Forum Discussion
- Looks very similar to the "steel" fenders on my Dodge.
Bigfoot affair wrote:
IdaD wrote:
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.
Aircraft do hold up well, BUT they are regularly maintained, inspected and repaired. This is the aft flight attendant jump seat base on one of our newest planes, about 4 years old.... Ugly!
That is exactly why I say to wait a few years to see how well they hold up in the real world. What kind of preventive maintenance is required to keep that from happening? I don't see 99.9999999% of truck owners doing any maint. Most of them have a hard enough time keeping the oil changed regularly!ksss wrote:
What I can say after 22 years of owning an excavation company which as a part of that involves running and owning class 8 trucks, that aluminum frames don't hold up. You cant hardly give them away, except for scrape. That is a fact.
How carefuly are dump trucks loaded? Kinda like garbage trucks - just pack it to the top.
nobody has any idea what they weigh.- So GM is making a hackneyed attempt to blacken the eye of the top dog again. Big Deal, That's what marketing is all about. In about 4 years they figure out they can't beat em and will join em. Till then there going to sit on the porch and fire blanks.
IdaD wrote:
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.
Aircraft do hold up well, BUT they are regularly maintained, inspected and repaired. This is the aft flight attendant jump seat base on one of our newest planes, about 4 years old.... Ugly!- What I can say after 22 years of owning an excavation company which as a part of that involves running and owning class 8 trucks, that aluminum frames don't hold up. You cant hardly give them away, except for scrape. That is a fact.
ksss wrote:
I was the shop foreman in the 70's for Saunders leasing. We were Ryders competition with a huge fleet nation wide. I can tell you we had no more frame problems from aluminum than steel and no one is rougher on trucks than renters.Sport45 wrote:
ksss wrote:
Bird Freak wrote:
WyoTraveler wrote:
if you are waiting to see how they hold up just look at the older class 8 road tractors. When I was in trucking in the 70's and 80's all of our trucks had aluminum cabs and some frames. Never saw one to this day just fall a part or deteriorate like steel and they see more salt and abuse than our little trucks will ever see.
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.
Cracked frames was a common problem with aluminum frames in over the road trucks. Aluminum has a place but it is not in frames, at least not on vehicles that work for a living.
So all those aluminum trailers we see are just one good bump away from breaking in half?
http://www.fontainetrailer.com/revolution_aluminum_flatbed_trailer.html
I am saying that the tractors had issues with cracked frames. There is a lot of difference between trailers and tractors.- I'll back the aluminum body, when I've seen them on the road for a few years in the salt belt (Midwest).
As for GM trying to make aluminum look bad......what will they say about their trucks in a couple years?!!! Sport45 wrote:
ksss wrote:
Bird Freak wrote:
WyoTraveler wrote:
if you are waiting to see how they hold up just look at the older class 8 road tractors. When I was in trucking in the 70's and 80's all of our trucks had aluminum cabs and some frames. Never saw one to this day just fall a part or deteriorate like steel and they see more salt and abuse than our little trucks will ever see.
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.
Cracked frames was a common problem with aluminum frames in over the road trucks. Aluminum has a place but it is not in frames, at least not on vehicles that work for a living.
So all those aluminum trailers we see are just one good bump away from breaking in half?
http://www.fontainetrailer.com/revolution_aluminum_flatbed_trailer.html
I am saying that the tractors had issues with cracked frames. There is a lot of difference between trailers and tractors.Ryan*Elli wrote:
So does this mean GM will go back to using cast iron for many of their engine blocks and heads?
I see what you did there..........and it's funny!!! :B
