medium duty truck....

[bk2valve]

In my looking for an upsize rig these days, I am being attracted to something like a Isuzu NPR or Mitsubishi Fuso.<br>There are many ways to go with the truck, a box build, a slide in truck camper on a flatbed, a travel trailer on a flatbed....etc., etc.<br><br>The things that appeal to me are that they can be gotten fairly cheap with under 150k miles on them, the lighter ones use a 16" wheel and tire, the smaller diesels get excellent mileage...like about 16 or so...and they are so ugly they are cool to me....like beetle headed transformers....the crew cabs really call to me!<br>Another thing is the excellent road clearance and the fact you can tilt the cab to work on the engine.<br><br>Of course the bad side is that they are diesel engines and they cost a lot to maintain and even diesel flat rate is higher....that said...I still am really liking the idea.<br><br>Anyone care to talk me down????<br><br>I have been looking at older class Cs and As and even B's and the mpgs are abysmal....way worse...like 7 to 10....<br><br>As I was parked in a truck stop I was talking to a truck driver and he quoted me 7 mpg on his semi rig with 70k pounds loaded....something is really wrong with the picture...He said a lot of folks he sees are buying old semi tractors esp the single drive axle ones and the longer chassis and mounting travel trailers on those....no wonder the 1% RVers are buying KWs and Volvo tractors to haul their 5th wheels with. <br><br>I am just playing with ideas....but I want more room, stand-up-ness and something between 15 and 20 mpg...I know it is possible...<br><br>After all my grumbling about diesel, it may be an answer for me...LOL<br>Bri<br><br>P.S. and I'm poor....<img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">

 

[user 423]

There was a guy a few years back at the Slabs had an older Isuzu flatbed that he put a large truck camper on. Plus it was long enough to put a good sized storage box in front of the camper. He had all kinds of welding equipment and tools,etc. and always had some kind of project going on. He was a retired diesel mechanic and a real horse trader. He got it pretty cheap because it wouldn't go into 5th. gear but he used it for towing a pretty big trailer at lower speeds, so it didn't matter much. I think he said he got about 11-13 mpg and that was about what I got with my Class B.

 

[Willy]

Well, with my '90 F-250 w. 9.5' Vanguard camper combo I'm getting around 12 mpg. That's with a rather gutless 302 and a 5 spd. Thing is, I got 4x4 and a big 'n roomy camper. Looking to upgrade the truck though, since I think I'm hauling too much weight. Looking at one of 2 extended cab F-250's, one a 460 on propane and the other a 351 Windsor. ..Willy.&nbsp;

 

[bk2valve]

Thanks Slowday and Willie....appreciate the info....<br>I have had Ford vans with both those engines Willie and was totally underwhelmed by what they gave in mpg. It was between 12 and 15 at best although the one with the 351 was a 4wd conversion with a E4OD trans with a electronic controller I had upgraded to latest version. <br><br>&nbsp;Bri<br><br><br><br><br>

 

[RAILROADGREEN]

heynow bri, i hope your holiday's were&nbsp;great. good to see you are posting again! anyhoo, i have a rv for ya it's call a sailboat. wind is free and a ton of free parkening.and as far as mexico it's the only way to travel and to stay!!. thinking about sell my land sailboat, the little casitia. an buying sailboat. you can get a nice one for around 10,000. even with my gmc pickup getting 18&nbsp; 20&nbsp;mpg with the casitia,traveling is become to much for this old sailor to afored.&nbsp;of the forty year's of being a surf&nbsp;bum. living an traveling in sailboat was by far the cheapess way i ever travel. fellow travler gary&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ps wish all of&nbsp;you a great new year an happy traveling

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Well, 12mpg I'd consider pretty good given the weight and frontal area of my rig. I was getting 19-20mpg with nothing on the truck and driving sensibly. Generally, you're not going to get great fuel economy, regardless of what you drive, if you're also toting a bunch of stuff and pushing a bunch of wind. Sure, you can drive a nice low minivan with a 4-6 banger and get half decent fuel economy.. but you won't be hauling much stuff and will spend most of your time outside to alleviate the claustrophobia. ..Willy.

 

[bk2valve]

Hiya Gary, Thanks bro...good to see you too. You will be at the RTR, ay? I'll be heading up from Yuma in a day or two.<br><br>I hear you about the sailboat and I have thought about it a lot as has every guy I know.... I look at them occasionally too. In fact, if you remember gg or Gary Gearloose or Grasshoppa, who use3d to be on Yahoo Vandwellers offered to teach me to sail if I went to Florida this winter....or whenever we could get together to do that...<br>He raised his two kids on a 40' homebuilt catamaran all over the west coast up to Alaska and to Hawaii and lots of time in Mexico.<br><br>I do think I would have the same problem on a sailboat as I do in the 'nookie, not enough room and no standing up...argh..<br><br>I think I am sticking with the ground rigs for the time being, but it is a good ide3a Gary...<br><br>Willie....my friend Paul lives in a big Lance with a slide on his 2500 Chev truck and while I love the space in his rig, it is an absolute beast on the road and horrible mileage.<br><br>So that brings me back to my original post and what I am thinking of is just a more industrial version of what you guys have but with a real truck and anything I could possibly want on the back. Like a large slide in or a travel trailer on it. Or a built out box. And in the neighborhood of 16 mpg....<br><br>So far I am not getting any negatives more than anything diesel would get.<br><br>Here are a couple photos of what I am thinking...not on as big of tractors as these though...I know I have some other photos but they are on my other computer,<br>Bri

 

