Body-on-frame
Body-on-frame, also known as ladder frame construction, is a common
In the late 19th century, the frames, like those of the carriages they replaced, might be made of wood (commonly
In contrast,
History
The Ford Model T carried the tradition of body-on-frame over from horse-drawn buggies, helping to facilitate high volume manufacturing on a moving assembly line.[2] In the United States, frequent changes in automotive design made it necessary to use a ladder frame rather than unibody construction to make it possible to change the design without having to change the chassis, allowing frequent changes and improvements to the car's bodywork and interior (where they were most noticeable to customers) while leaving the chassis and driveline unchanged, and thus keeping costs down and design times short. It was also easy to use the same chassis and driveline for several very different cars. Especially in the days before computer-aided design, this was an advantage.[3]
Most small passenger vehicles switched to
Examples
The following is a list of production cars, SUVs, and light-duty pickup trucks that have a body-on-frame construction. The list is divided by vehicle category.
Passenger cars
SUVs/wagons
Mini SUV
Mid-size SUV
- Toyota 4Runner
- Toyota Fortuner
- Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
- Lexus GX
- Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
- Nissan Terra
- SsangYong Rexton
- Isuzu MU-X
- Jeep Wrangler
- Ford Bronco
- Ford Everest
- Ford Explorer (until 2010)
- Kia Mohave
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class
- Mercury Mountaineer
- Lincoln Aviator (until 2005)
- Chevrolet TrailBlazer (until 2009)
- LDV D90
- TANK 300
- TANK 500
Full-size SUV
- Toyota Land Cruiser
- Toyota Sequoia
- Lexus LX
- Cadillac Escalade (ESV)
- Chevrolet Suburban
- Chevrolet Tahoe
- Hongqi LS7
- Nissan Patrol
- Nissan Armada
- GMC Hummer EV
- GMC Yukon(XL)
- Jeep Wagoneer (Grand Wagoneer)
- Ford Expedition (EL/Max)
- L)
- Infiniti QX80
Compact MPV
Mid-size MPV
- Toyota Innova (until 2021)
- Isuzu Panther
Pickup trucks
Mid-size pickup truck
- Holden Colorado
- Ford Ranger
- GMC Canyon
- Isuzu D-Max
- Renault Alaskan
- SsangYong Musso
- Toyota Hilux
- Toyota Kijang
- Toyota Tacoma
- Mazda BT-50
- Mitsubishi Triton
- Nissan Frontier
- Nissan Navara
- Jeep Gladiator
- Volkswagen Amarok
- LDV T60
- GWM Ute Cannon
Full-size pickup truck
See also
- Backbone chassis
- C-channel
- Coachwork
- Exoskeleton car
- Monocoque
- Skateboard (automotive platform)
- Semi-monocoque
- Space frame
- Subframe
- Superleggera
References
- ^ page 106, George A Oliver, A History of Coachbuilding, Cassell, London, 1962
- ^ Great Moments in Body-on-Frame Car Construction WSJ, May 2, 2014
- ^ Sawyer, Christopher A. (2009-06-02). "Framing the question | Automotive Design & Production | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
- ^ "Car Reviews, New and Used Car Prices, Photos and Videos - MSN Autos". editorial.autos.msn.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Toyota reaffirms commitment to body-on-frame SUVs". autoblog.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Austin A40 Sports". Austin Memories. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05.
- ^ "BMW i3 aluminum chassis frame: Drive Module characteristics - MarkLines Automotive Industry Portal".