| Click to Post a New Message!
Page [ 1 ] |
|
|
|
Tundra needs sterioids
That's an interesting point, especially since both Toyota & Nissan ALREADY build a truck in that range, they just don't bring them all to North America.
Mind you a 'pickup truck' as we know it is a 'western wonder', they don't exist in most other markets, the important European && Asian markets wouldn't buy our style of truck, they are of no use in congested ares, they have to be cab-over style vehicles.
In that aspect Toyota (under the Hino badge) and Mitsubishi bring really nice units over here. Mitsubishi even has a 2, 3 or 5 ton class available in 4wd. I have spoken to a few landscapers who have them and they wouldn'n plow snow with anything else now. The visibility and turning radius are fantastic compared to a regular pickup.
We have a Hino 3 ton which is a 'baby tractor' for hauling equipment around, it has a turbo-charged, intercooled 6 cyl. that puts out only 200hp but has gobs of torque, it is mated to a really nice 6 speed (with o/d) tranny which is a full syncro unit. It pulls a 35' float loaded with 20,000 lbs of equipment around like nothing. It is a dream on the highway.
It doesn't hurt that it gets 14 mpg with a loaded float, 16-17 mpg with an empty float, and 18 mpg bobtail either.
Best of luck.
|
|
 Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Tundra needs sterioids
The following is offered only as a difference of opinion only, and NOT to be construed as antagonistic or of a personal slanderous nature.
Scott, people cant buy what isn't for sale.
You & I both live within a resonable distance of a 'big' city and probably have the choice of a dozen dealers of EACH of the 'big 3' truck makers. I would suggest that if there were that many Hino, Mitsubishi or Nissan Heavy truck dealers around the numbers would be very different.
Availability is critical to sales, that's why you don't see a Honda dealer in a small rural community, let alone one Honda dealer, one Toyota dealer, one Mazda dealer, one Subaru dealer and a Mitsubishi dealer for good measure. It is not uncommon however (around here anyways) to see two domestic dealers in a town of 1,000 people.
Just as with the recent Bombardier/JD alliance, it is easier to put someone else's name on it and put it their dealer's stores than to build a network from the ground up. The Chevrolet Corolla (Nova), the GM Samurai (Tracker) and Geo Aero (Firefly) are prime examples. In the medium truck market, the Mack Renault, Frieghtliner M.-Benz products, the GM (Hino) cab-forward, and the Brazilian Ford Cargo are just a few examples.
The consumer preference in North America for 'traditional' pickup trucks is best explained in two words, names actually, Henry Ford. That is what was invented first, that is what CREATED the market, and that is what still holds the biggest part of the market.
How many people say they blow their nose into a Facial Tissue, it's called a Kleenex, when you have a good breakfast you've 'had your Wheaties', and when you cut your finger you put on a Band-Aid not a "Eloastomeric Wound Dressing". In fact the Band-Aid is a good example of market saturation, so much so that the name is a now a term to describe something universally.
They build Japanese (or other nationality) 'pickups' with every bit as much power, capabilities and luxury as one of the Big 3 trucks.
I know because I have driven in some of them while overseas. In fact some of the best attributes of vehicles like Hummers came from foriegn offerings that have been in production forever. Talk about 4wd trucks outside of North America the words are Land Cruiser, Range Rover (wanna talk luxury) Unimog, Iveco and Mitsubishi.
They would laugh us silly if we showed up for a "safari" with an F-350.
Best of luck.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Tundra needs sterioids
When we were working in the islands on one particular job it was about 10 miles to our rented house. The developers were building a brand new resort on a remote peice of beach and wanted to start on the golf course early because they were using up the surplus fill from the foundation to build hills, etc.
The truck they gave us for the commute was a Nissan Patrol Wagon, it was basically a Japanese version of the old full-sized Jeep Wagoneer, it was huge. It was powered by an 4 liter inline 6 cylinder diesel, mated to a 4 speed standard, it also had diff. locks on both axles, and the speedo only went to 80 kmh. (50 mph.). A couple of the young kids joked about it until one particular trip to the site after an all night torrential rain storm. That thing rolled down the 'road' (and I use the term loosely) through muck and slop that was so deep it was coming up the doors at times. I doubt we ever topped about 10 mph, but it made it.
The other memorable thing about it was the air conditioning system, it was obviously built for a tropical climate, the truck had no heater, just AC, and boy did it work. When we picked it up the first thing they did was start the engine and flip on the AC to full out. After about 5 minutes of idling someone noticed frost accumulating on the windshield, considering it was above 90 out that was quite a feat.
Best of luck.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Tundra needs sterioids
The other point to consider is something we call the "full rule". The problem is it is far to tempting to fill something to capacity, whether it's our stomachs, trucks or a rented trailer.
If in this case we do a little thumbnail calculating here's the way it looks from the rental yards point of view. Let's say a dump trailer has a box which is 7' wide, 12' long and 4' deep (including side boards), that is 336 cubic feet, or the equivalent of a little more than 2.5 cords.
I don't know about the wood in your neck of the woods, but around here green hardwood is about 4 tons a cord. At that rate the trailer full would be about 10,000 pounds, if the trailer weighed another 2,000 pounds we're now up to a 6 ton load.
Things add up fast, I don't know how often I've seen a 1/2 ton with fresh cut wood heaped up above the box rails and the rear bumper almost dragging on the blacktop.
Best of luck.
|
|
Add Photo
Bookmarks: |
|
| |
|
Page [ 1 ] | Thread 67393 Filter by Poster:
5 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
|
()
Picture of the Day
05Gator
Unanswered Questions
Active Subjects
Hot Topics
Featured Suppliers
|
Gas Generator Weather Protecti
10-29-2003, 09:37 
Digg It 
Del.icio.us