Pickup trucks in the Philippines

Pickup trucks are lightweight vehicles with either two-passenger or five-passenger cabins and a separate open top, rear cargo platform. The term sometimes also applies to coupes with the same body make.

The main purpose for pickup trucks is either for hauling or transporting items such as agricultural products. Today, however, they are also seen as a men’s road accessory with some pickups sporting a “muscle truck” design such as the Isuzu D-MAX.

Pickup cab styles

Regular cab- a two-door pickup truck with a single row of seats that can accommodate two to three people.

Crew cab- a four-door pickup with two rows of seats that can fit in five to six people. This type of cab style is the most popular.

Cab forward- has its driver seated atop the vehicle’s front axle. This type of pickup has drop side doors and is a common build for commercial vehicles.

Bed styles and payloads

Aside from body dimensions and overall ride height, pickups also vary in their cargo bed and payload size. The size of standard bed styles, especially for compact pickups, are 5 feet long and can extend to 6.5 feet for full-size beds.

Pickups also vary on the payload they can carry. Averaged sized pickups can carry around half a ton and some full-size pickups can lug almost two tons. Some models could carry more, such as the 2011 edition of the Ford F-350 which can lift anywhere between 1.5 and 2.9 tons.

Different sizes of pickups

Compact pickups- are considered the most common form of pickup in the world. These vehicles have a regular cab, a gasoline engine with similar powertrain to SUVs, and usually have a leaf spring suspension. (Ex: Nissan Frontier)

Mid-size pickups- are slightly larger than compact pickup trucks, with a higher powertrain and a larger cargo bed. (Ex: Ford Ranger)

Full-size pickups- are the largest classification of these trucks (aside from dual-wheeled pickups). Models under this series have a 4x4 variant and commonly use a live axle and leaf springs on the vehicle’s rear suspension. (Ex: Chevrolet Silverado)

Muscle pickups- are performance pickup trucks which offers some of the most powerful engines producing 300 horsepower and above for newer models. (Ex: GMC Typhoon)