Forum Discussion
- I drove a number of aluminum body fire apparatus. Emergency One of Ocala, Florida introduced them to the market in the mid 1970's. In the beginning, I recall issues with paint adhesion to the body panels, corrosion issues with fasteners where the body panels attached to the steel truck chassis, and cracking of the hose body section of the truck. Over time all have must have been addressed since E1 is still in business and sells a lot of fire apparatus. My former department has been purchasing them for over 30 years now and they hold up well.
Think GM is just trying to stop the bleeding in their half ton market share since all the auto media I read says Ford can't build F-150's fast enough to meet demand............. - Double post
Lantley wrote:
Sort of agree but widespread use of Aluminum has not been proven just yet in the pick up market.
Aluminum has been proven in the truck market for decades. Truck makers such a Peterbilt have used aluminum cab and hoods since 1948. Those trucks go millions of miles through just about anything you would put your truck through. Other truck manufacturers followed in Peterbilt's foot steps soon after, and now there are a lot of things on these trucks made of aluminum. For example the fuel tanks, air tanks, grille, decking, wheels, and so on are all made of aluminum on these. Take a look the next time you are next to one.WyoTraveler wrote:
I still wonder how aluminum will hold up. Corrosion, accidents etc. If I recall several years ago another industry went aluminum. Wiring in mobile homes. Lots of mobile homes burned down until they got it right. Aluminum won't rust but have you ever seen aluminum skirting on mobile homes in the AZ desert? It just disappears where it comes close to certain soils. Deteriates faster than rusted steel. Like to see the chassis in 5 years. Take a look at some of the first horse trails built with aluminum. Falling apart. A PU gets used off road where these harsh dirts etc. get up underneath. Not like a Corvet driving down highways. Maybe that is GMs plan. Wait and see. I only buy Fords but I'll wait and watch.
Aluminum seems to hold up fine on jets, and they get used hard in tough conditions 18 hours a day. I think the F150 will hold up fine, with maybe a little more expense tied up in repairs. If I were buying a new half ton today, I'd be getting an F150.larry barnhart wrote:
Who makes a Titan truck? new name for me.
chevman
I thought you were the "chevman"???
larry barnhart wrote:
Who makes a Titan truck? new name for me.
chevman
Here you go
I drove them also back in the day,awfully cramped cab for a tall guy like me.- Who makes a Titan truck? new name for me.
chevman - Aluminum trucks? New? From 1976 to 1979 I drove a Titan 90 class 8 tractor. All aluminum frame, front bumper and cab, and to boot I towed an all aluminum 8500 gallon tanker trailer.
Tare weights:
Tractor 15K
Trailer 10K
Chris - I think the biggest challenge with AL is what happens when you have dissimilar metals together. I use to be a cable tech and we would go to an aerial tap that had an AL terminator in contact with a steel bodied tap and there was nothing you could do to get that off, it was essentially welded on after a few years in the weather.
- This is a very informative article from Car & Driver Magazine:
F-150 aluminum
There are a lot of different types of aluminum alloys, and Ford has used different types for different components in the F-150.
The ladder frame, anti-intrusion pillars, and tailgate base are still steel.
