Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Any issues with the aluminum body Ford F150 trucks

damn, a lot of people have new trucks around here

How can that possibly be since they made fun of the Ford aluminum boxes in all those commercials.

Curious if winter road salt/calcium in the north lands, is causing any corrosion so far on the aluminum bodies.

As for aluminum vs steel and hail damage, my '14 Silverado has an aluminum hood. Far more hail and road stone damage on the hood, than the rest of the truck. We had a wicked hail storm a few years ago that did some minor damage to the hood, but nada on top of the steel roof.

The fuel mileage figures I see here, don't really vary much from what I've been getting with my Chebbie for almost five years, so don't see an incentive to go aluminum? 1500 ext. cab, short bed. 5.3L, 3:73 gears, 4x4, with at least 500 pounds or more in the bed. Guy can't drive several hours to hunting camp without tools, jacks, chain saws and log chains. Best ever obtained, 24.3, before I'd loaded all that stuff in the bed. Still averages 18 to over 19 on extended trips and ticks off 22 or better rolling down a four lane at 75 MPH.

Seems to be a trend around here in the past two years, for guys to be swapping Fords, Toyotas and Chevys, for new RAM 4x4s?

Yeah right , Karma is a beotch

FWIW if I ever get around to having it fixed, I'll be on my third aluminum
Ford Ranger hood. They can't repair one for less than it costs to replace
it like they could if it were steel. I've had F150 and Bronco steel hoods
repaired before from hail

I'm just curious if the 10 spd automatics or the later 6 speeds are still having electronics issues. My 11 has been a trainwreck of electronic issues since I hit 100k. Its the lead plate in the tranny... they extended the warranty on them to 150k but good luck getting a dealer to fix them.

2015 super cab F-150 3.5 ecoboost, 4x4. Average city/highway has been right around 19 to 19.5. Straight highway was 21.5 last trip I took and that included some mountain driving. My only gripe is Ford no longer sells the F-150 4x4 with a stick and hubs. Not all that fond of 4x4 with slush box tranny.
Paul B.

2015 F-150 with 3.5 eco boost. 88k and not a problem, great truck and good power with more than adequate mileage.

Remember, Ford uses that thar special "military grade" aluminum on their trucks... 🤣

At first I thought the back end was light and easy to spin the wheels with out extra weight in the box, I realized it was the extra Horsepower of these new engines being at fault by being operated by old guys like me used to the dogs we used to drive...… <B

Does a guy have to "have" one to be more legitimate than a rumor-monger in your book? Would you wish to consider 65 years of driving all sorts of trucks and several thousand miles of driving an aluminum bodied Ford - much of it in strong wind on slippery roads - as some sort of valid observation? How does your aluma body handle in those conditions?

I have 66,000 miles on mine and have driven in strong winds as well as wet road conditions and can say as of this day that i have have no problem.

I did have to learn how to mash the skinny pedal in the right way to keep tires from burning up the road.

I have never had any problem with the paint as well.

It tows an 18 ft.trailer with my 1971 massy on it as well a 6 ft tandem disk.

I do have the 3.5 and have trailer mode,it works.

Mine does just fine. Has been since early 16

CCC;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope that all is well in your world on this second last weekend of August.

With the full disclosure that I am currently employed by a local Big 3 auto dealership - but don't currently drive or own what's sold there - I'd offer the following.

In my last job I was responsible for the maintenance of a small fleet of vehicles for a construction company. They had a smattering of Ford and Dodge vehicles mostly, with a Range Rover and a couple Mercedes autos thrown in for good measure - oh and a Nissan that I forgot about as well.

Because of our physical location and the location of lots of our work, many if not most of the vehicles ended up making the 5 hour trip to Vancouver regularly - as in at least weekly - and year round at that.

The chosen way for our firm to do that was the infamous Coquihalla Highway - which the TV show Highway Thru Hell is filmed on.

There have been, according to the provincial insurance corporation which deals with such things - I quote "According to ICBC there were 32 fatal crashes between 2004 and 2013, and an estimated 400-500 accidents occur during the winter seasons"

When my boss at the time got a new '17 Eco Boost F150 - he complained that it was in his words "the most unstable POS he'd ever driven on ice".

Now to be clear, this chap didn't believe that the posted speed limits were anything more than suggestions and after driving with him on a few occasions it reaffirmed my faith in a Creator who is looking after my well being personally.....

The F150 went to the business manager who stayed in the valley mostly and didn't travel very far or very often.

I want to say the boss liked the Ram 1500 pickup on slippery ice covered roads much better - and honestly had rave reviews for his 4 door Jeep Rubicon on ice, which was to me anyway counter intuitive to say the least.

Speaking personally to tzone's specifications, I'm still driving an '03 Dodge 2500 Cummins and it's got to be among the very worst vehicles on ice ever devised by man! I believe it's because they're so stiffly sprung more than anything and running 10ply tires at even a modest 55psi isn't optimum for ice.

Anyway sir, all the best to you and tzone in your upcoming hunts this fall.

Dwayne

I have a 2016 F150 Lariat FX4 supercrew purchased 12/31/2016. Just turned over 50K. I have changed oil and filter every 5K with Mobil 1. It is a 2.7L V6 Ecoboost 6-speed auto with tow pkg. I work in town and raise cattle on the side and use a truck . First, thing I did was change the factory shocks to Bilsteins so I could carry a load and keep it from jumping when hitting bumps in road. It has push button start which is a pain if you are getting in and out opening and closing gates...it honks twice if you close the door while the truck is running with push button start. I'm getting better about leaving the door cracked on exit. It is comfortable on the inside and the little engine has impressed me with it's power pulling stock trailers, fertilizer buggies, and etc. My previous big V8 Ford truck used to roar when accelerating and this little fella barely makes a sound but will hit "faster than you should go" in a few heartbeats. So, I think it is OK and we will see if it lasts 15 years like my last one. Oh, I forgot to mention that the rats ate the engine wiring (Ford went to plant based wiring cover made from corn, rice, etc) and that was a insurance deductible and several days borrowing another truck. I now open the hood at night when it is under the carport. I even throw in a moth ball or two occasionally. I guess nothing is perfect.....neighbors new Chevy was also a rat meal after my experience.. going green good for environment and rats

What pickup truck doesn’t need weight in the back for winter driving?

99% of the time I'm driving a diesel F350 and the rare time I drive my mom's F150 or wife's Explorer both them them feel a little 'light'. Fun change, feels like driving a go-kart.

The F150 is REALLY light feeling and almost squirrelly, IMHO.


If I owned one I'd have weight of some kind on it. Couple big Yeti's strapped down with drinks would be more useful than sand!

I even have 4-6 sand bagsin the back of my 2wd Taco in the winter. Never weighed them, but they're "heavy".

Plus studded tires all around.

Had a 14 pre aluminum f150 it was a good truck. It was light in the arse end hell all trucks are. A 3/4 or 1 ton will have a little more weight with a bigger rear end and springs but a halfer's pretty light always have been. I put a cab high canopy on mine gonna guess maybe 250-300lbs that smartened it right up. Fine in the mountains in winter in 2 wheel drive then doesn't take much.

Maybe most do - have never owned a 1/2 ton or modern lightweight - but our 2001 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins and 4wd has not needed extra bed weight even up here at 8,000 ft. with deep snow and/or slippery/windy conditions. The heavy frame/suspension and heavy engine/trans setup seem to make a big difference. By comparison, the F150 aluma deal can be quite squirrely in such conditions.