Toyota Stout: the light truck Toyota built for forty years

The Toyota Stout is a light truck produced from 1956 through 2000 and the successor of the RK truck, whose K-series model codes it inherited. It was effectively replaced by the Hilux in most markets in 1968, but in some regions the two were sold side by side with the Stout as the heavy-duty alternative.

Toyota Stout at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Toyota Stout.

History of the Toyota Stout

First generation (K20/K30; 1956)

The Stout was introduced in April 1956 as the Toyopet RK23 1.5-ton truck, using the same cabin as the Masterline coupe utility, itself derived from the short-lived Master saloon. Although both were ladder-frame pickups, the RK23 was a heavy-duty model with twice the payload of the Masterline, and it shared its chassis with the Dyna cab-over until 1963. Its main rival was the Nissan Junior. The 1.5-litre R engine produced 49 PS through a three-speed manual, with leaf springs all round, solid axles and four-wheel drum brakes. In 1957 power rose to 55 PS and Toyota added a two-door extended cab and a three-door van or station wagon. An April 1958 facelift made it the RK30, with a synchronised four-speed gearbox and a column shifter to seat three, and a long-wheelbase RK35 with a 1.75-ton payload followed two months later. In June 1959 it was renamed the Toyopet Stout after a naming competition, and power reached 60 PS a month later.

Second generation (K40/K100; 1960)

The completely redesigned Stout of July 1960 is the most familiar version. It began with the 1,453 cc R engine as the RK45, still with a 1.75-ton payload, and in October 1962 a two-ton RK100 arrived with the 1,897 cc 3R-B engine to counter the Nissan Junior 1900, along with a facelift and twin headlights. It used leaf springs, drum brakes and a ladder frame, in pickup, double-cab pickup, box van and station wagon forms. The Stout was Toyota’s launch model in South Africa in 1961 and sold well there until 1979; the RK45 was the first Toyota assembled from knock-down kits in South Africa in 1962, and 17,500 Stouts were sold there between 1961 and 1975, most assembled locally. It was also assembled in Thailand from 1964, in Uruguay from 1963 to 1972 and in Peru from 1967 to 1971.

The Lite Stout and the end

In September 1963 Toyota added the Lite Stout (RK40), a shorter, lighter model with the 1.5-litre R engine and independent coil-sprung front suspension for a more car-like ride, aimed at Nissan’s Datsun minitrucks. It never sold well at home and was replaced by the Briska and Hilux after Toyota took over Hino. A 1.9-litre version was sold in North America as the Stout 1900 (RK41) from 1964 to 1967, with just four sold in its first American year. South Africa assembled the Lite Stout from 1965 and called it the Stallion to distinguish it from the solid-axle original. Export complaints about cabin space brought a 50 mm longer cabin in 1964, balanced by a shorter rear bed on the long-wheelbase heavy-duty model. The Stout remained in production in some markets until 2000, long after the Hilux had taken its place elsewhere.

Design and features

• Heavy-duty pickup: twice the payload of the Masterline when it launched.
• South African favourite: the launch model there in 1961, with 17,500 sold by 1975.
• Lite Stout: a lighter model with coil-sprung front suspension.
• Long life: built from 1956 to 2000, outlasting its replacement in some markets.

Toyota Stout versions

• RK23 (1956): the original 1.5-ton truck.
• RK30 (1958): synchronised four-speed and column shift.
• RK35: long-wheelbase version with a 1.75-ton payload.
• RK100 (1962): two-tonne model with the 1.9-litre 3R-B engine.
• Lite Stout (1963): smaller model with independent front suspension.
• Stout 1900 (1964): North American version of the Lite Stout.

The Stout was replaced by the Hilux and shared its cab family with the Dyna and ToyoAce; the Master supplied its cab. More cars are in the Toyota collection.

Sources

• Toyota Stout, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, markets