RWD NPR - Ok, so we're NOT climbing the Andes....

hidn45

Member
At the risk of being shunned.... I've got this idea I just can't shake, about a plain, old US Isuzu NPR 2WD "retirement vehicle" that The Little Woman & I can put together to see the US in a few years once we have the time. We're getting REAL tired of dealing with the snow, so the plan is to summer here in northwestern PA, or other temperate regions, & spend the winters further south, living full time out of the camper. As such, I've talked myself out of 4WD. We've always had it (or VW's) - almost a necessity here in the snowbelt. Would love to have it for this new buggy, but we'll have a tight budget, & no matter how you do it, 4WD is a lot of money we'd rather put to camper amenities. That's how I've come to look at the Isuzu NPR.

Here's our general outline:

Wide range of overnighting options, from campgrounds, to parking lots, to off-grid boondocking, to the occasional motel. On-board solar, toilet, & shower.
We won't be in a hurry - if there's somewhere we need to be, we'll plan ahead to have the time to get there.
We'll have a budget line-item for maintenance & repairs, but it won't be obscene. If we can run $300 tires vs $800, & $45 filters vs $100, we'll be a lot happier.
We plan to stay in North America, with no special accommodations for fuel quality or availability.
Most of our travelling will be secondary roads, with some interstates as required, maybe 20%, if I had to pick a number. And, again, we won't be in a hurry.
- Any off-highway excursions will be mild & relatively short - won't be shooting a bowl at Glamis or running the slickrock at Moab. Forest Service roads, BLM gravel, etc.
- I've run the NPR, hauling a skid-steer for a snow removal outfit, & had one for a [rural] Schwan's home-delivery route, including winters, so I have some idea of their capabilities & how to stay within them.

We're keeping our options open at this point for accommodations - what we will end up with to live in will depend on what we find to start with. Right now I'm thinking either box truck conversion or building a composite camper box. I have some experience with panel construction, so that may help if we are able to go that way, to save both weight & cost. As for design, I've done nothing but, so far, so I've got about every variation covered, depending on what base truck/ wheelbase/ options we find. I've got working layouts sketched from 14 ft. to 20 ft. Looking for a good balance of compact maneuverability & roomy comfort. I've downloaded the body builder's guide for the '05 NPR/ W3500 - https://www.gmupfitter.com/files/media/photo/209/2006_MD_LowCabForwardW.pdf - but there's so much info there, that's going to take some time to sift thru....

So, at last, to our question. Feasible project, or Walter Mitty dream? For those with more experience with the Isuzu's in an expedition application - if it were you, which options would you be looking for? What vintage? Gas/ diesel? Auto/ stick? Or "why don't we just buy a '92 Winnebago & call it good?" (I've seen the dirty little secrets under the skins of those things....)

Thanks in advance for any help & advice. And if the advice is that it's not worth the effort, so be it. That's why I'm here, to get answers to our questions. And there will be plenty more questions, depending on how this goes.

Randy & Lois
 

SkiFreak

Crazy Person
Quite a few motorhomes here in Australia have used the Isuzu as a base vehicle.
If you don't plan on doing any tricky terrain, I don't see why an NPR would not be suitable.
 

dlh62c

Explorer
Welcome to the forum.

With an aggressive tire pattern a 2WD truck will take you a lot of places. If the truck comes with a Cargo Body that’s in good shape, it would be a plus. Stay away from Cargo Bodies with translucent fiberglass roofs as these are fragile.

Morgan makes a good quality Cargo Body.

Be mindful that sourcing insurance coverage on a commercial vehicle is problematic, but not impossible. Same goes for DIY conversions.

 
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The Artisan

Adventurer
I have been wanting to do my 07 fuso for sometime now it would take some work.
I love my 07 fuso cruises at 70 np and get about 14mpg. I have decided to just build my pod and use it to travel highways and rv beach parks.
Kevin
 

hidn45

Member
Owen - Thanks, looks like I'll be spending some time on your site - lots of good info there, even if it is written from the other side of the world. Just curious - down there where the NPR is offered in 4x4, what's the difference in price between the two, all else being equal?

dlh - thanks for the welcome, & the info. I've heard that insurance can be a tough process, with conflicting info depending on who you talk to & when. Our agent has always been both knowledgeable & resourceful when it comes to "projects", but we'll be sure & have that figured out before we get too far along....

