A Truck Upfitter is Building Toyota Hilux 6X6 pickup Trucks to Save the World
While Top Gear brought the Toyota Hilux’s status as the unkillable pickup truck to light, people have been trusting in that fact for years with the Hilux. While this overseas-model Toyota pickup truck is unkillable, it is only the beginning of how useful these trucks can be. A truck upfitter in the UK called 6×6 Hiload specializes in turning these unkillable pickup trucks into six-wheeled chariots of utility.
The six-wheeled Toyota Hilux
If this truck sounds a tad extreme, it’s only because it absolutely is. According to The Drive, the addition of the two extra wheels requires stretching the Toyota 48 inches and adding an additional axle. The newly customized 6×6 chassis isn’t just longer, though; it also appears to be on the mixture Sylvester Stalone used to beef up for Rambo. After 6×6 Hiload gets done with it, this new chassis can now carry a payload of 6,613 lbs. This whole rig also comes with a self-leveling air suspension to keep everything flat and soft. And, if it needs saying, these six-wheelers also have a transfer case able to engage all six wheels for full 6×6 carnage.
What are these 6×6 trucks used for?
While companies like Hennessey and other performance groups build bazillion-dollar 6×6 trucks to flex on other people who care about stupid stuff like that, 6×6 Hiload builds their trucks to be used in a variety of utility applications.
6×6 trucks are used in some fire and rescue applications. Some departments need light-duty, off-road firetrucks and ambulances to access remote places that standard fire and rescue vehicles can’t. Firefighting requires a great deal of heavy gear and materials. As noted by The Drive, the massive payload allows the 6×6 Hilux to carry all of the water, hoses, and various other bits of firefighting gear needed for a remote fire or rescue situation. Thanks to the 6×6 driveline, the Hilux can also get damn near anywhere the truck can physically fit.
6×6 Hiload also builds Toyota Hiluxs as ambulances. Thanks to the extended and reinforced chassis, the trucks can carry the EMT personnel and gear needed for remote rescue and triage.
There are also military uses. Some groups have used the six-wheel Toyota as a troop carrier and weapons carrier. This could look like a supply truck or a large, mobile-mounted weapon. Weapon systems like a105mm cannon and even 120mm mortar systems can be fitted to the 6×6 chassis. Outside of military applications, there are other government uses for the Toyota long boys. Hiload has mad commercial vehicles, such as plows, dump trucks, and even powerline repair trucks. The firm is even working on an all-electric mining truck meant to actually drive and work underground.
Is the Toyota Hilux really the most reliable pickup truck
The Toyota Hilux is famously known for being tough and reliable. This is what makes 6×6 Hiload make sense. Making a tough truck more capable without adding unnecessary power and luxury is a recipe for building one of the most useful vehicles on the planet.
