Jump to content

Oddball 4x4 (6x6?)


Derek up North

Recommended Posts

I have basically the same truck. 1985 Isuzu PU'P diesel 4WD. Same as Chevy rebadged as the LUV. Rugged but gutless. Would be horrible with a Chinook body on it unless used only in flatland and slow. The 2.2 diesel has substantially less power then the Toyota 2.2 gas engine.

100_2728-3_zps07d3dca3.jpg

100_1648-3_zpse983aa65.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Derek,

This sure is a rare one like no other.

Do you have any idea about the axles? Duelly's plus tag axles?

Do you have any idea who the coach manufacturer is? Is it an odd name, kind of like "Buick" in Canada used to be named "Duick"?

-Riverman77

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Derek,

Just for my curiousity, do they still call a "Buick" a "Duick" up in Canada? I do remember some odd name changes like that, a long time ago, when I used to travel up into Canada. Maybe they don't need to do name changes like that anymore.

-Riverman77

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When we traveled by camp trailer from Vancouver BC to Montreal for Expo '67, every (older) Buick that I saw was called a Duick. Maybe it was a very old 1960's thing that GM did to import Buick's into Canada.

I have heard of Acadian, Beaumont & Parisienne and they do "sound" like Canadian translated names. Thanks for the reply.

-Riverman77

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Derek,

It's a long shot but the front buckets and fabric pattern are identical to mine. Think it could be a "Champion" mfg ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When we traveled by camp trailer from Vancouver BC to Montreal for Expo '67, every (older) Buick that I saw was called a Duick. Maybe it was a very old 1960's thing that GM did to import Buick's into Canada.

-Riverman77

I'm afraid the only variant of the Buick name in Canada that I can think of is the "McLaughlin-Buick". But I doubt that even in 1967 you'd have seen many (any?) on your cross-country trip to Expo. The only one I've ever seen was in a museum in Oshawa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaughlin_automobile

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Derek,

That was a long time ago and maybe my memories of our first trip up north could be failing.

I do remember being very excited about checking out all of the differences between our two different countries.

Perhaps the "Duick" was purely made up in my brain of a young, over-active child.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Until now, I always thought that there were "Duicks".

-Riverman77

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Riverman77,

You might have just seen the dealers name on a Buick.

Vancouver GM Dealer: DueckGM.com

GM Canada Dealer

Dueck GM is proud to be the largest GM dealership in Canada. Not only do we provide a wide selection of new GM vehicles, consisting of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Callaway, we provide an exceptional selection of pre-owned vehicles. We are a complete dealership- meaning we not only sell vehicles, we are well-equipped for servicing, accessorizing, and financing. We take the time to find YOU the right vehicle, payment plan and service schedule that caters to your lifestyle and automotive needs. When it comes to cars- weve got you covered!

Established in 1926, Dueck GM is one of the true stalwarts of the Vancouver automobile industry. This longevity is due to Duecks commitment to three simple words: Selection, Value and Trust.

Just a thought... :)

Andrew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reply to Andrew:

You are absolutely correct! Thank you for chiming in with "Dueck" (not Duick). Just about the time that I was begining to think I was simply imagining things or my childhood brain was inventing some new car names, you come to the rescue with the facts of the Dueck Company. This was a half a century ago and I couldn't tell you if we were closer to Vancouver BC or Montreal but, I do remember seeing a lot of cars that had the Dueck Motors chrome emblem slapped onto them. Thanks again!

PS What kind of car is a Callaway? Does it have some kind of translation into an American vehicle?

-Riverman77

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CHAMPION i live in a CHAMPION DOUBLE WIDE MANUFACTURED HOME bought new in 1995 at one time they did make moterhomes i have seen some old ones MY HOUSE WAS MADE IN THEIR WESIER IDAHO plant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's another 'tag axle MH (Vader).

Not the greatest pictures, but I think the 'Chief Designer' was Rube Goldberg, assisted by Michael Mouse.

