MITSUBISHI FUSO FE84D good for pulling 5er?

[sailbode1]

Instead of Dodge, GMC, or Ford pickup trucks, I'm wondering about a medium size cab and chassis from Izuzu, or volvo, or freightliner?
Any and all advise appreciated

[RobertRyan]

Benoit1967 wrote:
I looked on the Canadian website and it seems to me they have great payload but the torque out of the motors is not that great.... my 2011 F350 has 400hp and 800lb/ft of torque. I see 215hp...ok... but 452 pounds of torque...

I like the fact I would be driving in a 'class A' type of windshield but I don't like the numbers....

Most HDT Trucks have seemingly a lot less horsepower , but tow vast loads. One is a heavy cycle engine,versus a light cycle in the F350.
To do something similar or attempt to do the same thing, your F350 would be very much down rated.

[Benoit1967]

I looked on the Canadian website and it seems to me they have great payload but the torque out of the motors is not that great.... my 2011 F350 has 400hp and 800lb/ft of torque. I see 215hp...ok... but 452 pounds of torque...

I like the fact I would be driving in a 'class A' type of windshield but I don't like the numbers....

[RobertRyan]

Me Again wrote:
Setting over the front wheels is not the best place to get a good ride! There is a reason you do not see many of these truck for the service you are talking about.

Not in the US, but the only Truck type outside NA. Conventional Trucks are very very rare outside NA. Cabovers are the main Semi's used in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Modern Trucks have exceptional ride and handling characteristics.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

sailbode1 wrote:
Instead of Dodge, GMC, or Ford pickup trucks, I'm wondering about a medium size cab and chassis from Izuzu, or volvo, or freightliner?
Any and all advise appreciated

Lots of folks towing heavy trailers with MDTs and HDTs on forums dedicated to same -

MDT forum

HDT forum

~

[Me_Again]

Setting over the front wheels is not the best place to get a good ride! There is a reason you do not see many of these truck for the service you are talking about.

[RobertRyan]

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
The small Isuzu, Mitsubishi-Fuso, NPR, Hino, etc class 4 and 5 (GVWR's from 13,000-20,000 lbs) local delivery day-cab cabover trucks are typically underpowered, with small engines

Very much agree, these are mainly small delivery trucks. People use at least light mediums here for pulling 5vers

[Durb]

At one time I considered an Isuzu NPR box van to pull my bumper tow trailer. It seemed to make sense with the capacity and extra room afforded by the box. I went as far as to talk with dealers. They said no. The truck is designed for short haul and is geared so. They said I would be "that guy" going up grades at 30 MPH. They said my wife would hate it as the seats have about 2" of padding with minimal adjustability plus the noise is hard to escape. Fuel economy is good around town but poor at highway speeds. I test drove some and the dealers were right. It was fun to drive around town though.

[NC_Hauler]

SoCalDesertRider wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:
Only 2 people and only a 30' 5er?!? I know we say, " you can never have too much truck", but again, only 2 people and only a 30' 5er?? Heck get the biggest baddest semi cab you can buy......

I agree, he certainly doesn't NEED an MDT for that size trailer. But, he doesn't want a pickup and wants an MDT instead. Nothing wrong with that.

You are correct.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

NC Hauler wrote:
Only 2 people and only a 30' 5er?!? I know we say, " you can never have too much truck", but again, only 2 people and only a 30' 5er?? Heck get the biggest baddest semi cab you can buy......

I agree, he certainly doesn't NEED an MDT for that size trailer. But, he doesn't want a pickup and wants an MDT instead. Nothing wrong with that.

[Jim-Linda]

Not the truck you mentioned, but in searching for my first MDT, I got a Nissan UD cabover. The engine was a 6.9 turbo (1994), 6 speed with excellent exhaust brake. Ride was rough, later put bags on rear, helped some. Worst thing, being a cabover, the shifter was cable operated and funky. Wife hated it, but, you could start out in almost and lower gear with no problem. We ended up with FL60, Cat and Allison, still have it after 20 years.

Jim

[NC_Hauler]

Only 2 people and only a 30' 5er?!? I know we say, " you can never have too much truck", but again, only 2 people and only a 30' 5er?? Heck get the biggest baddest semi cab you can buy......

[SoCalDesertRid1]

The small Isuzu, Mitsubishi-Fuso, NPR, Hino, etc class 4 and 5 (GVWR's from 13,000-20,000 lbs) local delivery day-cab cabover trucks are typically underpowered, with small engines. They have good payload capacity for carrying cargo, good fuel mileage, good turning radius and maneuverability for downtown driving, which are all good attributes of a local delivery truck, but they don't have much power for towing a heavy trailer, especially in the mountains.

They are also not comfortable. The cabs are small and they are loud inside, with the engine right under the front seats.

The larger American conventional class 6-7 trucks from Freightliner (M2, FL60/FL70), International (4000-series) and Ford (F650/750) have much bigger and more powerful engines that have no problem pulling heavy trailers up mountain grades and have larger cabs for long trips. They're available with 4-door crew cabs with air cab, air seats and air rear suspension. The Internationals are available with 4wd too.

My International 4800 has the DT466 7.6L inline-6 diesel with 250 hp and 850 torque rating, with the Allison 3000 tranny with retarder. It's a great drivetrain with lots of power. The chassis is 33,000 GVWR with air brakes. It has a huge 4-door crew cab with air seats that makes my F350 crew cab's cab feel tiny. It also has 4wd. It doesn't have air cab or air rear suspension, which would be nice. Those things are available though.

[Veebyes]

Always wondered why these have not caught on for RV use in N America.

From a safety view the cabover style is dangerous but no different than any motorhome. It would make a good base to produce small class As. As a 5er hauler the only downside might be engine size. In the land of "bigger is better" a 4 cylinder diesel is not going to sell to many as long as fuel is dirt cheap.

[gmw_photos]

....but wait... I thought the OP said:

"looking for comfort" .... and ..... "considering Mitsubishi FusoFE84D"

Are you allowed to say both of those things in the same sentence ?? 🙂 😉