Cab over towing

[Serf Life]

Thinking about an older cab over as a next chip truck. Gvw of some of the the fuso and nqr/nrr style are adequate, how about real world towing? 8k lb chipper, some hills, sea level.
Couple examples:
1) 4.8i turbo 4cyl Izuzu NQR 17.8k gvw
2) 6cyl Fuso 18k gvw

Thanks!

 

[Tom Dunlap]

A while ago I was considering a similar setup as the base for an RV

There is thread with lots of good replies about how cab overs worked as chip trucks. A little creative searching should find the thread

 

[MA Arborist]

No problem towing our 8000 lb chipper (15xp)

1999 Mitsubishi 4 cylinder diesel

2017 Chevy LCF 8 cylinder gas (it’s the same as the Isuzu)

2020 Mitsubishi 16,500 gas

All cabovers

 

[Stumpsprouts]

Thinking about an older cab over as a next chip truck. Gvw of some of the the fuso and nqr/nrr style are adequate, how about real world towing? 8k lb chipper, some hills, sea level.
Couple examples:
1) 4.8i turbo 4cyl Izuzu NQR 17.8k gvw
2) 6cyl Fuso 18k gvw

Thanks!

I’ve driven a few different 4 cyl fusos, LOTS of hills, for a few years. Some stupid weight in the back at times, can be a little bit of a dog going up some hills but not bad. Their chipper was around 6500lb.

Here’s a funny photo of their three fusos sharing a chipper. Row of Bradfords.

The brand new Fuso was a total lemon. Model year 2018 I believe. Transmission (automatic) issues. Couldn’t tow a banana.

 

[Serf Life]

No problem towing our 8000 lb chipper (15xp)

1999 Mitsubishi 4 cylinder diesel

2017 Chevy LCF 8 cylinder gas (it’s the same as the Isuzu)

2020 Mitsubishi 16,500 gas

All cabovers

Nice, I read your posts in past threads and piqued my interest. I mostly have my 15xp on a 99’ f450 7.3 which is not fast but no issues in towing. You also said the Chevy gets 6mpg!?

 

[Serf Life]

Some stupid weight in the back at times, can be a little bit of a dog going up some hills but not bad

That seemed like the consensus, probably a lacking transmission is the week link. Perfect body style for tree work in tight spots.

 

[MA Arborist]

Nice, I read your posts in past threads and piqued my interest. I mostly have my 15xp on a 99’ f450 7.3 which is not fast but no issues in towing. You also said the Chevy gets 6mpg!?

Yea. 6mpg. Lucky for us most of our jobs are less than 20 minutes from the shop

 

[Fivepoints]

We have a 1992 fuso fh100 with the 5.0 diesel and a 5 speed. It has 270k on it. Runs like a top. Its a 17.2k gvwr truck. We have towed our bandit 990xp diesel with it with no issues. Also towed around a 4k tractor and mini skid quite a bit. It's not fast up hills with a heavy load but it does the job. Ours has an exhaust brake which is really nice. It just has a flat bed on it but we have haul tons and tons of logs on it. It gets around 10 mpg loaded and 14 mpg unloaded. I think it would do better if it had the 6 speed manual in it.

We basically dont use it anymore due to having trucks with dump beds. Two have to buckets with chip boxes, a grapple truck, and an f550 with a 12 ft dump on it. Im torn between selling it and putting a switch and go on it. It's not much more to tag and insure a 26k truck that I could put a sng on but we have this fuso and know its a great truck. Seems like it might be easy to overload it on accident.

 

[lumberjackson]

I've got a 2007 Isuzu FTR. 7.8 liter engine, 25,950 gvwr. I don't know a ton, but what I've gathered is that emissions standards on these class 6 trucks are pretty tight, so the engine is tuned down to barely over 200 hp. It runs great but it's a slug on hills fully loaded with a chipper.

Can't beat the visibility from the cab or turning radius on these things though. And awesome access to the engine and anything that might need to be worked on.

 

[Serf Life]

Big percentage of ‘98-2009 4x4 fuso manual transmission are for sale with “brand new clutch” etc. Overworked, bad transmission manufacturing?

 

[Bendroctanus]

I’ve driven a few different 4 cyl fusos, LOTS of hills, for a few years. Some stupid weight in the back at times, can be a little bit of a dog going up some hills but not bad. Their chipper was around 6500lb.

Here’s a funny photo of their three fusos sharing a chipper. Row of Bradfords.

The brand new Fuso was a total lemon. Model year 2018 I believe. Transmission (automatic) issues. Couldn’t tow a banana.

Was their rival “Fart Smeller” Treeworks?

 

[XTREEC]

Thinking about an older cab over as a next chip truck. Gvw of some of the the fuso and nqr/nrr style are adequate, how about real world towing? 8k lb chipper, some hills, sea level.
Couple examples:
1) 4.8i turbo 4cyl Izuzu NQR 17.8k gvw
2) 6cyl Fuso 18k gvw

Thanks!

I’m looking at a similar setup. Not easy to find decent used used ones outside of big cities. Definitely some with low GVWR too

 

[Stumpsprouts]

Was their rival “Fart Smeller” Treeworks?

The title has a way of implying the title holder is the farter, but really they could just be the fartee. These are the kinds of nuances we lose in this day and age..

FWIW these wonderful folks have switched to Isuzus in the past couple years, with no complaints.

 

[Treeaddict]

The title has a way of implying the title holder is the farter, but really they could just be the fartee. These are the kinds of nuances we lose in this day and age..

Referring to the ancient sage: whomever smelled it, surely dealt it.

 

[96coal449]

The only dislike I have over COEs, even though some are dogs, is the riders compartment being centered over the front springs. A necessary evil but, makes for a bad ride on rough roads.

 

[Bendroctanus]

The title has a way of implying the title holder is the farter, but really they could just be the fartee. These are the kinds of nuances we lose in this day and age..

FWIW these wonderful folks have switched to Isuzus in the past couple years, with no complaints.

You, sir, are an exemplary articulate fellow.

 

[Treeaddict]

I loved the Isuzu NPR cab over. Visibility and maneuverability were first class. I didn’t enjoy having to re situate the cab contents to check oil though.

 

[evo]

I have a Isuzu FRR, no re shuffling the cab for oil checks, but yes for tranny. It's a allison auto, and tows a 5K chipper. It's a slug trying to accelerate up hill, pulling the chipper empty, mostly the hill by my house where there is a stop sign.
I'd love a 4x4 fuso, but they are basically a one ton, and they seem to be very commonly equipped with snow plows. I hear plows are hell on front ends and transmissions. 4x4 fuso's are rare and over priced on this side of the rockies.

 

[southsoundtree]

A 4x4 cabover with a full-width tool box is what I'm after. Could be a small as a one-ton, but ton and a half would be better.

With my small service area and rare chip hauling, onsite or offsite, I wouldn't be bothered with more frequent dumping.

 

[evo]

A 4x4 cabover with a full-width tool box is what I'm after. Could be a small as a one-ton, but ton and a half would be better.

With my small service area and rare chip hauling, onsite or offsite, I wouldn't be bothered with more frequent dumping.

yup, I'm actually thinking of a flat bed Fuso 4x4. Sumthin like 14,5K gross. It would be bad ass with a PTO air compressor for airspade with enough bed space for the mini, and slapping on my aluminum dump insert for hauling compost or chipping small quantities into with my lil 2,500 lbs chipper. If I ever find one that will be my pickup replacement.