Trucks and SUV's

[Donnie Raines]

So, do you say that trucks and SUV's are the "the same", or are they differant vehicles altogther?? Most SUV's being built on the same chasis as trucks and all. :D


Discuss

[Dave Sinkus]

I say a pickup truck is a truck......open bed, without a topper you can dump 3 cu. ft of mulch into it using an endloader.

SUV is all enclosed, with some rear seat removal or rearranging you can throw bags of mulch into.

I think the tendancy of late is to combine the two in terms of it's a "gas guzzling SUV". In the case of a Ford Excursion or Hummer or Suburban that is a correct description - they are not fuel efficient models. Don't think they were made to be fuel efficient. There has always been a need to carry 7 or more passengers, I grew up in a Chevy station wagon. SUV's are an evolution with 4 wheel drive on that theme.

You are correct that SUV's are built on the same frame/chassis as a pickup. For Dodge, the Durango and the Dakota (or whatever the smaller pickup name happens to be) are built on the same frame, as is the Jeep Cherokee. GM builds the baby Blazer on the S10 frame in most instances.

As Forrest Gump says "and that's all I have to say about that":)

[Jeff Bower]

Dave, you mentioned a chevy station wagon and the "family truckster" came to mind. :D

[Jim Becker]

More and more of the current crop of "SUV" vehicles are build on car chassis, particularly the mid-size and smaller...Highlander, Pilot, Beemer, Benz, Escape/Mariner, Tribeca, etc. Many of those that are still built on truck chassis, IMHO, feel like trucks in so many ways, too. And now you have the "crossover" category which clouds the line between mid-size SUV, minivan and station wagon. So many choices....

[Dave Sinkus]

Do you have a picture smoking the tires? We can post it to Super Chevy!!

[Gary Whitt]

I say a pickup truck is a truck......open bed, without a topper you can dump 3 cu. ft of mulch into it using an endloader.

SUV is all enclosed, with some rear seat removal or rearranging you can throw bags of mulch into.

Q F T !

SUV's came about because soccer moms did not want to drive a mini van.

[Joe Pelonio]

I still say that the "crossover" is nothing but a station wagon with a new name. The trend of building SUVs on a car chassis is for ride comfort, and to get them to be lower so they match up better in crashes with smaller cars.

Each has it's place. We have one SUV and two trucks at the moment. We haven't had a car in the family in many years.

[Mike Dauphinee]

I think the designation has more to do with function rather than form. Like was said....trucks have a widely varied utility usage capability, but they also hold a certain form. The SUV has less capabilities that the truck, but shares some capabilities and has others that the truck does not. It also has similar form in some ways and very different in others. They are two different beasts and the crossover in terms is only a matter of classification for the convenience of the non user such as insurance, gov taxing authorities and so on, even perhaps marketing folks who want to sell them.

For example, if you had a BIG monster truck and put a Caravan body on it, does it all of the sudden become the family vehicle? I think not, it's function remains the same.

[Michael Morgan]

This is by far my favorite vehicle I ever owned, and Ford quit making them:mad: . Ford Excursion with Power Stroke Diesel, This Truck or SUV :D can haul my My entire family and a couple friends (I have 4 kids), It will tow just about anything you hook to it and gets 14 or 15 m.p.g. towing or not.

[Gary Whitt]

My F250 Crew Cab Power Stroke TRUCK gets 16-18 in city; got 15 towing my 30 ft. camper in the mountains, and gets 20+ on the highway.
:D

[Michael Gibbons]

Something to ponder: Take the Ford Excursion and a F250 short box 4 door model, both with a deisel and they are damn near the same weight and size but no one really complains about the pickups being gas guzzlers?:confused:. Both have the approximate same towing capacity and they are about as aerodynamic as a bathtub.

