would choose the 6.0L Vortec in my 'next' Earthcruiser over a 8.1L Vortec any day of the week.

FYI - C4500/C5500 are Class 5 'medium duty trucks' (17,500-19,500 GVWR), not 'pickups'. As the thread is about 'Fuso' and what Earthcruiser might do, I don't see them jumping from a class 4 Fuso to a class 6 truck.
The Allison specs for the 1000 series is up to 26,001 GVWR 'general use'
View attachment 589700

And the Allison specs for the 2000 series is up to 26,500 GVWR 'general use'
View attachment 589701

Our GXV Patagonia on a Kenworth K-370 (converted to 4wd) has a PACCAR PX-7 (Cummins 6.7) with a 6 speed Allison 2500 HS and it is definitely not overpowered and gets about 9 mpg. Weight is around 28,000 lb, GVWR is 33,000 lb. for the K-370.

 

[mog]

Our GXV Patagonia on a Kenworth K-370 (converted to 4wd) has a PACCAR PX-7 (Cummins 6.7) with a 6 speed Allison 2500 HS and it is definitely not overpowered and gets about 9 mpg. Weight is around 28,000 lb, GVWR is 33,000 lb. for the K-370.

That is very respectable mileage for a class 6 Expo Truck. I think that is where not being 'overpowered' (by US standards, certainly not by European standards) really comes into play. Both my Fuso and 1017 are happy at 60 mph which is a nice traveling/sightseeing speed, and you are not 'motivated' to pass everything in sight. Sure, slower on the hills, but still able to travel uphill at Semi truck (class 8) speeds so not holding up the show. I'm sure the same with your Kenworth. That K-370 4x4 is awesome. When I first saw it, I was "I need that!". What a great platform with US support and all the benefits of a cabover for cabin vs. overall length and maneuverability. I'm hopeful that Earthcruiser can find a 'replacement' class 4 cabover truck as many people certainly desire a 'smaller' truck, but with the same cabover benefits.