As off-road enthusiasts living in Southern California, we are all but in the eye of the “desert truck hurricane” – aka the hub of the prerunner movement. Having grown up around and owning numerous prerunner-style trucks, we at Off Road Xtreme wanted to share with our readers the five best looking platforms to build a pre runner (in our opinion), and get your opinion on it too!

1999-2006 Chevy Silverado: As a fullsize truck, the 1999-2006 Chevy Silver-Ray-Do was a darn good looking truck with smooth lines, nice build quality, and a strong offering of Vortec powerplants. They were built “like a rock” for work, but they also looked great as desert trucks. Even better, once the 2003 facelift came about, the Silverado had quite the “look” when built up as a desert truck.

2004-2008 Ford F150: Call it the boxy but smooth body lines or the masculine front end, but the 2004-2008 Ford F150 sure made some great looking prerunners – especially in SuperCrew Configuration! They weren’t the most beautiful trucks stock, but with the right upgrades and some nice wide fenders with 37s tucked underneath, they offered up some striking desert trucks long before the Raptor was a flicker in Ford’s eye! 

2006+ Toyota Tundra: Serving as the second generation full-size truck for Toyota, the 2006-present Tundra makes for some great looking desert trucks. This is in large part due to the nice body lines that really go well with some fiberglass fenders and a desert-style bumper, but regardless, four-door Tundra prerunners look awesome! Throw in one of Toyota’s 5.7-liter V8s, and you have a recipe for fun!

2004+ Toyota Tacoma: The second generation Toyota Tacoma which has been sold from 2004 till present day makes a great platform for a mid-size prerunner. Thanks to the stout 4.0-liter V6 powerplant and coil over suspension system that allows for easy upgrades, the Tacoma has been a favorite for desert goers. Despite a slight facelift for 2012, the 2004-2011 body style was really complimented with some desert-style!

1992-1996 Ford F150: Without a doubt, my personal favorite platform to build a prerunner off of was the 1992-1996 generation of F150s, back when trucks were trucks! With Ford’s twin-traction-beam (I-beam) front suspensions, upper-teens travel figures were easy and cheap to attain which made them very versatile in the desert. In addition, the wide, flat, and boxy design really helped give these trucks a one-of-a-kind look when built for the open desert!

Well that’s it for our top five folks, but the party is just beginning. Let us know which of the trucks above you agree with in a comment below and don’t be shy to tell us which style truck you think should have made the cut!