Looks like the 2015 Ford F-150 Could Be a Game-Changer

RobWNY wrote:
I think the biggest concern for buyers of the Ford all Aluminum body pickups will be the cost of insuring them. The vast majority of vehicle repair shops aren't equipped to fix Aluminum panels. They replace them with new panels. I have a friend that had hail damage (7 small dings)on the hood of his Mazda Miata that is Aluminum. The repair facility didn't even attempt to repair it. They just installed a new hood. The cost of repairs will be significantly higher after a collision and therefore so will the insurance costs.

You are thinking wrong Rob!!
Many times when I was still working, I would contact insurance brokers as customers upgraded their trucks from a 5 to 10 yr old to a new F150 and often insurance would not go up, sometimes down. More noticable when brand changes were made.
After questioning this, the answer is obvious.. :h
This is Canada but imagine similar in ther USA where there are more lawyers per capita...:B

Ther big insurance companys really don't worry about a $2000 repair or even a $35,000 total loss. They really do worry about a $1000,000 personal injury claim with possible ongoing payments for rest of that persons life.
So as the crash safety rating improved from say a 2003 to a 2013 F150 they would not charge more even though trucks worth say $10,000 to $40,000.
In their eyes, there was less chance of an injury and thats what drives huge rate changes.
So as long as the 2015 F150 have improved crash ratings (which they will) the rates will likely not change much at all.

sabconsulting wrote:
This looks like an excellent truck. My pick would be the 3.5 turbo 4x4. That would easily handle my camper. Glad to see all of these now have a decent payload; I just don't see the point of having a pickup truck that can't pickup anything meaningful because of its limited payload. Hopefully it will also mean that those people who buy one then decide they want a truck camper won't be as disappointed as previous half ton pick-up owners when they found their 1500 lb or lower payload was a real limitation when considering a camper.

Steve.

I agree, Steve. This is has been brought up so many times here on this forum. So many guys have been disappointed to hear that their short-bed 1/2-ton is severely limited on what it can haul. At least now with the new F-150 they'll have some decent choices that involve more than just a tiny pop-up without a wet bath. The long-bed F-150s should have even more payload.

No doubt you'll still need to upgrade the passenger tires to a good LT LR-E tire with the requisite weight capacity.

Bedlam wrote:
It's going to come down to the rear axle capacity regardless of posted payload.

Good point. The article points to the max tow package which currently has a 4050 RAWR/P tires numbers.
We don't know what the new light weight aluminum skinned trucks rear axle will weigh but lets say its 2100-2200 lbs. Now add a 3300 lb payload and those small P tires and the 4050 lb rated small semi float rear axle is at 5500 lbs.

From the article;
"A payload capacity of 3,300lbs means that the 2015 Ford F150 could haul around a car in the bed if it would fit and for those question that – I own a classic American muscle car that weighs a touch under 3,000lbs.
Will anyone really haul 3,300lbs in the bed of their 2015 Ford F150? Probably, but it won’t be common and the important part is that if you NEED to haul 3,000lbs worth of anything – the 2015 F150 is the only half-ton truck on the market that will be able to safely handle that load."

The writer will have a severally overloaded rear axle/P tires and wheels.

Dents are character! Signs of doing manly things! HEHE!!!

Aluminum body panels are replaced and not repaired. I have an 05 Volvo car with an aluminum hood, it even has a dedicated vent bringing fresh air into the battery compartment so the gases from the battery don't corrode/melt the aluminum. I'm not sold on aluminum body panels, the dented panels require replacement which isn't cheap, and they need full paint.

I think the biggest concern for buyers of the Ford all Aluminum body pickups will be the cost of insuring them. The vast majority of vehicle repair shops aren't equipped to fix Aluminum panels. They replace them with new panels. I have a friend that had hail damage (7 small dings)on the hood of his Mazda Miata that is Aluminum. The repair facility didn't even attempt to repair it. They just installed a new hood. The cost of repairs will be significantly higher after a collision and therefore so will the insurance costs.

Pretty sure they haven't changed the superduty line yet (250,350) although I heard it was in the works for 2016.

RoyB wrote:
My brother-in-law is driving a new 2014 All aluminum F250 diesel work truck for VDOT..

Aluminum body or engine? The change in the F150 is body, right?

This 'tiny house' deal is getting out of hand.