[Joe Pelonio]

Something to ponder: Take the Ford Excursion and a F250 short box 4 door model, both with a deisel and they are damn near the same weight and size but no one really complains about the pickups being gas guzzlers?:confused:. Both have the approximate same towing capacity and they are about as aerodynamic as a bathtub.
I've noticed that too. People think of a pickup as being a business need for people like contractors so the mileage is not a big deal. On the other hand an Excursion is seen as a family toter/grocery getter used once in a while to tow the family boat.

I remember a few years ago the IRS did a deal for businesses that wanted to buy a truck to allow the full deduction in that tax year. Several of the contractors I know bought a new big SUV for the family to use that deduction, and just to be safe had lettering put on the doors. (The definition of a truck was weight)

[Gary Whitt]

So, do you say that trucks and SUV's are the "the same", or are they differant vehicles altogther??
Donnie, do you own a truck or SUV :confused:

[Steven Wilson]

Donnie, the way we use the word "truck" in the US is pretty bad. The term truck, to be consistant with the rest of the world (i.e. lorry) should apply to medium duty and heavy duty trucks in the US (i.e. semi, C4500, etc). Our light duty "truck" really applies to its load capacity and basic construction and takes many forms; full size pickup truck (i.e. F150), some SUV's (Suburban), some RV's, full size Van's, and probably a few other things. They're all trucks, just configured differently. So what about small pickup's, car based SUV's, mini-vans, station wagons, El Camino, and such? Well, I wouldn't call them light duty truck's. Some like to call them very light or ultra light trucks but I stop at light duty trucks as being called trucks.

As for me, I just traded my 1999 GMC Suburban K1500 in on a 2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD diesel and I would call both of them light duty trucks, just different configurations.

[Charles McKinley]

This on is easy. If you can fit a 4x8 sheet of ply wood in it WITH OUT putting down the tailgate or has a fifth wheel or goose neck hitch on it it is a truck. Otherwise you have a CAR. It may have a very big trunk but it is a car.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Donnie,
SUV's came about because at one time, trucks weren't included in CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) requirements. I'm not sure if they are still are excluded or not.

Every S-10 we sold allowed Chevy to sell an Impala or Corvette w/out taking a CAFE hit. They were classified (on the MSO - manufaturers statement of origin) as trucks, but could be titled either passenger vehicle or truck. Either way, they satisfied CAFE requirements.

Re: The El Camino -it's a truck or I should say it was a truck according to the MSO. What was odd about it was the power train. It had a V8 & automatic as standard equipment, with no manual trans availalable. That was to circumvent import restrictions on trucks. (El's were made in Mexico).
Subaru - with their Brat - got around the truck tarrif by bolting rear seats in the bed.

C series pickups were assembeled in Canada, then brought into the US as being "made" here. Another technicality that got around the truck tarriff.

[Ed Garrett]

I'm not an automotive engineer, but I don't think SUV's share the same chasis as trucks.

Trucks twist in the center. Watch the space between the cab and bed when a truck goes diagonally over a bump. The cab and bed will shear relative to each other. If an SUV body were on the same frame the body would be crushed in the center from the flexing frame.

Therefore, an SUV chassis must be much stiffer and heavier.

Sincerely,
Ed Garrettt
Tallahassee

[Matt Meiser]

Ed, the Expedition and F150 used to share a chassis. My Colorado and the Hummer H3 share a chassis. Some of the labels under the hood even say Colorado/Canyon/H3 on them. Just guessing, but the body is probably what keeps the frame from twisting as much.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Some of the older SUVs did share the same chassis. In fact, the early Toyota 4-Runners were just short bed p/u with a fiberglass shell covering the p/u bed area and rear seats inserted with roll bars added to add some protection in case of roll over. I think the early Chevy Blazers, full sized, K-5s were that way too. My "83 Blazer and my '86 4-Runners were that way. I'm not sure but the new 4-Runners....I wouldn't bet that they share the same frames.

[Ed Garrett]

Ken and Matt,

I'm so pleased to see that people occasionally take my opinions seriously. I'm sure your right about the sharing of chassis, but I bet you are also right that they must do something reduce teh flex in the main beams.

Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee