I see quite a few old buses and truck converted to campers. But this one was a bit different, in several ways. Starting with the chassis, which is a Ford Cargo, the COE truck that (tried to) replaced the nigh-near immortal C Series. The Cargo was built in Brazil, no less, and Ford soon ceded a chunk of the market that it had once practically owned.
What intrigued me when I first saw it was how short the body was, in relation to the wheelbase. Somebody doesn’t like overhangs. Or windows.
It wasn’t until I crossed the street and got closer that I noticed the fifth wheel hitch. Aha!
It’s set up to haul another camper, presumably. The registration is for a “House Car”, or whatever HC stands for in Oregon.
These Cargo trucks (out of focus here) have become quite scarce. In fact, there’s more C series trucks still around then these.
These were strikingly modern when they first came out in 1981. In the UK they replaced the facelifted D series (originally introduced in 1965) but because of the Iveco takeover of the heavier Ford commercial range in 1986 they had a relatively short life here and were replaced by the more conventional looking Eurocargo in 1993. Still, for a good time they remained very common, but like their contemporary Transits, rust saw most of them off by about a decade ago. There’s an updated version still made in Turkey.
That’s certainly an unusual fifth wheel position!
I wonder what kind of motor they used in these? Diesel or petrol?
Diesel presumably the same inline 6 made in Brazil by Ford that found its way into the MD versions of the F-series this era.
The Brazilian Ford was most common, you could also get a C series Cummins in later ones. At least you could in the Freightliner badged version.
Interesting re-use of a commercial vehicle. These were a very poor truck and a sorry replacement for the original Ford C series.
Sounds like a Mopar F-body style of inexplicably full redesign, and Ford would’ve been a lot smarter to import only the cabs, keeping the C-series chassis and drivelines intact under the more modern styling.
Maybe even give it a silver eggcrate grille like every other ’80s Ford truck.
Ford Brazil 6.6 and 7.8 diesels, mostly. They were originally tractor engines from New Holland, and were used in not only the Cargo, but the class 6-7 F-600 through F-800.
Saw a later Freightliner or Sterling version in USPS livery being towed on the highway a couple of days ago.
A local construction company has one of these, with a street sweeper on it IIRC. I wondered about its origin.
Unusual fifth wheel setup it obviously tows something light, Very few of these Ford Cargos still on active duty here they replaced the long running D series but in turn were replaced with a rebadged Nissan and other cabover Japanese brands have their roles now, Only the occasional house truck mounted on one of these is all Ive seen lately.
Another surprise for me, one more Brazilian vehicle that was sold in the US
Weird rig. But it seems far too utilitarian to be a camper. It strikes me as a rather specialized service vehicle, perhaps for a fleet of trailers. The body probably consists of just a bench, tool boxes, and spares for whatever they’re servicing.
Marshall Fields in Chicago had a small fleet of these in the 80s. They were a very distinctive green with gold lettering. I still see them on the road once in a while. There’s a construction company here in Dubuque that uses one for jobsite deliveries.
The Cargo was sold along side the C series for the first few years, imported from Brazil and using the Brazilian built ‘Ford New Holland’ 6.6L and 7.8L diesels. When the C series was finally dropped at the end of 1990, Cargo production for the U.S. was moved to Louisville. By 1993 the New Holland diesels could no longer meet U.S. emission regulations, and were replaced by the Cummins B and C series. When Ford sold their heavy truck operation to Freightliner, the Cargo line was included. Freightliner continued Cargo production for a few years, but few were sold.
The Cargo never lived up to the C series reputation, and to make matters worse it’s introduction to the U.S. market was concurrent with the arrival of the Japanese medium duty LCF’s, like Isuzu, Hino, Fuso, and UD.
Nice to see a Cargo again, I like of forgot what they looked like!
“Nice to see a Cargo again, I like of forgot what they looked like!”
I literally saw one yesterday morning. they were a popular platform for street sweepers, and as I was driving to work yesterday one was cleaning up Rotunda Drive to prep it for resurfacing.
Is that possibly an old cargo hauler from an airport? I saw something very similar to that on the tarmac at Glasgow Airport when we were flying out on holiday on Tuesday.
Sort of resembles a locomotive. Open platform on the back, coupler behind.
Yea, HC stands for House Car in Oregon and now they are on the HD-series after reaching HC 99999.