anyone using a GAS Isuzu NPR, GMC W4500, Chevy W4500?
- Thread starter Chris A
- Start date
Desk Jockey
Member
We have three Isuzu NPR's that are gas. They have been good trucks, just under powered when loaded down.
Of the the three 2- are WDR trucks and one is a Fire packout truck so no one spends extened time in them unless we are doing lots of water work. Not smooth riders, can't even tune the radio while moving, in fact I'm still missing my left nut from the last time I drove one.
You can see the road real well, parking is nice they turn real easy.
I personally couldn't see working out of them daily unless you like roller coaster rides.
Of the the three 2- are WDR trucks and one is a Fire packout truck so no one spends extened time in them unless we are doing lots of water work. Not smooth riders, can't even tune the radio while moving, in fact I'm still missing my left nut from the last time I drove one.
You can see the road real well, parking is nice they turn real easy.
I personally couldn't see working out of them daily unless you like roller coaster rides.
joeynbgky
Supportive Member
Nice looking trucks. I like the blue
John Buxton
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2006
- Messages
- 710
I had a diesel Izusu same chassis. Tight turns. rides like crap. My distibutor Advantage Marketing is building a bunch of these;
http://www.advantagerestoration.com/truck.shtml
http://www.advantagerestoration.com/truck.shtml
I have 3 diesels but did consider the 350 gas engine. The diesel will outlast it by 200K but when the diesel goes the truck is trash whereas when the gas engine goes it is cheap to replace. At this time they are the only truck for me. My last two were a cab and chassis for about 28K with a 5 year 100K bumper to bumper warranty. I had the box transferred from my old one for 500 bucks. Rough ride but easy to drive.
Al
Al
joe harper
Member
WOW...
We have the this 03...that rides great..!!! around 12 mpg..It rides much better than
our 07 NPR.. :? Yes, the deisel has more torque on the bottom end...but the EFI "gas"
will run 80 on the highway with no problem.. :shock:
Great looking trucks, CHAVEY.. :wink: The 350 engine is MUCH cheaper to work on
Parts & Labor...the 03 only has 86k on it...
Here is a couple of factors they may explain our differances of opinions....
The custom box on the 03..could balance the load better.."Richard carries a lot of weight"
We are in FL..."It is FLAT"
This unit..Has EXTRA heavy duty springs...The PC 805 is a FAT bitch...
The 03 is a 16ft.box /machine in the rear..
The NPR is a 12ft.box PC Everest mounted in the front..
We have the this 03...that rides great..!!! around 12 mpg..It rides much better than
our 07 NPR.. :? Yes, the deisel has more torque on the bottom end...but the EFI "gas"
will run 80 on the highway with no problem.. :shock:
Great looking trucks, CHAVEY.. :wink: The 350 engine is MUCH cheaper to work on
Parts & Labor...the 03 only has 86k on it...
Here is a couple of factors they may explain our differances of opinions....
The custom box on the 03..could balance the load better.."Richard carries a lot of weight"
We are in FL..."It is FLAT"
This unit..Has EXTRA heavy duty springs...The PC 805 is a FAT bitch...
The 03 is a 16ft.box /machine in the rear..
The NPR is a 12ft.box PC Everest mounted in the front..
steve g
Member
Doc Holliday said:We have three Isuzu NPR's that are gas. They have been good trucks, just under powered when loaded down.
Of the the three 2- are WDR trucks and one is a Fire packout truck so no one spends extened time in them unless we are doing lots of water work. Not smooth riders, can't even tune the radio while moving, in fact I'm still missing my left nut from the last time I drove one.
You can see the road real well, parking is nice they turn real easy.
I personally couldn't see working out of them daily unless you like roller coaster rides.
the last place I worked, it was in 2002 had trucks just like the ones above richard posted, I personally have over 100k miles of experience driving gas NPR trucks, the place I worked at had 5, they replaced a few as time went on, so I have driven models that ranged form 1992 the oldest to 2002, in all likely close to 10 different NPR's what I am saying is I have driven them extensively.
my opinion is they are the junkiest vehicle I can ever imagine. the 350 ci chevy while a great engine, sucks moving 12000 pounds around all the time, the motors will only last to at best about 110k after that they blew up, because you have to drive them wide open most of the time. the transmissions is another story, I personally never saw one last beyond 35k, it was pretty much like clockwork 35k and the trans was toast. I grenaded several rear ends as well, the reason being I would get stuck on ice or snow in the winter, and need to rock the truck back and forth, the spinning of only one wheel caused the spider gears in the rearend to explode. 2k later the rearend would be fixed. so even the rear ends are weak.
