Forum Discussion
65 Replies
- Some time ago I was watching a documentary on aluminum use in airplanes. It mentioned the cracking problem. Boeing got around this issue with thicker material. It also mentioned all aluminum had an end date. The aluminum can only withstand stress for a set period of time. Steel does not have an end date. Steel can continue to work.
- Ahhhh Troy
The perfect storm is a diesel 1500 err 150 that deliverers 28 MPG and won't crush you or your loved ones in a accident. If that F150 gets 30 MPG is one thing but that insurance increase of 10% is another. Let me guess here, knowing how you drive :B , yours must be in the $2500 range annually. It will take many gallons to make up your $250 added insurance cost. Especially when the Ram pulls donw a nice 28.
And for all you Boeing guys, they don't test crash airplanes to my knowledge :E
You know like a crumple zone or such. Those wings do flex though :B - The post was what the f-150 will could you. If you is me it will not cost me anything.
chevman Engineer9860 wrote:
This is something I thought about when the announcement was made that the F-150 was going to aluminum.
There currently isn't any body shops with the infrastructure in place to fix the aluminum bodies. The ones who can make the investment for the equipment to do so will have a leg up on their competition.
And the aluminum F-150 will be more expensive to insure. No doubt. There is no getting around that. It will certainly be more expensive to repair. Once compromised aluminum will have to be replaced. It cannot be worked like steel.
One other thought on aluminum is crack propagation. Aluminum airplane skin, and OTR diesel truck bodies crack just from stress, flex, and every day usage. Will this affect resale?
How long before the meth heads start stealing them just for the scrap aluminum...... Higher to insure because of the threat of theft.
These are all legitimate things to consider.
I'm pretty sure you don't know the material composition that is being used including myself. Having said that I'm not convinced your analogy is correct, including your meth heads is a whopper (I'm more worried about loosing my steel tailgate than my aluminum hood).
On the flexing and cracking topic, some of the '96 F150's developed a very small crack in the driver side door on the lower right hand portion around the window. The reason was because the structure/support design wasn't very good and adding thicker sheet metal and adhesive material on the back side of the affected area would not solve the problem.- I want an electric drive version with at least 50 mile range before the gasoline generator kicks on.
Aluminum will be covering most future vehicles as the models get updated and supplies can be procured. - Remember Ford's goal is to lead and that requires you to make changes to provide the customer with the best overall product.
I had a '98 F150 with an aluminum hood and I'm pretty sure my '12 Super Duty has an aluminum hood also, and it's form, fit and function is completely transparent.
Also the aluminum alloy is designed to be stronger and lighter than the steel it replaces. If there is one vehicle that can make a paradyme shift in the truck industry it's the Ford F150 due to it's volume.
Fuel economy is the name of the game right now and it's interesting to see the manufacturers different approaches to squeeze every mile out of a gallon of gas or diesel.
Right now oil is ~ $100/barrel and gas and diesel prices will continue to flirt with the $4.00/gallon threshold at the pump as it's just a matter of time as the worlds oil reserves continue to go down driving oil prices up and in the meantime ethanol continues to assist with driving fuel cost up and fuel economy down. The perfect storm is a reality. - Retired now, but when working I sent info to many insurance companies when customers purchased new trucks. I learned over the years, and many customers were VERY surprised to find out that often; their insurance never increased much when they traded a say 5 to 10 year old truck on a new one.
The insurance brokers explanation; the cost of repairing the truck is nothing compared to the medical costs if someone gets hurt!
Even a total loss of say $40 to $60,000 is small potatoes compared to hundreds of thousands of medical bills.
Since the new trucks are much more likely to protect occupants with all the extra airbags and safety features, the cost to insure new in some cases had no increase at all.
So...if these new 2015 F-series have great crash test results, the rate increase may be non-existant or minimal
Disclaimer...Canadian experience only here....
Possibly someone in the insurance business could chime in here? - but but but its 'military grade' not even pressurized 4 times a day:W
Terryallan wrote:
Personally, I don't see a problem. Aluminium has been used in planes, cars, and boats for decades. Seems to work pretty well.
And yes planes may crack from stress every once in a while. But then, A truck is not going to be going from 100 degrees on the ground to nearly freezing at 30,000 feet, every day. It will also not be moving at over 200 MPH on a regular basis. But being a Ford. It may hit 200 every now and then.
So in truth, It is a nonissue
Not the same application, but the fire department that I worked for over 25 years purchased a lot of aluminum body fire apparatus. Cracking body panels were a constant problem, as was the corrosion at body attachment points to the steel frame that occurs when dissimilar metals meet. Apparatus manufacturers improved on their product over time, but body panel cracking still goes on. The paint jobs held up pretty well though................- Personally, I don't see a problem. Aluminium has been used in planes, cars, and boats for decades. Seems to work pretty well.
And yes planes may crack from stress every once in a while. But then, A truck is not going to be going from 100 degrees on the ground to nearly freezing at 30,000 feet, every day. It will also not be moving at over 200 MPH on a regular basis. But being a Ford. It may hit 200 every now and then.
So in truth, It is a nonissue
