Wednesday, Mar 23, 2005 at 03:19
Hello,
The "Lone, or is it Last Ranger" here..... Look, I spent six years and a hundred thousand dollars battling this concept, and here is my experience....
I started by investigating the possibilities and talking to many Canter Owners over the years, as I thought of it as an upgrade from my stretched Landcruiser..
My decision based on the Isuzu or Canters was that it would work, but with a few caveats.... (My research cost a fortune, so here goes the results:)
1) I think you would have to be prepared to upgrade the truck suspension as the distance between the bump stops and chassis are not enough to keep it from bottoming out, or get air seats... You need a high lift arc on the springs, the right springs, and shocks, and it will be a bit of a trial and error to get it right.... Or the ruts will wear you out a bit... And, there is Driver Fatigue to contend with as they do drive like a truck.....
2) The flexible hitch set up, which you already know about, but is a problem..
3) The last three things are Power,
Power,
and Power..... I am afraid you will be slow, and the tendency is to load more on the bed of the Cantor or Isuzu with a big canopy and then you will be even slooooowweeeerr... Maybe an 18', but I think it might be a bit slow for 20'
Bushtracker and up.... Unless you greatly shorten the load on the truck... After a full engineering study for myself, considering a sleeper cab for the Cantor or Isuzu, and one run at building a custom Isuzu with a bigger engine that ended up a disaster and cost me $46,000....... (Don't ask) I abandoned the project and about five years ago bought an F-350 with a Dualcab, and canopy, 7.3 litre diesel, and definitely not slow... That has proven to be a success for many.
I spent two years with a Mid size truck, a Misubishi FM 517.... It had enough engine, but still drove loud, hard, and stiff, like a truck... Wear you out....
Not saying you can't do it or make a success out of it, but the only long term success stories have been with the next size larger trucks (and engines)... My current Mack Dual cab also has air seats for passenger and driver by Ordering it, and it gets Exxxy $ to do it this way... I had no choice... Try driving the Canter over a rough rutted out road for an hour or two.... See what you think then... Maybe they are better now... (hey look, there is another of those pigs flying by) Japanese trucks are not known for comfort....
Anyway, take it as just an opinion, from someone that spent a fortune chasing it for the last eight years....
Cheers from the last Texas Ranger Ha!
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