We bought the FG from Don and Kim Greene a year ago. They have pictures somewhere on this site and on their site at www.questconnect.org
Remount camper
- Thread starter garybo
- Start date
off-roader
Expedition Leader
I guess the mods are busy?!?:snorkel:
Gary: Sorry for the delay. It took me a minute to realize that this was still in the wrong spot. I thought another admin had moved it.
So, I think it is now in the right spot.
Thanks
D
So, I think it is now in the right spot.
Thanks
D
westyss
Explorer
Forgot the site for the Atego
http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/con...e/atego/Atego/facts/specification_sheets.html
http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/con...e/atego/Atego/facts/specification_sheets.html
Just finished Overland Expo. Special thanks to Lance Gillies of EarthCruiser who looked at my mounting situation, then gave this advice: remove the just welded on c channel plates and grind totally smooth any residual welded areas. The plates prevent normal flexing and twisting the frame requires. Don't weld anything inside any frame c channel. Thanks also to long time Fuso camper owners Lehel Garami and Brian James agreed and said to forget about the dented in c channel, torque it down and go have fun! Congratulations to Lehel for running the obstacle course proving just what a Fuso can do!
whatcharterboat
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Hi Gary
What an awesome weekend. I went down to your truck to say hi but nobody was home. I guess the truck I saw that was on the Toyos was Lehel's.
It was good to see both trucks anyway.
Regards John
What an awesome weekend. I went down to your truck to say hi but nobody was home. I guess the truck I saw that was on the Toyos was Lehel's.
It was good to see both trucks anyway.
Regards John
Last edited:
Tomorrow I'll get the plates un-welded. I got some other advice at the expo: after I un-weld the plates, I was told it is acceptable to leave the plates in place, just not welded on, or I could put in oak wood blocks as a substitute for the plates. Either of these would be simply to "prevent" the c channel from bending further from the u bolts.
Also no comment yet here about the amount of torque for the u bolts. I'm at 75ftlbs. Perhaps flat bed trailers have an average amount of torque to hold on the bed?
Let the thoughts fly!!
Also no comment yet here about the amount of torque for the u bolts. I'm at 75ftlbs. Perhaps flat bed trailers have an average amount of torque to hold on the bed?
Let the thoughts fly!!
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Gary,
It was good to meet you in person at the show. I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together discussing this challenge.
First, it is very, very important to remember that an FG, such as Lehel's, that has a flatbed U-bolted to the frame, is not the same as your truck. That flatbed provides a very strong and significant stiffening component to the FG frame, dramatically limiting the flex that is an inherent part of the FG's frame design.
The FG frame flexes a *lot*, even when exiting a driveway, much less over real off-road obstacles. If you have anything rigidly bolted to the frame, all the flexing forces are being taken by whatever is rigidly bolted to the frame. In your case, that is your camper box. Don & Kim built a strong camper box, and, up to now, it has been up to the task of absorbing those forces. The bending you see in your frame may be the result of those forces.
The absolute best way to mount a payload to an FG is the Ozzie method pioneered by All Terrain Warriors and later adopted by Lance's company. It's the same basic design used to mount milk and other tanks to straight trucks like your Fuso.
The advantage to the Ozzie payload mount for your FG is that it distributes the weight of the payload down the entire length (longitudinal dimension) of the frame, while allowing the frame to flex at will.
Up to the limit of its travel, the Ozzie payload mount design prevents the FGs frame flex being put into the payload. In this case, put into your camper.
Lastly, even though it is a tempered frame, it is OK to weld on the FG frame, but only within specified dimensions and places.
The information you need to do this properly is in the attached excerpted Fuso documents that detail how to properly modify an FG frame, including how to properly weld on the frame.
Excerpted Fuso FG84DE6 body builder's docs: http://www.hackneys.com//mitsu/docs/Fuso-FG-frame-mod-pages.pdf
Please note these body builder documents are *not* for your generation Fuso, they are for ours, which is one generation newer than yours. You may be able to download the body builders documents for your generation FG from the Mitsubishi web site, which is where these pages came from. The general principles will be the same.
Doug
It was good to meet you in person at the show. I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together discussing this challenge.
First, it is very, very important to remember that an FG, such as Lehel's, that has a flatbed U-bolted to the frame, is not the same as your truck. That flatbed provides a very strong and significant stiffening component to the FG frame, dramatically limiting the flex that is an inherent part of the FG's frame design.
The FG frame flexes a *lot*, even when exiting a driveway, much less over real off-road obstacles. If you have anything rigidly bolted to the frame, all the flexing forces are being taken by whatever is rigidly bolted to the frame. In your case, that is your camper box. Don & Kim built a strong camper box, and, up to now, it has been up to the task of absorbing those forces. The bending you see in your frame may be the result of those forces.
The absolute best way to mount a payload to an FG is the Ozzie method pioneered by All Terrain Warriors and later adopted by Lance's company. It's the same basic design used to mount milk and other tanks to straight trucks like your Fuso.
The advantage to the Ozzie payload mount for your FG is that it distributes the weight of the payload down the entire length (longitudinal dimension) of the frame, while allowing the frame to flex at will.
Up to the limit of its travel, the Ozzie payload mount design prevents the FGs frame flex being put into the payload. In this case, put into your camper.
Lastly, even though it is a tempered frame, it is OK to weld on the FG frame, but only within specified dimensions and places.
The information you need to do this properly is in the attached excerpted Fuso documents that detail how to properly modify an FG frame, including how to properly weld on the frame.
Excerpted Fuso FG84DE6 body builder's docs: http://www.hackneys.com//mitsu/docs/Fuso-FG-frame-mod-pages.pdf
Please note these body builder documents are *not* for your generation Fuso, they are for ours, which is one generation newer than yours. You may be able to download the body builders documents for your generation FG from the Mitsubishi web site, which is where these pages came from. The general principles will be the same.
Doug
Last edited:
Thanks Doug for the time and expertise. I've read and saved the Fuso frame Builder's document even though it's not my generation Fuso.
Thanks also to Brian for pointing out that the upper plates are not welded to the truck frame but rather to the camper frame.
The Builder's doc allows hard wood or non welded steel "spacers" in the c channel at the u bolt area to prevent bending of the c channel.
This is my immediate plan:
1. Tomorrow I'll have the welded plates removed, smooth the steel and put in spacers at these same areas.
2. Investigate the die spring mount used by All Terrain Warriors and EarthCruiser. This type mount is public domain, where to place the mount is proprietary- Fuso engineering might be helpful and Unicell, the camper box builder might be helpful.
3. Since we're overweight and unfortunately going to stay that way, look into additional leaf springs for my weight. (We can decrease our weight but not enough to get under 12000 lbs).
Thanks also to Brian for pointing out that the upper plates are not welded to the truck frame but rather to the camper frame.
The Builder's doc allows hard wood or non welded steel "spacers" in the c channel at the u bolt area to prevent bending of the c channel.
This is my immediate plan:
1. Tomorrow I'll have the welded plates removed, smooth the steel and put in spacers at these same areas.
2. Investigate the die spring mount used by All Terrain Warriors and EarthCruiser. This type mount is public domain, where to place the mount is proprietary- Fuso engineering might be helpful and Unicell, the camper box builder might be helpful.
3. Since we're overweight and unfortunately going to stay that way, look into additional leaf springs for my weight. (We can decrease our weight but not enough to get under 12000 lbs).