R Conventional

This nameplate refers to Chevrolet’s carryover full-size conventional-cab truck line for the late Square Body era. For 1987, GM revised the older C/K pickup naming to R for two-wheel-drive trucks and V for four-wheel-drive trucks so it would not be confused with the newly introduced GMT400-era pickups that were also entering the market. The R-series continued the familiar body and chassis architecture of the earlier full-size Chevrolet trucks, serving buyers who wanted a traditional cab-and-bed pickup while the newer generation rolled out beside it. During this period, the nameplate covered the remaining conventional-cab, older-body full-size trucks rather than an all-new design. Production of this carryover line ended after the 1991 model year, when the last of the older full-size body styles gave way to the newer truck platform. Enthusiasts often treat the 1987–1991 R-series as the final chapter of Chevrolet’s long-running square-body full-size pickup era.