look at the interior panels and notice the gaps and just pathetic fit and finish of the interior, next grab the AC control slider you know the one that switches from defrost heater, or vents that blow in your face. move them back and forth semi quickly 10 times. I can almost guarantee this will brake something inside the dash if its not already broken, I don't care if the truck is new unless they have drastically changed things.
the other thing is don't plan on getting more than about 6.5 mpg with the gas engine, I checked all the trucks and they all got about the same mileage, We did have ONE diesel model it was a '92 model IMO this was the best truck, however the dipshit techs had no clue how to drive a diesel, they never cycled the glow plugs on starting, most people thought it was a smoky noisy truck, it would not accelerate as fast as the gas trucks, but it would run better out on the highway and best of all got about 16 MPG!!!!!!
ask yourself why did they keep buying NPR's well the owner was never around any of the trucks and never asked us what we thought of them. I once saw them spend 20k on a truck in repairs between 110k to 135k miles before finely they gave up on it. 2 engines, 3 transmissions and numerous other repairs. the owner isolated himself from the people actually doing the work and didn't have a clue as to how good or BAD the equipment was.
if you have to have a COE box truck like an NPR make darn sure its a diesel the diesel NPR's may be better trucks I think they might very well be, however if I was to want a COE truck I would look at UD or Mitsubishi. I never liked sitting in that beer can of cab, I can't imagine the trucks being very safe in a front collision. the only thing good I can say is the trucks are easy to drive and can be maneuvered easily.
joe harper
Member
DamN Steve... :!:
Could you attribute ANY of those problems to MAINTAINCE...or ..DRIVER ERROR... :roll:
Some guys an DesTrOY...a Sherman Tank.... :shock:
35k on the tranny would be warrantied... :!:
Look at the condition of CHAVEY's..units,They all look to be "Pre-06"...by the headlamps:wink:
Could you attribute ANY of those problems to MAINTAINCE...or ..DRIVER ERROR... :roll:
Some guys an DesTrOY...a Sherman Tank.... :shock:
35k on the tranny would be warrantied... :!:
Look at the condition of CHAVEY's..units,They all look to be "Pre-06"...by the headlamps:wink:
steve g
Member
HARPER said:
don't forget I wasn't the only guy driving the trucks so it couldn't have been all my fault
we were kinda hard on the trucks but myself being somewhat mechanically inclined and knowing what could or should break because of abuse, my verdict is still I would never own one,
Desk Jockey
Member
I remember Steve posting how hard he was on those trucks! Purposely hitting caution cones, taking his anger at his boss out on those poor trucks.
The cabs are as Steve describes, tin cans, our LCF Ford is a much better built truck.
Steve did have me worried about the tranny's years ago and I took then down to our transmission guy to see about putting coolers on them. He said they didn't need it, and he had never seen or heard of any problems with them.
He did say it could have been Steve's driving. :wink: OK he didn't, he said it might have been the mountains that caused Steve's troubles and since we are here in almost flat Kansas, we should not had any issues.
The cabs are as Steve describes, tin cans, our LCF Ford is a much better built truck.
Steve did have me worried about the tranny's years ago and I took then down to our transmission guy to see about putting coolers on them. He said they didn't need it, and he had never seen or heard of any problems with them.
He did say it could have been Steve's driving. :wink: OK he didn't, he said it might have been the mountains that caused Steve's troubles and since we are here in almost flat Kansas, we should not had any issues.
joe harper
Member
Doc Holliday said:I remember Steve posting how hard he was on those trucks! Purposely hitting caution cones, taking his anger at his boss out on those poor trucks.
The cabs are as Steve describes, tin cans, our LCF Ford is a much better built truck.
Steve did have me worried about the tranny's years ago and I took then down to our transmission guy to see about putting coolers on them. He said they didn't need it, and he had never seen or heard of any problems with them.
He did say it could have been Steve's driving. :wink: OK he didn't, he said it might have been the mountains that caused Steve's troubles and since we are here in almost flat Kansas, we should not had any issues.
They could have been those..."afTeR MaRkEt"...MoorMAN tranny's...
handdi
Supportive Member
always the first person to the crash also
