4Runner a truck?

[99 sr5 highlander]

It's a truck, if I put a mattress in the back (very doable) it has a "bed" too.

 

[KidVermicious]

A "pickup" truck has a bed, that's the only kind that does.:biggrin2:

Izzat a fact? Cuz my 4Runner has a bed.

 

[fightman80]

I wonder if this clarifies things??

Anyone know what this is??

It's a 1957 Chevy Delivery TRuck or Panel Truck. It's body on frame, solid rear axle, and is used to haul stuff..... Pretty self explanatory to me...

That being said, we can't go on Solid Rear Axle alone, as the defining factor of a truck, as some of the new Dodge Rams come with rear independent suspension!

Another thing I should note, in Ontario Canada, vehicle license plates are all different, depending on the type of vehicle is licensed. In the case of the 4Runner, it wears the same License plate as a Car!

I'll be honest, I like to think of it as a truck, but usually call it an SUV when I'm trying to point it out to the Gas Attendant so she charges me the right price for my gas...... :cheers:

 

[willtell]

I call mine a truck. As already stated, it has many truck characteristics, but most people associate "truck" with a pickup truck having a truck bed in the back.

SUV - a high-performance four-wheel drive car built on a truck chassis

Truck - 1. Any of various heavy motor vehicles designed for carrying or pulling loads

As those definitions go, a 4runner fits in both categories.

 

[IanB]

I think a flatbed has a bed too.

Touche. I should have used the word "box", lol.

Izzat a fact? Cuz my 4Runner has a bed.

There are exceptions to every rule.:banana:

 

[Hepar]

A "pickup" truck has a bed, that's the only kind that does.:biggrin2:

I think I would define a truck as anything that has a front cab with a rear section for either a bed, box or the ability to trailer one.

Another thing I should note, in Ontario Canada, vehicle license plates are all different, depending on the type of vehicle is licensed. In the case of the 4Runner, it wears the same License plate as a Car!

That's a good point. My old Taco had truck designated plates. My Runner has standard vehicle plates.

 

[TheDurk]

The Federal government, when it originally established the CAFE standards, determined that SUV's are light-duty trucks. It is, in fact, largely responsible for why the category became so popular.

Station wagons were very popular prior to CAFE. Those vehicles were particularly popular among families because of the room they afforded multiple passengers. When CAFE became law, automakers could not create station wagons that met the higher fuel efficiency standards for cars, so the companies nixed the popular models.

Car manufacturers still seeking a product that would make consumers happy and comply with government regulations found their solution in the SUV. It offered the larger vehicle size consumers demanded but fell under the CAFE definition of a light truck. This classification allowed SUVs to be subject to the lower fuel economy requirement of 21 mpg. Therefore, the government’s action in imposing CAFE standards, which was intended to curb oil consumption, helped prompt the creation of the SUV and subsequent “gas guzzling.”

If not for the federal government’s intervention, companies would not have had nearly as strong — or as bizarre — an incentive to develop the SUV. Manufacturers might have continued producing the already-popular family-oriented station wagons, whose emissions, while higher than a sedan, are lower than an SUV.

http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/guest_commentary/lynch-cafe-standard-insanity.htm

Today, CAFE standards are the same for anything up to 8500 lbs.

I'm also pretty sure that CARB put the 4Runner in the light-duty truck category for emissions standards, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

So take that, Canada.

 

[gptoy96]

A bit late to the party, but my $0.02.

For me, the 4Runner is a truck, front engine, rear drive, body on frame construction, part time transfer case, solid rear axle, towing ability. Can't get much more truck than that. A "pickup" truck is a type of truck also, obviously has a bed in the back for cargo, an SUV to me technically is a type of truck also with a covered cargo area. F150/Expedition, Silverado/Tahoe-Suburban, Tundra/Sequoia are some examples of truck/SUV relations, near same "trucks" to each other, just different bodies. Mind you the 4Runner is obviously more offroad capable than these, but I'd still call each of those trucks also.

Although, I have no issues with SUV either, it's constructed like the original SUV's before soccer moms watered them down to high-profile station wagons for grocery getting, which has now morphed to CUV's.

I just don't like when people call my 4Runner a car, a car to me is front wheel drive, unibody, low ride height, no offroad capabilities and no towing capacity. RAV4, CRV, Santa Fe, Equinox etc. are cars to me, they all have those characteristics, just taller and part time AWD, no real 4x4. Calling a 4Runner a car makes it seem whimpy to me.

 

[Henryp]

rides like any truck ive been in. also, im pretty sure its on the exact same chassis as the tacoma?? i could be wrong.. but the tacoma is a pickup TRUCK, so if the 4runner shares the same chassis, then it must be a truck as well. someone please correct me if im wrong..

