What's it like to live with one of these?

One of the smallest shortest one of these.

4 cylinder turbo diesel with a ford-GM-etc. box on the back. Do they ride harsh, is diesel a pain to live with?

Thank you, Dan

It is nice to know I am not the only one who wants an NPR. Dump runs, car hauling.....what couldn't it do?

ANYTHING with a live/solid rear axle is going to be difficult to live with. It's one of the things keeping me from buying another Ranger. Diesel? A lot depends on where you live. I am surprised to see diesel pumps in most places, nowadays. However, when I ran down to Fl. and spent a few days there, well, it wasn't a case of seeing the diesel pump everywhere, unless I REALLY looked for it.

Some folks find driving "cab over engine" or "cab forward of engine" designs a bit disconcerting to drive. Theyy can take a few minutes adjustment. I've never driven one of these in the wet, and unloaded, so that would be the second thing I'd wonder about...after the hard/harsh ride.

I haven't driven much in the way of NPRs, but having logged 75k miles or so in the shortest Fuso you could buy in the late '90s, I'll jot you a quick rundown.

Hot Loud Fumey SLOW!!!

That being said, the SWB versions handle far better than what should be possible.

integraguy wrote: ANYTHING with a live/solid rear axle is going to be difficult to live with. It's one of the things keeping me from buying another Ranger. Diesel? A lot depends on where you live. I am surprised to see diesel pumps in most places, nowadays. However, when I ran down to Fl. and spent a few days there, well, it wasn't a case of seeing the diesel pump everywhere, unless I REALLY looked for it. Some folks find driving "cab over engine" or "cab forward of engine" designs a bit disconcerting to drive. Theyy can take a few minutes adjustment. I've never driven one of these in the wet, and unloaded, so that would be the second thing I'd wonder about...after the hard/harsh ride.

I'm sorry, but this cracks me up. It's a truck. It will pretty much ride and drive like a truck. I don't think the OP's intent is to autocross it. (Is it?)

Since I already have all the truck I need, the only thing I want an NPR for is the intercooler, which I hear will work for a front-mount in my RX-7.

But it looks like it would make a very fine truck. And diesel is the way to go.

I sold a bunch of them, very good local alternative to the 350/3500 and up box trucks.

Go to your nearest Budget or Penske Rental place and try one out for a day.

I have driven the NPRs.. yes, the Diesel Fours are slow... even turbocharged. But then, most diesel box trucks are slow.

They handle quite nicely for what they are and will easily pick up two of the rear wheels in a hard corner. Turning radius is incredible when you first crank it over.. the front wheels practically turn sideways, which is a benefit when backing a box into a small dock,

They are a little bouncy, especially when unloaded, but as all the weight/cargo bearing is done by the back axle (you did centre your load over the rear axle, right?) it is not harsh. If it really bothers you, find one with an air ride seat.. but make sure the seatbelts are bolted to the seat, and not the floor (a lot are and the lap belt will try to cut you in half)

Any specific questions.. send me an message or ask them here.. I logged a LOT of miles in NPRs, Fusos, and Iveco small trucks. To be exact, I have often said if I were to buy a 5th wheel travel trailer, I would get the big brother to the NPR to pull it.

What kind of MPG's do these pull down?

I've thought about one.. but always wondered if they really do much better than a 1/2 or 3/4 ton pulling a trailer or with a roll back.

They are uncomfortable and ride harshly, but are ultra mega cool. I'd like a NPR with the 6 speed manual and 4wd if it's no trouble.

Got no experience driving them but according to fleet customers they are the toughest thing on wheels, which is why you see so many of them around. 350k miles is just getting broken in good. I had a wholesale veggie company with about 20 of them, and the fleet manager told me 'anything that a minimum wage 20 year old driver can't tear up is damn tough'. Most of his were around 500k and still going strong.

I drove stake bed and dump bed versions of these a bunch in my mid teens, I tried like hell but couldn't break them.

miliage will be low teens.. it all depends on if you have a box, flatbed, or stakebody.. weight does not seem to make much of a difference to a diesel truck.

I do remember seeing one of these at the local Isuzu dealer with an LT1 in it in place of the Diesel 4.. it was a way cool demonstrator truck (their head sales guy drove it all over creation)

Lots of them were available with the old school SBC up to as recent as 2003 I think. As soon as I find a decent deal on a crew cab one with a dead motor I'm going to drop one of my extra 5.3Ls in it and drive the heck out of it.

That or make my own out of a 1/2 ton truck and the front and rear ends of a VW van with fender flares....

A while ago the FMIC in those was considered the 'hot' part to swap into things like DSMs and Supras.

integraguy wrote: ANYTHING with a live/solid rear axle is going to be difficult to live with. It's one of the things keeping me from buying another Ranger.

Dude, seriously? My Turbobrick seems to like it just fine. If it's nice enough for a faux luxury wagon, I am pretty sure it won't negatively affect the drive-ability of a giant hauling rig.

honestly, if you are going to haul thousands of pounds for thousands of miles, every week.. a solid rear axle is the way to go. Simple, sturdy, and honestly, they never go out of step.

You have to remember, a lot of these trucks (maybe not the NPR) also have solid front axles as well. They are built for serious duty (not just heavy duty) work. Maybe IRS and IFS would ride better.. but you would lose tonnage.

Old tech works well.. and there is NO reason to change it in this market segment.

Car hauling, you say? Stumbled on this, hotlinked of course...

When I started a commercial cleaning company years ago we got the box truck version. My partner has never owned another car since. So, must be great for some. I personally hated driving it with a passion, but loved the fact everything fit in the back and was protected.

"A while ago the FMIC in those was considered the 'hot' part to swap into things like DSMs and Supras" And they were normally stolen from a truck companies yard. MANY examples of that.

Had one when I managed Aaron's and one before that at Rent-A-Center (gas 5.7L V8)

The diesel wasn't too bad. Run about 78. Watch for speed bumps for you will need back surgery afterwards.

be wary of unmaintained ones. I have seen several with blown motors and they are $$$$ to rebuild or replace.
Remember that the NPR is also a W4 in GM parlance.

As I understand make sure that you get one that is geared for the highway. The ones geared for in-town rev like crazy at highway speeds.

The GMC versions are nicer than the Isuzus.. the chevy versions are the cheapest of the lot and should be avoided.

The company I used to work for had aN NPR, and a W7 (the 25,995 lb version) and a big mack truck front box truck that took two counties to turn around in. While the Mack was nice.. I enjoyed the W7 more than the other two.

The other thing nobody has mentioned.. the view out the front is wonderful. Everybody who ever rode with me (family, friends, and girlfriends) were enthralled with the view out the front.

mad_machine wrote: The company I used to work for had aN NPR, and a W7 (the 25,995 lb version) and a big mack truck front box truck that took two counties to turn around in. While the Mack was nice.. I enjoyed the W7 more than the other two.

I don't know how smal the smallest ones are, but in my State over 17,999 requires a CDL.

Dan

My only experience was driving an Iveco diesel, no turbo. Good gawd was that thing slow. Throttle had two positions: off and floored. Riding in front of the axle is freaky. The diesel was noisy in a deafening-at-60 way. I'm sure the modern Japanese ones are better (and you can probably still get parts for them) but I didn't fall in love.