Tradesman Truck Choice - Please Help!

Thanks Bob

Big help I was hoping the NPR was the way to go just on the way it drives. Dont want the motor to be working so hard all the time.
Maybe Mack or Volvo will join the party over the next few years.

Cheers Bob

I could change the s**t out of a tap washer in that Mack and widen the street at the same time... win win

Great Advice Ron

Thats pretty much all the info I needed Real big help mate.
Also good advice on the dealer. My Local Dealer Ive heard is rubbish so Im heading outta town to another that has a good rep with Isuzu sales and service.

Cheers Ron

Michael, they don't sell very well in W.A. They're a typical European rig - a tiny little motor producing high power - excessive and very complex electronics - expensive spares - and poor dealer backup (get away from the cities, and you're on your own).

The main buyers of Iveco Dailies seem to be big companies, there are very few owner-drivers owning them.

I know people who own numerous types of Ivecos, and they complain about the high cost of parts. How about $800 just for a cast alloy water outlet housing?

Cheers, Ron.

IFS? In a truck? Good God, I suppose you'll be asking for climate-control air-conditioning, and DVD players, and inbuilt entertainment systems, next!? [;-)

Not too many trucks that I know of with IFS. Maybe some of those trendy chassis-less Euro models that never see a dirt road, perhaps?

All the Jap trucks in the 4500kg GCM range and up, have solid beam axles, AFAIK.
They are supposed to be a truck, after all! What makes the ride, is the quality of your suspension seat.

I find my old Isuzu rides quite satisfactorily for a 5 tonner - although I have fitted a fully-reconditoned ISRI seat (the original was the same brand, it was just worn out).

Surprisingly (to me, anyway), one of the best riding trucks I've ever owned, was a 3 tonne E series Bedford (previously the TK) with a Holden V8.
Despite being gutless and thirsty, the little Bedford rode better than many cars I've owned, and it never even had a suspension seat!

Bit of a shame that Bedford couldn't make a rust-resistant cab and provide a decent size diesel with a 5 speed overdrive, or I (and a lot of others) would still be driving Bedfords.

Bedford would be a classic example of a manufacturer who couldn't understand that the Japs were providing what buyers wanted, in the small-to-medium size truck range.

Not providing a tilt cab when the Japs were, was also a huge mistake - although few people know, that it only takes 15mins to disconnect and lift the cab completely, off a late-model Bedford chassis.
But of course, the difference with the Jap trucks, was that it only took 30-60 seconds to lift the cab! - and you didn't need a gantry or crane!

Cheers, Ron.

I know the fuso is independent front end, 4 wheel disks, ebd and stability control with 30k service intervals. We have looked at upgrading the one we have. I haven't checked the others, but there is a whole lot to look at in this sector these days, they are really making an effort to knock off the Utes.

I just had a look through the Fuso spec sheet. They certainly are IFS, and a pretty cool little truck - and they also have a Multimedia Unit, which includes satellite navigation with truck mapping, digital radio, Bluetooth radio connectivity, iPod interface and DVD player!
They've got climate-control air-conditioning, as an option, too! [:-0

It sure looks like Fuso are making it very attractive for tradies to move up to a small truck from a ute. It's not only got IFS, it has a suspension seat as well.

What gets me is - you can buy a "top brand" 4WD ute - for $60,000 or $70,000 - and still get a crap drivers seat that immediately needs replacing with a decent one!

What interested me about the Fuso was their clever "Duonic" auto tranny.
Now this appears to be a Mitsubishi-designed-and-built tranny, not a standard Aisin auto tranny with the normal torque converter, planetary gears and clutch packs.

The Duonic is very clever, in that it uses a pretty standard sliding gear transmission, in conjunction with two electronically-controlled clutches.

When I saw this initially, I thought, "Oh no, not another VW-style DSG, pile-of-crap gearbox!".
But no, the Japs have obviously studied where VW went wrong - and they have built in two concentric oil-immersed clutches that each operate an odd or even number of gears in the range.

So, clutch No.1 operates gears 1, 3 and 5 - and clutch No.2 operates gears 2, 4 and 6.
Cunningly, when a gear is selected, the next gear is preselected by the other clutch and electronics. The shifts are seamless and the tranny is obviously very fuel-efficient.

It's an amazing step up in technology and it's bound to send all the other manufacturers into a tizzy to try and come up with their version.
With clutches operating in oil, clutch life is increased enormously, and shock loading is virtually eliminated by the dual-clutch setup.

Duonic transmission

Even the little Mitsubishi donk is a hi-tech piece of work. 4 valve heads, double overhead cam with steel timing chains, Bosch CR fuel injection, variable geometry turbocharger, and air to air intercooling.

The only worrying part is the 4100RPM top speed for the donk. She's a real screamer, and this is typical of the smaller engines having to do the revs to get the power.

All in all, though, the little Fuso is certainly offering a hi-tech product that makes it on a par with any top-brand work ute. The only concern to me would be the lifespan of the little 3.0L donk, and the increasing amount of electronics in what is essentially a work vehicle that is going to be operated in many adverse conditions.

I didn't know that Daimler actually now own more than 90% of the Mitsubishi Fuso company - and obviously, Daimler is now pushing for German technology to be incorporated more into the Fuso range.

Cheers, Ron.

We've got that little 3 litre motor. You'll see its up and producing max torque at 1350 odd rpm, so it's pretty lazy. It's all about shuffling the gearbox though, and she runs up to just shy of 3000 rpm on the highway at 100 in top gear. It could easily run a couple more gears. Ours hasn't missed a beat in 11 years and pulls like a train. Nothing like a 3l in a ute.
You can see just how well shagged we are getting in the ute market when comparing against these newer light trucks. They offer great value for $

Thanks for the feedback and good to see you made your choice after careful consideration.

Yes, the old Holden 1 tonners were very capable, and cheap to run, and reliable as well - not to mention being Australian-designed and built.
However, we have to live with reality, and we'll never see their likes again. They filled the bill in a totally different era and conditions, as compared to todays world.

I always remember when we demolished an old prospectors humpy in the Southern W.A. Goldfields in the 1980's - and we found a copy of the "Kalgoorlie Miner" dated 1936.

Perusing the pages, we discovered an ad for a used Chev ute.
The ad read - "For sale, 1 ton Chev ute - will carry 2 ton" ... !! LOL

Some of the old girls did some unbelievable work in earlier years. Near our mine was the remains of a 1929 AA Ford truck - which had wooden-spoke single wheels (or what remained of them).

On our mine there were some Huntington mills for crushing ore. These are essentially a large cast iron bowl about 2M across and with a cast trough around the outside. Just the main casting weighs around 6 imperial tons.

There's a picture of one here ...



I asked the local resident old prospector, Mick, how they managed to get the Huntington mills from the siding to the mine (about 2 kms, and over a moderate hill).

He replied - "They brought them in on the old AA Ford, of course!" 6 tons on a 1 ton truck!!

When I expressed some amazement at the ability of the old Ford to carry the mills, Mick said, "You shoulda seen the tyres!! I was sure they was gonna bust!!" LOL

Cheers, Ron.