Unibody ve body on frame
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berettashot117
New member
1. F&$k no.
2.type "unibody vs body on frame" into your normal google search bar. Enjoy!
2.type "unibody vs body on frame" into your normal google search bar. Enjoy!
03_4x4Runner
Senior Member
From everything I have been reading in magazines the next gen 4runner will be a unibody but no one knows when this will happen.
rfuree11
New member
I wouldn't be shocked if it happened, but they already have the Highlander serving crossover duty. Jeep has been unibody for a long time and some of their best trucks were unibody, so as long as Toyota keeps the 4Runner as an actual rugged truck, it wouldn't be a huge deal. I also wouldn't be surprised if they kept it body on frame. The Tacoma isn't going anywhere and the 4Runner shares a lot of the architecture with it, so production costs are cheap. There are also HUGE profit margins for body on frame vehicles.
rebelbowtie
New member
benefits of unibody is streamlined production, lighter weight, more interior room.
KingPrat
New member
Have you ever sat in the backseat of a Grand Cherokee? Not sure I agree that integrating the frame into the body creates more room inside...
Having a unibody creates a situation where the frame of the body is actually stronger, because of a stiffer backbone with the frame integrated right in. They're statistically safer vehicles, IIRC.
A big disadvantage is that if you tweak the frame, you can easily total the car. Once that thing is twisted, game over...
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JPWendtinc
New member
1. I really hope not.
2. Being able to say that you drive a truck, not a minivan.
2. Being able to say that you drive a truck, not a minivan.
zonianbrat
New member
Very true about twisting the body. I have a friend that put their old pathfinder through hell off-roading and after a while you could notice the passenger front door and rear driver door were a lot harder to shut than the other doors.
On most unibody's a common weak point is the sub-frame up front where the diff and steering components are located. Tweak that and it gets really expensive fast.
rebelbowtie
New member
just because a Cherokee has a small backseat doesnt make it not true.
Gerdo
New member
Frame or unibody has nothing to do with interior space.
One has a frame that the body is bolted to. The other has a sheet steel box frame built into the bottom of the body.
NJshadow93
New member
Believe it or not, body on frame does cut into interior room. This is because the floor is higher in body on frame trucks than unibody vehicles. I do not think Toyota will make a unibody 4Runner honestly. They pride themselves with the fact that the 4Runner is still a truck. Look at what they did with the 5th gen, they went more toward off road/truck than crossover. I do think the Lexus GX470 is gonna be unibody though, but who buys a luxury vehicle for off road use anyway?
BlackWorksInc
New member
You really wanna know the difference between unibody and body on frame, ask a Jeep Grand Cherokee owner who heavily offroads their vehicle how often they have to have the frame rewelded because of cracks.
A guy I know has 35's on his '94, lifted at least 12 inches and is always having the frame patched and repaired due to stress and twisting.
The body on frame allows the frame to take the abuse and the body to remain isolated from those twisting forces.
I hope the 4Runner remains body on frame, it is one of the main reasons I purchased the vehicle in the first place. If I want a crossover, the new LandRover Evoque is pretty cool. Point being a real 4WD SUV should be body on frame, otherwise there are plenty of crossovers.
A guy I know has 35's on his '94, lifted at least 12 inches and is always having the frame patched and repaired due to stress and twisting.
The body on frame allows the frame to take the abuse and the body to remain isolated from those twisting forces.
I hope the 4Runner remains body on frame, it is one of the main reasons I purchased the vehicle in the first place. If I want a crossover, the new LandRover Evoque is pretty cool. Point being a real 4WD SUV should be body on frame, otherwise there are plenty of crossovers.
The Pathfinder moved to unibody in 96...then moved back to body-on-frame around 2000....Now they're moving back to unibody in 2013.
If you want to do true off-roading...or you do a lot of towing....then body-on-frame is far superior. But roughly 95% of people who buy an SUV DON'T. So companies are appealing to the masses.
NJshadow93
New member
Did not know that about the Pathfinder! That's crazy, learn something new everyday. I did know they were going to unibody in 2013 but didn't know they went back and forth like that.
It's bound to happen, unfortunately. However, it's not always terrible. Land Rovers like the LR3 are now unibody (sort of), and still quite capable. No comments about Land Rover engine or electrical reliability, of course.
I bet for most people, even people here, it won't matter too much. I'd wager to say most of the offroading people do would be just as well covered in a unibody type vehicle with appropriate 4WD. Of course, there's always the edge case that rock crawls or routinely run trails that are rather hardcore, and of course unibody won't cut it for them.
That said, I hope they don't do it.
I bet for most people, even people here, it won't matter too much. I'd wager to say most of the offroading people do would be just as well covered in a unibody type vehicle with appropriate 4WD. Of course, there's always the edge case that rock crawls or routinely run trails that are rather hardcore, and of course unibody won't cut it for them.
That said, I hope they don't do it.
I owned a 90 Pathfinder which was body-on-frame...then bought a 98 Pathfinder which was unibody. I don't do major of-roading..but I do tow a lot. Didn't buy my pop-up until 03. Then I bought my 4runner in 06. Never had a problem with the Pathfinder towing..but I only towed with for a couple of years.
Jeep Jeep's ("wranglers") have always been and still are body on frame.
Cherokee's (XJ) are great off-road trucks. Unibody can become an issue, they do make frame stiffeners to help.
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