Is "wheelbase" relative or fixed?

[Francesca_Knowl]

Trying to understand the meaning of the term "short wheelbase vehicle". Looked all over the 'net and can't seem to find an answer.

I know that wheelbase itself is the distance from front-to-back wheel centers; but what defines short versus long?

Is it a matter of percentage-of-total length? Length vs. height? Amount of rear overhang? Or is it just that everything below a certain wheelbase length is considered "short wheelbase"?

Thanks for any enlightenment provided...

[Francesca_Knowl]

Thanks for the responses so far....I think!

Sorta sounds like there's no real definition of the term...hmm.....

[mkirsch]

On this forum, "short wheelbase" is any vehicle with fewer than 6 tires.

[goducks10]

IMO 144-145" is the middle. Over is long, under is short. Doesn't mean short is bad or long is better. I'm sure a reg cab 8' bed DRW will tow better than an 1/2 ton 145" WB. Just depends on the type of vehicle.

[valhalla360]

It's purely a relative term except maybe at the extremes (ie: smart car or an old jeep is a short wheelbase, and a 4door long bed is a long wheel base).

As to bed length, that's still fairly clear cut, you have long beds and short beds. Any use of "standard" would only imply that sells the mostThe only iffy is the are a few really shortbeds (4-5' long) but I'm not sure I would even consider those pickups but rather SUV's with a bed.

[mpierce]

Kind of like bed lengths.

I grew up on a farm, and the 8' bed was the standard. They then introduced the "short bed" models.

Now, it seems everyone refers to the short boxes as standard, and the 8' ones as long boxes.

[mdamerell]

LOL my F350 has a 172" wheel base. (The linked chart did not go that high) Parked it next to a semi truck "day cab" the other day and he had about a foot and a half overall length on me. I'm bigger than the single drive axle day cabs. I just think that's funny 😄

Was looking at a Class B the other day and it had a 168" wheel base so I guess it's all relative. 🙂

If it fits in a parking space, it's not a long wheel base. 😉

Within a given model of pickups there is a short version and a long version.

[rfryer]

I’ve never seen a definition, I wonder if it’s a generic and somewhat elusive term like ½ ton and ¾ ton. Or what is “camping”? I tend to think of it in a relative sense; if the wb is short enough that it lacks rollover stability I think it’s short. Or if it short enough that a TT could cause it to swap ends in an emergency stop, it’s short.

I have a ’73 Bronco that is relatively short in wb, but also it’s too short to be pulling my 16’ TT, the tail would wag the dog. I had an ’86 Bronco that I didn’t consider short, but I occasionally got a little minor sway. When I went to an F150 sb 4x4 with a longer wb the sway disappeared and I consider it a long wb.

A friend pulled a 12’ TT with an older Toyota (the jeep style and the name escapes me for the moment) and he jackknifed it NO Flagstaff and scared the devil out of himself. Definitely a short wb and also too short to be pulling a TT. Another fellow was pulling my TT – the only other one I’ve ever seen – with a Bronco II and he jackknifed it on I-17. Argumentative whether it would be called a short wb, but too short to be pulling the TT he was.

So I think some vehicles are clearly swb and some are clearly lwb. But in my mind I also consider what the vehicle is towing to determine whether I call it short or long. Interesting question, now that you stirred the pot, Francesca, I hope you’re going to educate us if you ever determine a credible definition.

[ib516]

Long wheelbase - Ram Megacab @ 160"
Short wheelbase - Smart car @ 71"

:B

[agesilaus]

downtheroad wrote:
My wife is 4'11"...she has a short wheel base.

Better hope she doesn't have a short fuse to go along with that...heh

[downtheroad]

My wife is 4'11"...she has a short wheel base.

[2oldman]

Good question, and I guess it is relative to the class of vehicle.

My F450 single-cab dually had a 'short' base of 144".

[AH64ID]

wilber1 wrote:
If a manufacturer makes a model with two different lengths, one is short and the other is long.

Pretty much sums it up. In terms of a TV pretty much everything but a pickup will have a short WB, the exception possibly being the excursion and suburban.

My truck has a 160.5" wheelbase, which I consider long and the short-bed version is 140.5". My dad's '97 K2500 burb is 131.5", so while long for a SUV it's still shorter than a QC SB Dodge. The Excursion comes in at 137.5", and a reg cab Dodge is also 140.5".

[CKNSLS]

I had a 4Runner which I towed a 21 foot trailer with. The wheelbase was"short" at 109.5"

I guess wheelbase can be relative in the sense it really dictates what you can tow.

[RinconVTR]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
Trying to understand the meaning of the term "short wheelbase vehicle". Looked all over the 'net and can't seem to find an answer.

I know that wheelbase itself is the distance from front-to-back wheel centers; but what defines short versus long?

Is it a matter of percentage-of-total length? Length vs. height? Amount of rear overhang? Or is it just that everything below a certain wheelbase length is considered "short wheelbase"?

Thanks for any enlightenment provided...

What is a short wheelbase? Depends on the type of vehicle.

My 4dr Sedan has a 109" wheelbase, which is NOT considered "short".

Some Mid-Size SUV's have wheelbases of 109", and ARE considered "short".

The Chevy Tahoe has a 116" wheelbase, which is still considered "short".

So, for trucks and SUV's, I'd have to say anything over 120" falls out of the "short wheelbase" classification, even though I drive a large SUV with a 123" wheelbase, and some still call it short. I'd say that's more like "medium wheelbase"! LOL

But look at makes up the majority of tow vehicles on this site to which they compare. We have mostly Large and long trucks here, some with 160+ LONG wheelbase!