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Isuzu truck and an idea!!

3K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  Albemarle Lawn 
#1 ·
Tell me what you think of this idea. I have a large leaf truck (Chevy C50), a Chevy C2500 (standard 3/4 ton truck) and a 16ft trailer.

Now here is my idea. Get rid of both truck and buy a Isuzu NPR truck with dump bed. I would have a bed custom built for all this. In the summer I could load my mower onto the truck bed to haul mowers. In the spring and fall the bed would have sides I could put into place to form a box for collecting leaves and general cleanups. I would pull the trailer, with mowers loaded, in the spring and fall. Benenfits would be better gas mileage not have to haul a trailer and not having insurance on two different vehicles. I would still have my personal truck in case the NPR was down for any reason. Sure, there is some designing that need to be made for the bed, but I think it's a feasible idea. I load the leaves and debris with a leaf vacumm which will be mounted to the front of the truck. It is easily removable, as I have this setup already on my C50. I am guessing I can pick up a used NPR for around $12K and spend about $4K on the bed modifications.

Anyone running something like this?

Thanks
Matt
 
#4 ·
ive had 4 npr's in my trucking days in my fathers business, not a good truck, i have family in the diesel heavy duty truck repair business so let me give u some reasons why,
1. average life 200-250,000 miles (90% of the time it's cylinder issues)
2. cabovers use the most fuel
3. expect front end issues (suspension weekens, needs brakes more often then not)

heres a suggestion,
International w/ dt 466e motor (last forever)
Frieghtliner fl60
sterling (ford)
 
#6 ·
Clip on beaver tail so your ramp length is shorter.
I have a 1 ton Chevy that I built a flat deck for. I have a plywood leaf box that slides into the flatbed for quick on and off. It works great and your cab over would be about the same height off the ground. I do put my hoist up a little when using it for lawn mowers to lessen the angle for loading.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Brianslawn, I remember seeing thread when it was posted, but couldn't remember if it was on this site or another. I did have that truck in mind though. I had thought about having a beavertail similar to his, but non-hydraulic. I would not need to move it up & down enough to warrant the cost of hydraulics. I was just thinking I could jack it up and place some pins in it when I needed to use the bed as a box. Only thing wrong with that is when I would go to dump, the tail end would hit the ground before the bed would lift all the way. The box would be about 6' high, so that means the back gate would be that high and hope that that would give me the proper angle to unload the mowers. I would have designed in such a way that it would hinge at the bottom for summer use and then be able to hinge at the top when I wanted to use the bed as a box.

Nbsausage, when is wrong with a life span of a truck being 200,000-250,000 miles?
 
#9 ·
Mbsausage said:
ive had 4 npr's in my trucking days in my fathers business, not a good truck, i have family in the diesel heavy duty truck repair business so let me give u some reasons why,
1. average life 200-250,000 miles (90% of the time it's cylinder issues)
2. cabovers use the most fuel
3. expect front end issues (suspension weekens, needs brakes more often then not)

heres a suggestion,
International w/ dt 466e motor (last forever)
Frieghtliner fl60
sterling (ford)
MB

I have a couple of the NPR and have to second your post about them. There in fact two model NPR 12,000 GVW and 14,500 GVW the main differences is in the brake size and not suspension. The main reason for these two models is for insurance Issues. Since I have one of each I pay 25% more for the 14,500 GVW model. I love my Cab Overs but if give a chance would not of replace them with another. As far as Leave loading and mower Hauling goes I believe a One ton dually with extra long frame would fill the bill. If you are hauling weight yes a Commercial truck is the only way to go.
 
#10 ·
Ric said:
MB

I have a couple of the NPR and have to second your post about them. There in fact two model NPR 12,000 GVW and 14,500 GVW the main differences is in the brake size and not suspension. The main reason for these two models is for insurance Issues. Since I have one of each I pay 25% more for the 14,500 GVW model. I love my Cab Overs but if give a chance would not of replace them with another. As far as Leave loading and mower Hauling goes I believe a One ton dually with extra long frame would fill the bill. If you are hauling weight yes a Commercial truck is the only way to go.
Hey Ric, any idea what the curb weight is on those units?
 
#11 ·
walker-talker said:
Hey Ric, any idea what the curb weight is on those units?
Walker

Yes the 14,500 is a spray truck and has a lot of Fiberglass construction and three separate tanks Pumps and power hose reels. I only weighted it once at the State weight station totally tanked up at 12,500 lb me included.

The Landscape Dump is a real disappointment for heavy work. Being a 1995 model is is rated at 11,050 GVW. It's Tara is 8.750. That leaves only 2,300 lbs of legal weight and a yard of sand weights more. For Trimming shrubs which was it's main use the 14 yard dump bed was perfect. It also pulled a 20 ft enclosed a few times a week for doing landscape installs. BTW the 14 yard dump bed is build real Heavy duty and it has 10,000 lb hydraulic ram.

Pulling Weight is rated at 18,000 GVW and that is manufacture specs. The DOT goes by that. When I use 8,700 lb truck to pull a 8,000 lb Skid Steer on a 4,000 lb dump Trailer w/ ramps, I am running 2,700 lb over weight. Now start to add a few palm trees and I am pushing the 26,001 limit and be on. I have also hauled 2500 sq ft of Sod with it many times. I wouldn't even guess how much I was over loaded. CAN IT THE HANDLE THE WEIGHT??? My sure does and at 108,000 miles appears to just been broken in. I bough it in a company buy out deal with accounts and equipment. I really didn't have a chance to be picky about it. It is only a 5 speed geared very low and a top speed of 65 MPG. The 135 Hp diesel is weak as far as real power and speed. Which BTW can be an advantage with crews driving it. To me it gives a disappointing 12 MPG and when I talked with service manager about a possible fuel ejector overhaul, he said that was good mileage and why do it.

On the other side of the coin you can buy a F 450 diesel for a few pennies more and get 20 MPG and all the power you can handle. GVW will be close at 15,000 GVW but I believe the total towing is higher. With Fuel price's going up up up, this truck will be cheaper in the long run and more powerful.

I like driving the Cab Over and how they handle on the road as well as in tight areas. But if you have a lot of bad road, expect to hit you head on the roof every time you hit a big bump.
 
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