Mitsi Fuso

Interesting - Mitsubishi are now selling the 4x4 Fuso in this country.

http://www.canter.co.uk/Projects/c2c/channel/files/383559_Fuso_Canter_4x4_Manual_6C18.pdf

Wheels would need swapping to get it to expedition spec but the aussies have got the kit to super single these trucks

And look at that plating - 6.5 tonnes , so thats another in that magic 3.5-7.5 tonne range I cannot afford

Something in that manual was highly interesting - on the last page in the bottom l/h corner:-

Issued by Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd,
Tongwell, Milton Keynes, MK15 8BA
Telephone: 01908 245000 Fax: 01908 245093
www.canter.co.uk

... and what do you know, with a little research I the following on the Merc website:-

In the UK, Daimler Trucks markets the Mercedes-Benz and Fuso Canter commercial vehicle brands. The truck and van products of Mercedes-Benz occupy a solid place in the UK commercial vehicle market.

The product portfolio has an unrivalled breadth from the one-tonne Vito van, through to the 44-tonne tractive units in the Actros and Axor ranges. The Fuso Canter light truck chassis offers an additional range for high payload, short haul applications.

Strange why Mercedes, who are renowned for building trucks, should market a Mitsubishi product through their dealer network? This extends to service and repair BTW.

This is what you really want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvVYQkrTxbA

They really do a lot with these vehicles as they are tough and reliable, and many countries have seen the benefits of converting them as they are also good off road and can come with numerous options from numerous convertors now favouring these chassis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OjfIKCu-P4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtsVzIOofA0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KdXxe86MIQ

To answer your question Tom, Daimler owns a large stake of around 90% in the Fuso/Canter truck division and the Daimler Chrysler group owns Mercedes Benz so they decided not to develop a new light truck chassis as they already had one with the Fuso chassis cab, they use this because it doesn't compete with the Mercedes Unimog or other various Mercedes 4X4 products. Mitsubishi Canter/Fuso are nicknamed the "rubber rails" as the chassis flexes so much and this flex is an integral part of the 4X4 variant which is an upgraded variant, and this is because most manufacturers rely on stiffness instead of flexibility. This flexibility is down to high quality lightweight materials which gives the Canter/Fuso the highest load carrying capacity of any vehicle in the 3.5-7.5 tonne class as it can have payloads of up to 5 tonnes, most only do 4 tonnes of payload at best. In addition its very car like inside, and to drive, and all these factors are why it is such a popular vehicle in third world countries with poor roads.

If we combine service intervals of 25,000 miles then its a winner, hence why Daimler market it, it outsells most other things on the market on a world basis and is a surefire money maker.

Lovely vehicle, but one of the comments on YouTube says it all - "about $180,000 to $200,000 depending on what you fit it out with"

As it happens, I know of this Aussie company EarthCruiser as a mate is one of the Directors (may even be part-owner). Met him originally while competing on the Malaysian Rainforest Challenge, and several times since. One of these occasions was last year at the Abenteuer & Allrad 4x4 Show in Bad Kissingen, Germany last year. And guess what? he said that they [EarthCruiser] ought to exhibit a Mitsubishi Fuso at ADVENTURE OVERLAND. Still patiently waiting for his booking form to arrive.

The earthcruiser guys are members of my Iveco email list as they have just started developing on that chassis

Only issue I can see is that it requires adblu addative ( assasin can answer this - can you continue without filling the adblu up when you run out or will it damage it ) and super single the wheels to get rid of the duallies at the back

Havn't found a cost for a chassis cab yet

It would of course need a good 3 pointtorsion mount for any camper body due to the flex pointed out by assasin.

It would be very interesting to see one at the show. Let me know if they need someone to drive it over for them , happy to oblige

If you run out of adblue (urea or commonly called urine) you cannot continue as its a slick marketing ploy to sell it as its another money spinner for the company.

You don't actually have to have the system fitted, what they do is charge for it then tell you it comes as standard, another bit of deceit, our new MAN heavy haulage trucks came with the system supposedly as standard, but when I questioned MAN about it they confirmed what I already knew and our new trucks came without the system and it saved about £3,500 per truck.

You don't use a traditional mounting system for these chassis, a traditional mounting system would be a rubber based bobbin type system, or similar synthetic rubber materials used to replace the rubber. What you use is a damped telescopic system which is similar to a traditional airbag as fitted to so many commercial vehicles, this is basically a bag in which the top is turned over and inverted back inside the bag, this is then pressurised.

As the bag is basically a one piece moulding it withstands the pressure of the medium which can be hydraulic oil with a gas to pressurise it, or just gas filled, and they bolt to the chassis and body, being a bag means they float sideways as well as up and down, and you have nothing to go wrong with them like you would a traditional bush. With such a large surface area they float without cracking, yet they centralise due to the pressure, and the only issue is getting the correct pressure for the load (weight of the body) and the amount of body flex you need.

Pictures, thorough description and contact details:
google this blog bob4wdadventures.wordpress


Overlanders ! 4x4 RV EXPEDITION Vehicle for sale in Mexico
Built on a Mitsubishi Canter/Fuso FG 4x4, very agile (SWB), diesel, well equipped.
Good condition, very well maintained, no known defect.
Pictures, thorough description and contact details:
google this blog bob4wdadventures.wordpress
Registered in Canada, currently traveling in Mexico

bob4wdadventures wrote:

Pictures, thorough description and contact details:
google this blog         bob4wdadventures.wordpress


Overlanders ! 4x4 RV EXPEDITION Vehicle for sale in Mexico
Built on a Mitsubishi Canter/Fuso FG 4x4, very agile (SWB), diesel, well equipped.
Good condition, very well maintained, no known defect.
Pictures, thorough description and contact details:
google this blog         bob4wdadventures.wordpress
Registered in Canada, currently traveling in Mexico

Thanks for the input Bob. It's annoying, but it seems the anti-spam software on this forum doesn't seem to allow URL's to be posted until X amount of posts/a certain time period - or both. No idea which, how many, how long??? Anyway, I've posted it for you instead! Here you go:-

www.bob4wdadventures.wordpress.com/author/bob4wdadventures

Assassin wrote:

when I questioned MAN about it they confirmed what I already knew and our new trucks came without the system and it saved about £3,500 per truck.

Correct, I used to work for MAN, left 5 years ago but unless anything has changed MAN and Scania run EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) this was a joint venture funded by VW their then owners, strange thing though the MAN got better economy and power from the engine than Scania did