Cabover Haulers

NC_Mog

NC_Mog

Eurotrash Driver
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Location
Apex, NC
Anyone got experience with cabover Class 4-ish trucks? Fuso, Isuzu, Ud, etc. Just thinking outside the box regarding a truck that could haul an offroad rig on a flat bed in lieu of using a 3/4 or 1 ton truck and trailer.

What kind of mileage does one get unloaded and loaded near the GVWR? Driveability when fully loaded? Are they still mechanically injected? Reliability?
 
I dont know what class it was but I used to drive one on a vending route and to deliver vending machines. I love those trucks. They turn on a dime. They get decent gas milage and ride pretty good loaded or not.
 
I am most familiar with the Isuzu NPR class 4 and 5 trucks, 4cyl 4.8L and 5.2L Duramax ('03 newer) They were also available with SB chevy (R code 5.7L) gas engines and currently with LSx 6.0 gas engines using 4L80e trans ( early models had issues with busting the bell housings)

They get decent mileage for what they are, they ARE NOT power houses, you won't go anywhere fast when loaded. They ride like crap when not loaded.

buying one used, beware, they have been USED HARD and had minimum of maint. They are "supposed" to have a valve adjustment periodically, it rarely if ever happens, though if it does, they sound and run SO much better. ( stupid easy to do, but you can't convince the owners it's a needed service)

The ones I am most familiar with have the Zexel injection pump, unfortunatly I never got to play with 'em other than when doing a full on engine build (not cheap)

The 5.2L Dmax engines were/are common rail using a Bosch injection pump. VERY reliable.

The engines are a timing nightmare, the rear of the engine looks like the insides of a clock with all the gears running the injection pump and cam.

IF you happen to loose a boost hose, it's DOA, won't get out of it's own way on level ground, worse if loaded.

the Autos and manual trans behind the diesels are Aisin if I remember right.

wierd size tires, especially steer tires

Honestly, if you are looking for a vehilce hauler, go up a bit and get a 6-7 series Isuzu, 7.8L engine is damn near bullet proof, though still pretty repair intensive if there becomes an issue.

The 4.8/5.2/7.8 engines are related in design, but just different enough that you can't use parts cross platform.

All are dry sleeve engine blocks, so a rebuild is reasonably doable as long as block is good, head is iron and rebuildable

You CANNOT get the engines as a complete assy from the factory ( I'm sure there are rebuilders that do ) must be ordered piece by piece and ain't cheap ( the one I quoted was $15k with labor)
 
My dad had a 96 NPR for his bread route had it about 6 year with little or not problems other then regular maint. had about 185K on it when he sold it then got a newer one with the 6.0 much faster take off and better on fuel also the 96 had 16" rims the newer ones have 19.5 so tires are higher on the newer ones also
 
Stay away from the mitzus, If you ever need a motor or motor parts grab you ankles. I was looking at a npr cheap cheap, but had a hole in the block. Just a short block was 9600.00 from the dealer and none could be found and found cheap.
 
pirate had a thread on these recently. personally, i don't think they're a good idea. maybe for local stuff, but not for longer trips.
 
RufusTheRam said:
pirate had a thread on these recently. personally, i don't think they're a good idea. maybe for local stuff, but not for longer trips.
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I'm thinking the same thing. I saw the Pirate thread.

It seems like a better approach if one wanted to haul versus tow is to get a Freightshaker FL60 or FL70, or International with a flat bed and added dovetail. You can get a Detroit, Cat, Cummins, or Mercedes under the hood with a manual behind it. Some of those cabovers are running autos which I would shy away from if they have high miles.

All of this though is out of the box thinking for me. I doubt I can get much better than my '03 Dodge with trailer...all of which is paid for and I've owned since new. While the cost of fuel as a daily driver is not great, the lack of a payment makes up for a lot of fuel.
 
Speaking of which, I found this pic in my Mog collection. It's a 406 Mog on the back with a Haflinger (smaller brother to the Pinz) on the trailer.
 

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Oh yea! Your leg will ache for a week after driving a NPR for more than an hour on the interstate. You have to hold it to the floor to stay at speed limit!
 
It seems like a better approach if one wanted to haul versus tow is to get a Freightshaker FL60 or FL70, or International with a flat bed and added dovetail. You can get a Detroit, Cat, Cummins, or Mercedes under the hood with a manual behind it.
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definitely the way to go. i've got an international toterhome with a 350hp cummins m11 and an eaton fuller 9 speed. not much slows it down, 70-75mph all day is no problem.
 
my family had an isuzu cabover with 1,000,000 miles + on it. ran great and turned on a dime. I wish we had kept it around. that thing was fun to drive.

check out landscapers in your area. they have the ones with a 4' dovetail in the rear. perfect for one rig and still decent mpg.
 
My company wants to get rid of this and I thought about buying it and making a roll back out of it.
truck1.jpg

No inspection in the past 3 years so I took it to the chevy dealer for one. It didn't pass due to the rear tires are almost bald. 185/70r15.5 tires, special order at $180 a pop! I talked to the service guys and asked them if it would make a good jeep hauler. With a 11K lbs gross vehicle limit I'd be at its maximum capacity. With 200K on the clock she's probably slooow. It's got a 4 liter turbo diesel that runs fine. the Auto tranny has some issues however. Doesn't like to shift into the next gear always. Anyway I decided not to buy it. BTW Liability insurance from Nationwide on this was a mere $170 for 6 months.
 
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