The 4runner and tacoma actually were never built on the same chassis. I believe the 4runner continued to be built on the Hilux until 2003, at which point it was built on the land cruiser prado for the 4th and 5th generations, while the Tacoma had its own unique chassis. However it is possible that the Tacoma and 4runner had a similar chassis in the 4runners 3rd generation and the Tacomas 1st generation (1995-2002) because the Tacoma of that era was very similar to the Hilux.

To talk about the question asked, the 1st generation (1984-1989) and second generation (1990-1995) 4runners were very much trucks. They were built on a truck, especially the first gen which was basically just a pickup with a fiberglass top and back seats. They also ride just like trucks. The third gen(1995-2002) was still built on a truck I think, so yes it still technicially is a truck,however it gained on road manners in exchange for the loss of some truck like characteristics, however it is still fundamentally a truck, because if the body on frame construction, 4wd etc. the 4th gen is where it gets a little weirder. I think it is still a truck but being built on the land cruiser prado chassis it isn't quite so direct as the previous generations. Honestly I feel like it becomes less of a truck with each new generation, but technicially even the newest model is still classified as a truck as far as I know.
I drive an '88 and there is no question that that vehicle is in fact a truck.

 

[Beaumont67]

.........Another thing I should note, in Ontario Canada, vehicle license plates are all different, depending on the type of vehicle is licensed. In the case of the 4Runner, it wears the same License plate as a Car! .........

The word "Truck" - is just a short-term, slang or loose version of the term Pickup / as in "Pickup Truck".
And a T4R with a full & fixed roof, does not make a Truck / it can't Pickup a Load easily, without an open bed (aka Box).

I always consider vehicles like the 4Runner, earlier Pathfinder, Xterra, etc. as an true SUV.
- with full frame & real 4x4 transfer case
S as in Sport / U as in Utility...treat them to on/off road &/or use as a mini-hauler.
- SUV has limited capacity, not like a real 1/2 ton truck / one can always drop a bucket of gravel, in the back of a pickup
- full frame or unibody, doesn't matter in the general sense in defining broad terms
But full frame 4Runner's with truck like Hi-Low 4x4 components = true SUV...IMO
- many SUV's now are more car like (in suspension) with AWD systems = they evolved into the Crossover

Agree - here in Ontario, these vehicles are NOT registered as Trucks / No open box or bed, so I term them SUV's.

 

[00Spork]

We can all agree that they are not SUV's or trucks. They are 4Runners, a class of their own.

 

[sn0wrunner]

We can all agree that they are not SUV's or trucks. They are 4Runners, a class of their own.

Couldn't agree more. Should be referred to as 4runner or rig. Not a truck.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

If Honda Ridgeline owners have the gall to call their vehicle a truck... I can certainly do the same with my 4Runner.

..but whatever people do... just don't call it a car. That always rubs me the wrong way (I've seen many T4R.org folks refer to it as a "car"... ugh. Probably 2WD owners.)

 

[Atomic6]

My title says its a "Carry All" :shrug:

I just call it a 4Runner

 

[Cadaverous]

I call mine a truck. I've pulled trucks out with it, so I figure it's a truck enough.

 

[4Reak Show]

It does anything a "truck" with a camper shell can do after seats get folded. 4wd, frame & body, yadda yadda. I have a 5th gen and a 2nd, but we all call the 2nd "the truck" since it does the dirty work hauling. (Like 25 roles of sod for example)

However, in CA "truck" license plate numbers are different than the 4runners: trucks have [#letter#####], whereas SUV's have [#letter/letter/letter###] so the DMV tends to think there's a difference.

Unlike newer pathfinders: f*ckin' unibody! Lame. Looks like a minivan.

 

[WallyWest]

The body style makes it an SUV, but under the skin it's all truck. So meh, call it whatever you want to I guess.

 

[fightman80]

I've hauled sand, lumber, moved my sister twice, slept in it, fornicated in it, pulled trailers, a boat, and God knows what else with it... I'm still calling it my Green Truck... so too bad!! LMAO!

 

[St Runner]

I have a Tacoma so I can't call it a truck. Calling it a SUV is lame so I end up calling it the 4runner, which is a pretty dam good name.

 

[Scramble]

I've hauled sand, lumber, moved my sister twice, slept in it, fornicated in it, pulled trailers, a boat, and God knows what else with it... I'm still calling it my Green Truck... so too bad!! LMAO!

Me too! All of the above!
(It's been a long time since I got laid in my TRUCK)