Is an Isuzu NPR any good?

[mikel]

Hi gang,



Well it looks like my father is going to have to upgrade his truck. Right now he has a chevy 1500 v-6, so since he went out and bought a 4700+ lb tractor and a 3400+ lb gooseneck trailer he's decided that his truck might not be big enough to safely pull with.



Yes, he did install a gooseneck hitch in the poor 1500 *AND* pull the trailer with a tractor on it. I rode with him when he did this...



Anyhow, he found an Isuzu NPR that is priced in the range of where he wants to spend. It looks like it's in pretty good shape, there have been no obvious repairs done to it and the owner claims that he hasn't had a single problem with the truck in the last 50k (that's all that he has owned it). It has 160k on it. All the owner says has been done to the truck is routine maintenance. Oil and filter changes, etc.



This truck will be used to replace the pickup for daily use as a work truck and will occasionally pull about 10k lbs. Has anyone used one of these like this and did the truck work out well?



It looks to be a well put-together truck that has great engine access (the cab tilts forward out of the way), but I really don't know anything about it other than what I saw when we looked at it.



My dad is not one to get in a hurry (look at the last truck he had), but I am a little concerned that the 4-cyl diesel in the NPR may not pull the trailer at a safe speed down the freeway. I think the truck would need to be able to go at least 60-65mph with the trailer, does this sound reasonable?



Thanks for the help!



Mike

 

[sdalton]

If I remember right, a while back, the members here discussed the same thing and it was said the Isuzu NPR wasnt very good, at least the motor wasnt. Do a search on isuzu NPR and see.

 

[JLinder]

Don't do it!

We have a NPR for a shop truck, and it's a turd. Flat out warp speed empty is 55mph, and that's down hill with a tail-wind. Ours has a few miles on it, but I couldn't tell you how many or if that is why it doesn't have any power. Other than that, it has been mostly trouble free since we've owned it.

 

[gitchesum]

I drove an NPR as a delivery truck in 98. Top speed empty was 75. You weren't going any faster no matter how hard you pressed the pedal. I won't even discuss how it ran with a load. Now remember, we NEVER got 10,000lb worth of stuff in that truck so I can only imagine how bad it will be with a load that size.

I would have to pass if it were me.





Just a question, has he considered a Cummins for the job? A good used truck can be found for lass than $10,000 and would do the job well.

 

[Todd G]

I've owned 6 or 8 NPR's over the years. They are a decent truck with an average motor. Parts are reasonable. That's why I used them. The regular 4 cylinder 135hp motor is OK if you don't go over too many hills. I regularly hauled 8k in the back of mine and it would do the job. They came out with a 175hp 4 cylinder a few years back that was a great improvement. It would keep up with my NPR that had a 350 Chevy motor in it. My oldest truck (1990) I sold with 350k on it. They tend to burn pistons when the injectors stick. It's not a big deal since they are a sleeved block. It would cost about $800 to fix. I moved up to FSR's (medium duty) and cut my repairs in half. For the price, I think they're a great truck.

 

[mikel]

Thanks for the replies. I was having trouble with the search yesterday, but I got it to work fine this morning... Go figgure.



I'll forward this thread to him and let him look at it and make up his own mind.



Mostly he's going to be running around town with this truck, but on occasion he will take about a three to four hour trip w/ the tractor.



Thanks again for the help!



Mike

 

[DT]

get a bigger one with the six cylinder!!!



http://www.picturetrail.com/turbokid

 

[Todd G]

Isuzu makes many different models. You can get a NPR with 135hp or 175hp diesel 4 cylinder or with 350 Chevy small block. The Chevy's get around 9mpg while the diesels get 13mpg and last way longer. The NRR's have the diesel 6 cylinder rated somewhere aound 200hp with basically the same chassis. Then there's the NQR which is a little heavier duty. Next step is to a semi-medium-duty FSR low profile with the 6 cylinder. Then the true FSR with bigger axles. These are bulletproof. I had several of these go 200k with NO maintainance other than oil changes. The next step up is the FTR's. This is where you get into CDL territory. I've never bombed an Isuzu but I'm sure it could be done. I was more interested in longevity than performance.



I never saw an Isuzu that was treated carefully or gently in any way. My drivers would use the throttle as a toggle switch. Full on or full off. In the summer in Phoenix, they would not shut off from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Wait for the turbo to cool down before shutting off the motor - HA. Brake tests from rookie drivers were a hourly occurance.



I think they're a darn good truck if you're in no hurry.