Kevin - looks like you've got plenty on your plate... I like your topper project. The Fuso seems to be a lot more popular around the Portal, assuming that's due to the 4x4. There just aren't many (any?) around this area - don't know that I've ever seen one in the flesh.

For the Fuso fans - I've noticed a lot of them with roof racks on the cab - this tells me they don't have the tilt-cab of the Isuzu? This brings up one of the issues I have with the NPR - pretty tough to do a pass-thru/ crawl-thru with a tilt-cab, eh? I'm not as concerned about having cab access as I was, but it would be handy at times.

So, I've seen where the gas Isuzu runs a Chevy V-8, the older ones being the 5.7/ 350 "small block" a la Silverado, Chevelle (showing my age, here), etc? Meaning that if a guy was to find a 'suzu with a blown motor for cheap, he could slap in a good used or brand new crate motor & be off? Buying parts at NAPA or AutoZone would be a plus as well. And the biggest downsides to the gas truck are fuel economy & longevity? This is not making my decisions any easier.....
 

Ultimark

Active member
There are a few differences between the standard NPS and the 4WD version, not all of which are cosmetic.

Current price of the 75 – 155 4WD unit is $67,495 AUD. You will need to put a tray on as that is the price of a cab chassis. Allow between $3,500 - $10,000 AUD dependent upon what you need and or desire. In round figures you will probably be looking at $72,459 AUD then you need to add taxes and registration. I know these figures are accurate, I’ve just bought one.
That is for the 7.5 tonne Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) model, meaning that the total weight the truck can be is 7,500 kg. It is possible to buy the exact same truck down rated to 4.5 tonne (4,500 kg) which will enable you to drive it with a normal car licence in this country. However, when you down rate to the lower GVM, your pay load is almost gone, even with an aluminium tray.

As for new 2WD units, they are varied and many are sold presented as Trade Packs. Which means they are ready for someone to purchase as a ready to work the day you purchase it, complete with tray and sometimes lockable boxes on the back. These are around $10,000 AUD cheaper than the 4WD version.

The other major difference is the wheelbase, which can be short, medium or long. The 4WD version has a wheel base of 3,395mm for the single cab or the crew cab. Effectively you get a shorter tray if you have a crew cab you cannot get a 4WD unit with a longer wheelbase.

There are differences between the 4WD and 2WD units which are more than cosmetic. But the 2WD units are very strong and in this country some people do enormous distances on gravel/dirt roads doing deliveries to rural and sometimes to remote areas. The real problem I see is the rear duals, they are a magnet for rocks and mud. I was at a trade show put on by Isuzu trucks Australia, including the 4WD version. The rear dual on one side filled up with mud, not a great thing to happen. I am getting super singles for my truck. I have seen super singles on 2WD NPS 300’s on a couple of occasions.

This is a current advertisement for a new truck, which has been down rated to 4.5T.

https://www.farmmachinerysales.com....5-155-amt-mwb-tradepack/OAG-AD-17514841/?Cr=1

The NPS 75 – 155 is 5,985mm overall, which, as a matter of interest, is 5mm shorter than my Isuzu D-Max cab chassis with a tray on the back. My D-Max tray, overhangs the chassis rails by 50mm. The local rural fire fighters have, in increasing volume, been replacing their Toyota cab chassis with tray backs outfitted for doing fire fighting duties. This is an interesting insight to what is happening around here. This operation is not too far from where I live.

 

Smileyshaun

Observer
this may just be me but I’ve driven a lot of cab over box trucks over the years for work and personally it would be my last choice for driving down any roads with bumps at all , I can’t wait to get out of them and back into a normal rig , even with a suspension seat It still bounces me all over the place .
 

SkiFreak

Crazy Person
Just for clarity... the 2WD is a NPR and the 4WD is a NPS.