- 3rd axle appears to be supported by quarter elliptic springs cantilevered off the 2nd axle springs. I guess they had little choice since there's no solid frame aft of the 2nd axle's rear spring hanger;

- 3rd axle is located laterally by some brackets hanging down from the frame, rubbing against the quarter elliptic springs. A Panhard Rod or Watts Linkage would be better;

- The 3rd axle shocks are at an extremely shallow angle. Barely effective compared to a shock mounted vertically. Again, I guess they had little choice since there's no solid frame aft of the 2nd axle's rear spring hanger.

These are the only pictures I've found of how the tag axle is attached. I've no idea how different (or better or worse) other supplier's attempts were. However, given that everyone stopped offering the 'solution' I've got to question if they were an improvement (in handling or load carrying) or just a gimmick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhard_rod

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt%27s_linkage

post-3557-0-34120100-1358790779_thumb.jp

post-3557-0-08937600-1358791273_thumb.jp

post-3557-0-89187000-1358791377_thumb.jp

post-3557-0-17524000-1358791503_thumb.jp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CHAMPION i live in a CHAMPION DOUBLE WIDE MANUFACTURED HOME bought new in 1995 at one time they did make moterhomes i have seen some old ones MY HOUSE WAS MADE IN THEIR WESIER IDAHO plant

I had two Champion Class A motorhomes on Dodge running gear. 1972 and a 1973. Both had 318 commercial engines (not standard car enginees) and Torque-Flite transmissions. In northern Michigan, there are small public transit busses that are Champions with diesel engines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Derek,

You certainly have the knack pulling up some of the coolest facts. You had questioned, on the short lived tag axle 'solution', if it was nothing much more than a gimmick or not. I can remember reading an (old) sales brochure of a MH with the tag axle. It was 'boasting' the new year's model with the 'super-duper', state of the art tag axle. As I scrolled down to read the specifications, the max GVW was really pathetic...something like 4650 lbs. (sorry, I can't remember exactly the spec.). My thinking is that back then, the various coach building manufacturers were just starting to realize that they were building them too heavy and needed to quickly re-engineer the rear suspension. And, this tag axle re-design, lasted only about 1 or 2 years as a knee jerk panic in the various engineering departments, until the floating axle design finally became the correct fix to such an overloaded unit. P.S. Your photos and information were quite clear.

Edit: Turns out that you posted a similar Dolphin brochure (on 1-9-13) that I had once read.

-Riverman77

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought the tag axle Toyhouse was a single wheel on each of the rear axles. It appears as if the main drive axle has a fake dully on it.

Linda, that the shock also caught my eye, it doesn't look like there is a lot of structeral frame work beind the main rear axle, so they took it to the main truck frame.

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought the tag axle Toyhouse was a single wheel on each of the rear axles. It appears as if the main drive axle has a fake dully on it.

Linda, that the shock also caught my eye, it doesn't look like there is a lot of structural frame work behind the main rear axle, so they took it to the main truck frame.

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

It's possible that some makes have single wheels on axle #2. It's never easy to actually see in the pictures. But what I can say is that I've never noticed the axle #2 wheels not being 'out' near the MH wall. Single wheels on a standard 1/2-Ton axle would be 'buried'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... I scrolled down to read the specifications, the max GVW was really pathetic...something like 4650 lbs.

The '79 Dolphin 300 (Tag Axle) brochure lists a GVWR of 4650lbs (as you remembered). The '79 Dolphin 500 (no Tag Axle) lists a GVWR of 4600lbs! I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb in guessing that adding a tag axle added more than 50lb to the 'dry' weight, so the payload was probably decreased!

Hmmm. Looking at the '79 Dolphin 500 brochure, I notice the rear tire size is listed as L 60 x 14". Unfortunately, no mention of the rim width, but most certainly a single rear wheel with lots of offset (deep-dish).

The '79 Dolphin 300 Tag Axle brochure says (for tires): "7.50 x 14 x 6-ply ... All around." This (to me) implies that axle 2 has dual wheels.

I'm having trouble attaching files to posts this AM. Might attach the documents later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...