[RAILROADGREEN]

hey bri, that a big truck ,cost lot's of bucks to operate lie.tags comm.to .i go with a fifth wheel that way you could work the truck when you got your fifth wheel park.gary

 

[RAILROADGREEN]

bri, forgot to tell ya i will leave for rtr on the 9th. see ya there! gary&nbsp;

 

[bk2valve]

Gary, if you catch me dragging a 5th wheel around behind me, you have my personal permission to kick me in the ass....but&nbsp; be sure you pull my head out of it BEFORE you kick it....<img src="/images/boards/smilies/eek.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"><br><br>If you read the first post, I am referring to a light or medium duty truck...with the smaller 4 cylinder diesel engine they are reportedly getting 16 mpg with a load. That is hard to beat with anything else I know of that will carry a truck camper or travel trailer....<br><br>The reason I used pix of larger trucks was because any other pix I have are in my other computer and I didn't want to fire it up just to put up photos of exactly what I am referring too. <br><br>Here is a link to more what I mean:<br><br>http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/<br><br>I cannot afford a Mitsu FG (4wd and not only hard to find used but expensive) but a good used mitsu FE or a Isuzu NPR are reasonably priced. Nor could I afford to use a Bigfoot camper that sells used for in the $20K range.... <br><br>Mine would have to be a a "Poverty Camper" project...<br><br>But in truth, this is all just some thinking I am doing and I will more than likely end up with a full length AWD Astro or Safari conversion van....<br>See ya there...<br>Bri<br><br><br>

 

[bk2valve]

Hi willy, I wanted to add that I think the setup you have chosen for your roam-home is an excellent choice. I often think about a slide in and as you probably know we do own a 94 Mazda B4000 4wd truck with a FourWheel camper on it. My wife loves the rig and has laid claim to it for her personal rig and it is what we use when we travel in the same rig...Mexico and beyond...<br><br>In regards to that, I believe that in the next two years, before she retires, we will upgrade the truck and camper both, probably a full size 4wd truck with a new All-Terrain camper shell (empty of amenities except the queen size pullout bed from the factory) in the largest size we can fit on the size truck bed we end up with. We do have a roughly sketched out plan of a Panama trip in it once she is free of the job.<br><br>In the meantime, for me, I need to upgrade my current little Astro that now has 150K on it and smokes on startup....Lots of life left in it but I want to go bigger for height and a larger bed and dedicated table.....I will prolly go with a compressor style freezer/reefer with this rig and redo my solar to a more efficient system....<br><br>As I say in another thread, I am pretty much set on the Astro or Safari AWD idea with either a hightop or Vanagon style lift top (maybe forgo the AWD for a full size 6cyl. van) so this thread is just some thinking out of the box.<br><br>Mostly because I think those trucks are a truly under utilized resource.<br>Bri

 

[IGBT]

We are going to go with a box truck, but the wife wants a bigger box than I think comes on most isuzu or mitsu models.&nbsp; I am looking at the Freightliner style with a cat7 engine, alison trans, 24 foot box.&nbsp; They still get about&nbsp;10 to 12mpg though from what I hear, which is better than most similar size gas RVs (around 7mpg).<br><br>GVWR 25950 so no CDL needed.&nbsp; I think the Mistu are around 15000 GVWR.<br><br>We want to convert 12 to 14 feet into insulated living space and have 10 to 12 feet of garage space for our dual sport motorcycles.&nbsp; We will be pulling a sailboat.

 

[bk2valve]

Excellent choice IGBT, all quality, state of the art equipment. Good road clearance as well.<br><br>One thing I like about the Mitsus and Isuzus are keeping a 16"wheel. Much cheaper and many types. And that they seem to be sale for not much $....<br><br>Bri

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

So about how much can you find these for?

 

[bk2valve]

I see them for in the $7K to $18K range depending on the mileage etc. I don't think it would be a deal unless someone wanted something bigger than a van and wanted to do a killer build or transplant a slide in camper or travel trailer onto a flatbed.<br><br>If you do decide on that you would have something with great fuel mileage, great road clearance and an actual industrial stength truck instead of a cheesy wannabe truck RV....for a decent price. I would definitely check on the registering and insurability in your state/company, etc. <br>Bri<br><br>Edit : Go on trucktrader.com DG and you can see for yourself....look under Mitsubishi Fuso and Isuzu NPR....

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Cool beans, probably not something for me but I like to explore options.&nbsp; All that room is tempting though :b

 

[Les H]

Bri, I have driven many mid size Isuzu and Iveco trucks, usually with dump beds or flat beds. They would make a great build platform, with only parts costs and availability being a drawback. That and George J Mechanic saying " we-hell, I ain't never seen one of these befer" . Other than that, good gvw, MPG, and a good turning radius, along with good visibility are all on the plus side.

 

[bk2valve]

Hi Les, I think they are cool as all get-out...You do have the cost of diesel parts and services but they are literally all over the world...I don't think they would have too many problems getting it fixed....any mechanic in Mexico spends most of their time fixing diesels...<br>Bri

 

[IGBT]

One thing I just discovered.&nbsp; If you are not able to get the box van registered as an RV, you will have to stop at all of the truck scales during your travels.&nbsp; That would suck...

 

[highdesertranger]

yes if you convert it to an rv you can register it as a rv in many states.&nbsp; cheaper registration, insurance, and you do not have to stop at scales.&nbsp; i think it has to be 26,000 lbs or less gross&nbsp;and have toilet, bed, cooking and be wired for electricity i believe.&nbsp; highdesertranger