Canter or Isuzu 4wd motor home

Hi gt

We have not owned either, but make the comment as follows:

I think the main difference would be in the ride compared to a modern 4wd. Some years ago we looked at a Winnebago mounted on a 4wd light truck (i think it was a Canter). One reason we did not like it was that the ride would be too harsh for my husband's back. There were other reasons with lack of storage space for things like spare tyres, fuel cans and tools, as well as the bunk up a ladder over the cab, but it was the ride that put the vehicle out of the question for us. We then purchased a Nissan Patrol for a ride that is easy on the back and towed with it. If they have improved the suspension, they could be a good choice - test drive and see. With a motor home i wouldn't expect you doing any serious or extreme 4wd stuff, so they should be suitable vehicles for outback touring.

Motherhen

gt, these vehicles are essentially (very good) light trucks with 4x4 added.
As Motherhen says, hard suspension is a feature that is most undesirable in an off road vehicle. That said, there are many out there taking happy campers to lots of great spots.
This company All Terrain Warriors dosome pretty good mods to fix those problems. They either replace leafe springs with longer ones, or even convert to coils all round. We saw this one on Fraser Island last year.


The other consideration is the very flexable chassis that complicates body mounting, but solutions to that are well known, but it makes the bed-over impractical.
We are obviously biased, but for us the OKA was a better choice, now proven after 5 years of touring. There is a conversion slideshow on this link, a general description of the camper and vehicle mods and slide shows of some of our trips. OKA196

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

If I had a choice of Canter or Isuzu, the Isuzu would win hands down. The build quality is better (although dearer), resale is better and the Canter and Dana diffs are prone to bending the Isuzu diffs aren't.

You can mod any suspension to suit yourself so that shouldn't be a decision maker as they are all a bit harsh. Super singles will give you a better ride than duals anyway.

Just make sure that the camper has a good mounting system allowing it to flex independently to the chassis.

A well set up truck will go anywhere a normal 4wd will go but make sure you have a big winch and snatch blocks!! a hilux won't pull you out. Both the Isuzu and Canter now have no spin rear diffs and factory lockers as options. The technology in the isuzu is way ahead of the canter (some may think that is a bad thing but mines can't kill them) and the canter transfer case is too noisy IMO for a modern truck.

Cheers
Dave

Member - Navigator 1 has just taken delivery of their Canter - customised for them in Midland, Perth. They brought it up to the Wiluna gathering, but are currently back in Perth. Perhaps you can touch base with them as I know they put a lot of energy into making this decision and have just gone through the whole converstion process.
Michelle

Hi gt

This is a Bushtracker custom built onto an Isuzu. We met up with them in Tasmania, and they were taking it up the mountain tracks.

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Mh

Yes Mh, I’m after something similar 2002 on, must have onboard shower.
gt