The Urban Gorilla certainly looks like a unique and extreme 4x4. They look like a Hummer but are in fact not related - other than in spirit perhaps. In short the Urban Gorilla is a 4x4 body replacement kit that you can use to upgrade your tired old pickup.
I got curious and had to find out more. So I got in touch with Merrick the owner to fill us in.
Tell us a little about your company.
The Urban Gorilla came to life in 1997 as a way to get military functionality and design for use with readily available chassis. Customers would now have the freedom to use a chassis they prefer and get the increased reliability, performance, readily available parts and service, as well as better economy in many areas. Customers could now build their perfect, custom truck exactly they way they wanted and get a finished product that is not available anywhere else.
How did the idea about producing the Urban Gorilla come about?
The originator of the product had an epiphany after he realized that you could use a standard wheelbase vehicle like a suburban or pickup truck and get a new body that would accommodate larger tires, increased functionality, improved performance, better economy... in many areas. Under the new ownership, the product line has expanded to include the narrower Sport version that is a foot narrower so you can now use compact pickups and SUV's. Also, you have the flexibility of 2-, 4- or 6-door bodies as well as custom stretched bodies.
What were your main goals for the 4x4s upgrade?
Customers are now able to use the chassis and drive train they desire and go with a custom body to fit their specific needs and desires. It is like you are the designer and can build your exact dream truck from the ground up. What better option is there than getting the perfect extreme 4x4 for you!
How easy is it to perform the job?
In the past, the full-body swaps were more involved as you would drop on a completely new body and needed to work out the steering, pedals, controls... which is an excellent option for the meticulous builder who wants to customize all of the components. Additionally we have the new Quick Swap bodies where you leave the existing dash, firewall, etc... and drop a new body over the top. The new option saves a great deal of time and money and you can end up with a great finished 4x4 truck in record time as well as enjoy all the modern features.
Will I get any performance advantage like a reduction in total weight after my build?
There are increased performance options and flexibility. For example, you could start with a 2-seat pickup truck and end up with an Urban Gorilla with seating for 7 to 10+. You can also choose to get removable wagon and/or slant back so you can have several body styles in one. So you could have a pickup for when you want to haul items or go off-roading, the put on a wagon back for more cargo or seating, then put on a slant back for a baja race, then take off the doors and back and have an open side and back beach vehicle...
There are so many options and benefits as you can pick and choose what is best for you.
Why should off roaders consider swapping in a new body?
The main reasons for going with a new body can be for performance e.g. more room for bigger tires, ground clearance, articulation, seating, functionality...
Also, you can use the Urban Gorilla in place of several vehicles. For example you can use it to tow, go off roading, daily driver, out on the town, carry people or gear...
It is truly the swiss-army knife of vehicles with an option for nearly all applications.
What are my options when I plan on making an upgrade and are there some special issues that I should consider?
A good idea is to start with the chassis that best meets your needs (e.g. diesel pickup vs compact truck) as well as the body style that best fits your anticipated usage (e.g. full-size wagon or narrower hard-top pickup). The chassis you choose will usually determine what body options you have. For example, if you have or want to use a compact pickup you will want to use the narrower Sport body. If you want to go with a full-size 6-door body you will need a longer wheelbase full-size truck.
What kind of trucks are ideal for the kit?
Below is a synopsis of the different bodies and best donors:
2-Door Bodies - from about 100" wheelbase on up (i.e. shorter pickups and SUVs), compact or full-width, can use full-length wheelbase and have a longer bed...
4-Door Bodies - Normally around 130" wheelbase (can trim hood area for about 123" wheelbase on up), compact or full-width, Suburban or regular-cab long bed pickups or extended cab compact pickups, can also stretch for longer wheelbases or for more pickup bed length...
6-Door Bodies - Normally around 165" wheelbase (can trim hood are for wheelbases of about 157" on up- Demo 6-door on 153" wheelbase), narrowed or full-width, usually crew cab or extended-cab long-bed pickups or custom stretched frames.
I know there are some great off road trails in Utah. Tell me about your off roading experience.
We recently went into one of the toughest trails in Utah. We took the Sport demo on a 2004 Ford Ranger chassis. It originally had 37" tires on it with the stock suspension and we went with 33" tires for more articulation. It did extremely well. We had an ex-special forces soldier along and he was extremely impressed about the performance. He was amazed that we were able to go up all of the obstacles except one on the very first try without revving or hitting them hard. The one we didn't crawl right up we backed up and moved slightly to the left and went right up.
Even better, on the way out we towed out a broken 4Runner that had broken a ring and pinion. So not only did the Urban Gorilla master all of the obstacles but it also pulled a broken vehicle through all of them on the way out!!!
We were all incredibly impressed with the Urban Gorilla's performance. Even though it was a stock chassis underneath the new body allows for wider tires and more articulation resulting in increased performance and stability. It was also nice to have plenty of room to carry gear protected from the elements with the removable wagon back.
Can you give us an idea about how many Urban Gorillas are currently in use and where I might find them?
There are Urban Gorillas all over the world with most in the US.
Is it easy to fit larger tires - say 38" or even bigger?
Normally you can fit at least 38" tires without any type of lift on most full-size donors. For example, we have a 2001 3/4 ton Suburban that has 38" tires on it even with the Quick Swap (we did pound up the old firewall so 36" fit better :-). We put 37" tires on a stock Ford Ranger where we even left the stock inner fenders. We then went down to 33" tires to tow and for more articulation- see above photo with buggy on Sport.
So depending on the donor you can usually go with 37" on up without the expense of lifting the suspension or the body.
The Urban Gorilla is an exciting new option for us off roaders.
You can find more information and see a time-lapse video of the Quick Swap version of the narrower Sport body being built at www.4x4Bodies.com.
Extreme 4x4 are highly modified and custom built 4x4s. Some of them may look like other 4x4s but as you look closer you see interesting solutions. Others are obviously extreme 4x4s!
