Why no front wheel drive trucks?

[Oaktree]

Don't recall the details, but I remember reading something about the handling on those FWD VW "trucks" was pretty funky...something to do with very little weight (unloaded) on the rear wheels tended to make it come around on wet/slippery roads. As others have noted, the opposite would happen when loaded...the drive wheels would have less weight and make for some equally "interesting" handling. Front-to-rear weight is a lot more balanced on a car.

I don't think VW (or Chrysler) made those FWD trucks for very long...a couple years maybe?

 

[RollingsFarms]

Really? What model Datsun would that have been?

I'm trying to remember the exact year. It was blue and a long bed and front wheel drive. If I had to guess I'd say it was a late 70's maybe? I think I have a pic of it somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

 

[930ck]

Like these,

Very similar to these , loaded correctly traction wouldn't be a problem and more people would look at the pulling combo than what was on it.

 

[texasjohn]

I actually saw one of those not a month ago within a mile of my place. Looked ungainly pulling out onto the road from gas station. It was even longer...a crew cab up front.

Very similar to these , loaded correctly traction wouldn't be a problem and more people would look at the pulling combo than what was on it.

 

[Agvg]

This type of truck works great with front wheel drive.

 

[bcp]

You couldn't unload front wheel drive trucks.

Bruce

 

[Winmac]

I'm sure gm made a fwd truck in the 90's perhaps it was Canada only, I think it had 4 wheel steering too.
And I recall a fwd truck that would drop the bed down to the ground for loading, it was either a prototype or a aftermarket kit.

 

[dfkrug]

I'm trying to remember the exact year. It was blue and a long bed and front wheel
drive. If I had to guess I'd say it was a late 70's maybe? I think I have a pic of it somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

Datsun made no front wheel drive trucks that I am aware of, so it would have to be custom-made.

In some ways, my favorite fantasy truck would be my old Datsun PL620 (73-78) but with a modern drivetrain
and brakes.

A neighbor around here has one of the old VW rabbit diesel pickups, which is FWD. He is OK with it
as long as he does not carry any big loads or drives up any hills (or in the rain). It gets very high
fuel mileage.

 

[ultrarunner]

Buddy screwed up his pickup drive shaft to the rear and drove for years with only the front drive connected...

Boss had a VW pickup new... used it to haul engines once a week about 350 miles round trip for the builder to the shop.

 

[Iowan]

You don't need front or rear wheel drive on your truck!

Product Image

 

[LD1]

Two big reasons I can think of. Cost, and payload.

It would cost a lot to redesign everything. And towing and payload would have to be greatly reduced. Who would want to buy a half ton with 500# payload and 3000# towing cap.

 

[wawajake]

Two big reasons I can think of. Cost, and payload.

It would cost a lot to redesign everything. And towing and payload would have to be greatly reduced. Who would want to buy a half ton with 500# payload and 3000# towing cap.

If you were a styrofoam cup salesman, it would be a good company vehicle

 

[Diamondpilot]

If you were a styrofoam cup salesman, it would be a good company vehicle

They already have a truck for that, the Fiat Ram Ecodiesel.


Lol!


Chris

 

[aczlan]

Two big reasons I can think of. Cost, and payload.
It would cost a lot to redesign everything. And towing and payload would have to be greatly reduced. Who would want to buy a half ton with 500# payload and 3000# towing cap.

The Ridgeline is a transverse engine AWD pickupish vehicle. It has a 1500# payload and it is rated to tow 5000#.

Aaron Z

 

[dodge man]

DP, you make posts like that and you wonder why people keep saying SSDD. I usually take some of your posts with a little humor but it does get old. What does the Ecodiesel have to do with front drive trucks.

 

[rd_macgregor]

Datsun made no front wheel drive trucks that I am aware of, so it would have to be custom-made.

In some ways, my favorite fantasy truck would be my old Datsun PL620 (73-78) but with a modern drivetrain
and brakes.
QUOTE]

My first PU was a 1970 Datsun PL521, the first year they put the 1600cc Datsun 510 engine in the PU. I drove that truck for about ten years and sold it to my brother. He still has it (along with many other deceased vehicles), though it finally stopped working at least ten years ago. It was a pretty reliable truck, if underpowered and with limited braking ability when loaded.

 

[Diamondpilot]

DP, you make posts like that and you wonder why people keep saying SSDD. I usually take some of your posts with a little humor but it does get old. What does the Ecodiesel have to do with front drive trucks.

I was just poking back at him. Lighten up.

Chris

 

[RAS323]

Two big reasons I can think of. Cost, and payload.

It would cost a lot to redesign everything. And towing and payload would have to be greatly reduced. Who would want to buy a half ton with 500# payload and 3000# towing cap.

Last I looked the OP made no mention of this being a half ton truck. Is the problem with cost-it being too low? These basic vehicles are already being made, they just look like vans. Ram Promaster (payload 4400#), Chrysler minivan (payload 1360# ), Chevy City Express (payload 1500#) and Ford Transit (payload 1620#; it wouldn't be real if Ford didn't have one) all front wheel drive, all have similar payload as a midsized truck (Tacoma, Colorado/Canyon and Frontier) with much smaller engines.

Ram's Promaster does have an ecodiesel in it, but it's not the same one as the Ram 1500. It's 3.0l 4cyl diesel with 174hp and 295ft/lb of torque.

 

[wawajake]

My dream pickup truck to find and restore would be a late 50’s early 60’s Jeep Willys . As a kid I would get a ride to highschool with the neighbor’s boys in the bed of their Navy blue Jeep Willys .
And at times we would get to see it in action getting to fishing holes deep in the bush.
They are rare now (at least in Canada’s rust belt). It had a flat four engine and was easy to push start after we had rolled it down the street so the neighbor parents would not hear it being “borrowed” by their sons.
Besides Ecodiesel being a good choice for full size medium use pickup buyers now….
If Ram and Jeep ever put that EcoDiesel or the Pentastar in a 2015 version of Jeep Wrangler Pickup (seen only in concepts so far I think) ……It would be a great choice for many Jeep enthusiasts and the small pickup buyers. Resurrecting the Willys name would be a good marketing move ! …..Just not front wheel drive ! And it could replace the Ranger type customer that Ford abandoned.
.

 

[bcp]

Everyone's ideal truck is probably made somewhere in the world but not available in the US. For example, I recently ran across this Subaru pickup on the internet.



I've had two Willys pickups, but always wanted a Land Cruiser pickup. They also had 4dr versions.



Bruce