Why You'll Want Rear-Wheel Steering on Your Next Truck

Despite its failure in the marketplace, rear-wheel steering is still a sound idea, especially in larger vehicles.

Few people likely remember, but GM offered this technology a decade and a half ago in its full-size pickup trucks. Quadrasteer provided a tighter turning radius at low speeds and more stable handling on highway drives. It worked extremely well, though unfortunately never took off. High cost and questionable reliability are the likely culprits for its market failure.

Still, work has continued in this field and German automotive supplier ZF has fitted a system it developed to a Platinum-trim Ford F-150 and we tested it at a drive event in Austria.

While still maintaining its live axle, just like engineers in Dearborn, Michigan, intended, each of this modified pickup’s rear wheels can turn by up to 12.5 degrees, a figure that’s curiously limited by the rear suspension. If those wheels pivoted any more, the tires would hit the leaf springs, which is less than ideal.

Still, despite such a seemingly limited amount of travel, that 12.5-degrees of movement drops the truck’s overall curb-to-curb turning diameter by a whopping 10 feet, making it incredibly maneuverable for a vehicle that’s 200-plus inches long.

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Without rear-wheel steering engaged, manhandling this full-size truck through a tight cone course was nothing if not stressful. Constant attention was required to avoid killing any cones, along with what felt like several 47-point turns.

But allow those rear wheels to pivot and the F-150 seemingly lost 10 feet from behind the driver’s seat. It pivoted into tight spaces with ease, almost feeling like it could rival a Smart car’s urban agility.

At low speeds, driving a vehicle that’s equipped with one of these systems feels a bit odd. The front and rear wheels turn in opposite directions, which causes the back end to seemingly move sideways, an unexpected sensation.

In addition to greater maneuverability, rear-wheel steering provides at least one other benefit. It can help eliminate trailer sway by steering the back tires in a manner that cancels out unwanted motions.

Unfortunately, for the time being at least, this arrangement is just a prototype, though the system is in its second generation. Despite offering a rear-wheel steering system that’s found in several high-dollar cars, including the Porsche Panamera, ZF currently has no plans to introduce a version for live rear axles. Still, one of their representatives said manufacturers can likely make a case for reintroducing the technology since there’s strong demand for $60,000 luxury pickups, which wasn’t the case 15 or 20 years ago.

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