Yes, this forum tends to bias towards the Fuso/Canter That is mostly driven by the fact that the Isuzu NPS range is not available in the US/Canada market.
Here in Australia the market has swung heavily towards the Isuzu and away from the Fuso in recent years. In my opinion, the current Isuzu NPS is a much better truck than the current Fuso FGB71.
Personally, I think Fuso lost the plot after the FG84. If I were buying a new truck today, it would definitely be the NPS.

Both the Fuso/Canter and the Isuzu cabs tilt, with the exception of the dual cab models. It is possible to tilt the dual cab's cab, but that normally requires a crane of inclusion or a lifting mechanism, like hydraulics.

Fitting a passthru to a tilting cab is common place here. I should note, it's more of a crawl through than a passthru, but I have one on my truck.
The passthru uses a flexible sock, that can be easily disconnected to allow the cab to be tilted.
 

The Artisan

Adventurer
Kevin - looks like you've got plenty on your plate... I like your topper project. The Fuso seems to be a lot more popular around the Portal, assuming that's due to the 4x4. There just aren't many (any?) around this area
Thanks I have an auto upholstery and restoration business which keeps me busy. I will make time to make 2 versions of the prototypes this month. I might have came up with a easier solution for a 4x4 conv for my fuso which I will research further this summer.
Kevin
 

hidn45

Member
You're a better man than I..... I decided to make a "simple" custom seat for my motorcycle about a year ago - "how hard can it be?" After spending months developing a pattern, working the shape & the fill, etc , I finally gave up & had a local Amish upholsterer finish stitching it up for me. My hat is off to you, sir....
 

The Artisan

Adventurer
You're a better man than I..... I decided to make a "simple" custom seat for my motorcycle about a year ago - "how hard can it be?" After spending months developing a pattern, working the shape & the fill, etc , I finally gave up & had a local Amish upholsterer finish stitching it up for me. My hat is off to you, sir....
Thanks on my 18th yr, specializing in Bmw upholstery kits and interiors. If you ever need anything done let me know. Upholstery to custom furniture to camper pod kits and toppers soon ??
Kevin
This was my first hot rod pretty fun, challenging and frustrating
 

hidn45

Member
Ultimark - thanks for the info. The fire truck vid was very informative, even having to mentally convert litres to gallons, etc. (I wish we'd just go metric & get it over with...) ;^) That type of equipment would be very useful around here - mostly rural volunteer fire companies, generally with a "brush truck" - mid-duty pickup-type with a utility bed carrying hand tools, Indian tanks, & a small pump/ tank unit. Hmm, I wonder if Isuzu has thought about that market here...

Quick question, just out of curiosity: Does the NPS 4x4 (and 4x4's in general) hold more resale value there than the NPR , or does the price differential (about 15%, from your numbers) stay roughly the same with used trucks? Around here, a used 2wd pickup or medium-duty is virtually worthless. On the other side, a used NPS-type "heavy" truck in 4WD would probably bring a big premium - it would be a unicorn. The only thing around like that would be a converted military truck or something - heavy, & spendy. Seems like there would be a market....

You comments brought back to mind another fleeting concept that has occurred to me. What if a guy was to come up with a "quick-release" system, to allow the flatbed/ tray to be removed from the truck frame & replaced with the habitat/ camper/ pod, rather than mounting the pod on the tray. An extra operation to remove & replace, but it would save a few inches in height & a couple hundred pounds in payload when the pod is mounted. Or maybe the required reinforcement of the pod subframe would eat up any weight savings anyhow, & I'm just talking thru my hat....

Owen - great, I had finally almost talked myself out of the cab-access, now it's back on my radar.... ;^) Would you have any pic's of your "tunnel" arrangement? I'm picturing some type of rigid ring that latches to the cab & camper. My original thought was an inflatable donut- or accordion-type thing, but a heavy, flexible sleeve as you describe would be much simpler.... Kevin - this sounds like it might be in your wheelhouse, eh?

Thanks all - some good stuff here....
 

SkiFreak

Crazy Person
Here ya go...

001.jpg

If you do an image search on Google for "expedition camper pass through" you will find many examples.
 

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