SWB or LWB

[skid]

I noticed in another topic, it was quoted that a LWB was 90% of the time better than a SWB

so the battle begins

wots your opinion

[tallsam66]

Well it all depends on what you are going to be doing in your 4wd.Both have advantages.

[coxsy]

short for turning circle, weight , long for climbing, storage, what i could think of so far

[safaripete]

i have LWB i initally brought it to tow my race car

but have found it really good for taking people along when we go 4 wheeling

probably more but thats it for now

[red-devil]

i've got a SWB and now i have a LWB and i voted for MWB

but i have to agee the lwb is great for takin passenages along

Jono

[rokhound]

It is not a rational argument (but then I don't expect one from Wellington )

If you are into trials, SWB is the go, Winch challenge = MWB, Club Truck = any one of them (but more likely MWB or LWB).
You can only define what is the best wheel base by the type of 4wding that you do.
So this a totally wasted exercise brought on by someone who is the 2nd biggest post whore on ORE.

[Bulletproof]

A poll like this doesnt tell enough.

Many short wheelbases are Landcruisers and Safaris. These have hugh disadvantages with big diffs and extra weight. So long verses short is only half the story.
Even fitted with V8s, if the wheels are not on the ground they are going nowhere.

Cheers Richard

[skid]

It is not a rational argument (but then I don't expect one from Wellington )

If you are into trials, SWB is the go, Winch challenge = MWB, Club Truck = any one of them (but more likely MWB or LWB).
You can only define what is the best wheel base by the type of 4wding that you do.
So this a totally wasted exercise brought on by someone who is the 2nd biggest post whore on ORE.

[rangimotors]

there is no idea truck, in my opionon you should start with something that you like and that suits your wants and needs for what you use it for and then mod it to make it even better.

3000 odd members and i would almost say that no two of us do the exact same 4 wheeling and have the exact same uses for their trucks.

To many people get caught up in building what others tell them to or what is popular and end up with something that doesn't suit them. Pictures are cool and everything but the only way you find out what you want and what you need is to get out on some tracks.

[TJ]

I voted SWB 'cause I drive a Wrangler!!! There is much more in real life than just Nissans and Cruisers. These two are popular in NZ (but thats a different debate).

Its my daily driver, but not main family driver. This way I can do longer trips in wife's Jeep, particularly when carrying passengers. I find my Wrangler is perfect for what I want to do with it.

[niblik]

"i'm a horsey... baaaaaaaaa"

[cool__bananas]

well in trialling the longer trucks are better on big hill climbs and the shorter ones are more movable within the course

[Bulletproof]

well in trialling the longer trucks are better on big hill climbs and the shorter ones are more movable within the course

I would agree with that

Cheers Richard

[fweddy]

I have MWB as I use it for carting things for my house reno. Lots of times a SWB would have been too small, some times a LWB would be ideal but I didn't want a LWB for is extra size in maneuvering etc. Offroad the MWB suits me good.

The arrangement of the truck makes a difference too. My house has one of those big gutters out the front so when I park there its on an slant toward the passengers side so its heavy opening the right side back door esp with the 33 spare on it and it doesn't want to stay open. Some times I think my old surf had a better back end for fitting things in, with the drop down tail gate I could fit longer things in - even carted 1200 x 3600 sheets of flooring in that but no hope of fitting it in the cruiser. But the cruiser is wider so easier to reach everything without clambering in.

[Dace]

Well owning 1 LWB D/cab hilux which else where . someone quoted as

an un modified dc hilux is about as useless as your gonna get, no articulation and a big nose and a fat arse to get hung up on

Well mine isn't un modified but all I have is a susp lift kit and some bar work, and at a club trip to the naki a couple of weeks ago, obstacles that had 2 safaris, a v8 Prado and 1 70 cruiser stuck after much hard hitting, the hilux was crawling over a lot of it easier.

now I am not saying that my rig is better than there's or that I am a better driver, but that on any given obstacle, it may for 1 reason or another suit a short, medium or long wheel base, as the naki trip demonstrated

[Andrew1706]

I've got both.

My 80 Series is good for cruising around, piling everybody in and laughing at Nissans. Coil sprung and lots of torque.

My Blizzard is good for bouncing around and being laughed at by ... everyone - but leaf sprung and no torque.

I can sleep very badly in the SWB but very comfortably in the LWB. My only concern with LWB is bottoming out, you have to go higher then a SWB to get the same ground clearance but I know I'm more likely to end up on my lid in my SWB truck then I am in my LWB truck, it just doesnt have the same stability.

I'm more interested in navigating tight terrain, such as around trees etc. I like to go through tricky stuff, something I feel a LWB wouldn't be suited for.

At the end of the day, we should be driving them - not arguing about them on the internet?

[Sadam_Husain]

Well it all depends on what you are going to be doing in your 4wd.Both have advantages.

x2

it all depends on what you want your truck for, its like compareing apples and oranges

[niblik]

swb cab and chassis, extend the wheelbase to a mwb..

sadam... what happens if ya put the apples and oranges together...? mmmmmmmm.. perfect!

[Windsock]

Define what lengths you mean by LWB, MWB, & SWB.

In the 1984+ model land rovers we have 90, 110, & 130 which makes my truck a MWB but at 110 inches this may be a LWB compared to other makes and models....

[lneil]

It sure depends on what you want to do. I've been embarassed a couple of times by LWB trucks, but more often have walked obstacles in the tight stuff that they really struggled with. I only miss the extra room of a LWB if I'm going away for a few days, but now having two SWB's in the family makes that a non-issue.

[Heath]

Well I owned an under powered SWB SJ413 and then bought a LWB hilux DC with shitloads of power. I now own a small vitara.

For me it was about manueverability and twisting through a course, something IMHO a LWB will struggle with unless it has fiddles or rear steer. The hilux was great for carrying things (firewood, passengers, etc) but for my uses it didnt fit. I wanted the LWB for carting stuff onroad and the 4wd ability to play offroad. I figured that all things are a compromise and I bought what I thought would be a better wagon than my 413. I was wrong. Sure the onroad stuff was great but it was too big and too heavy off road (and the price of gas was obscene - 2.5 km per litre) for me. I spent shit loads of cash trying to get the lux to do what the 413 did standard. Yeah I know the driver shouldnt blame the wagon for his/her failings but the hilux didnt fit with what I wanted.

I now own a 2wd ute for the road stuff and a vitara toy for the rough stuff.

Horses for courses, its about what you do with it and what you want it to do that will dictate what is best for you. Spend your money on what you need to do, to acheive this.

For me it is SWB but that's just for me and my driving style and it doesnt mean that SWB is the best.

As they say "Your results may vary!"

[DaveM]

I have alway preferred SWB, which are a PITA if you want to take passengers and gear for a weekend, but it still suits my needs at the moment.
I would prefer doddzees MWB though

[pagar]

MWB has to be the way to go, I had a 80 series vx ltd loved it lovely to drive heaps of room but got hung up all the time going over rocks and drop offs etc. so bought a swb 70 good off road but felt like I was going to roll over backwards going up hills and driving on the road any distance used to make me feel like I'd been through a milkshake maker. so bought th bj74 mwb. great compromise but would still love a troopie though.

[Windsock]

All this talk about the lengths of vehicles and the letters used to describe them, LWB, MWB, and SWB is meaningless without the measured length given also.

Need to see some numbers, then we can make some meaningful comparisions outside of the variuous makes and model ranges.

My truck: Land Rover 110 = 110in = 2794mm It is a MWB in the late-model Land Rover range but where does it stand amongst other trucks out there.