Ford aluminum truck beds are strong how?

[CDN Farm Boy]

would have held up better than either bed. Maybe we should make beds out of plastic

I'm pretty sure some of the Toyota ones are composite, including the floor

 

[Bird]

Different kinds of ads and stunts sell to different kinds of people with different opinions.:laughing: If you preferred a Chevrolet before, you now have evidence you were right. And if you preferred Ford before, you probably still do, and see that ad as a bit silly.:laughing: I've owned both in my lifetime and since I won't be loading any truck the way they did for that ad, I don't have to worry about it.:laughing:

 

[smstonypoint]

When did pickup truck manufacturers stop using wood for bed floors?

Steve

 

[KennyG]

Just a note for you GM guys. You have about 2 years to prepare your stories on why GM aluminum is superior to Ford aluminum.

GM readying aluminum-body trucks by late 218 - WSJ
| Reuters

 

[Gary Fowler]

The aluminum might be ok if they made it like 1/8" thick and out of a grade a bit harder. I know from working on Tanks and APC's in the Army (circa 1970's) that the aluminum they used couldn't be dented with a 16" sledge hammer.

 

[Ford850]

The beds in the GM trucks prior to this latest model were widely criticized for their thin steel that wrinkled compared to other brands. There were countless stories of people sliding refrigerators or stoves in the beds during a move and they ruined the thin steel when it wrinkled like foil. That's the reason GM changed their stamping process and the steel material, to try to get back some of those disgruntled buyers. And perfect timing with Ford changing to aluminum. But the aluminum Ford beds are actually more dent resistant than the previous steel beds from any manufacturer, however aluminum tears when pushed to it's limits as shown. Credit GM for finding that threshold and taking advantage of it with the typical marketing ad all these truck makes seem to use. I would never be foolish enough to dump a bucket of solid square cement blocks into an unprotected bed from 5 feet though. Makes you wonder if it does any damage from a normal dump height or if they had to go to 5 feet with the right sized blocks for the punctures. Even with a steel bed truck, I was smart enough to have it Line-X coated AND add a rubber mat.

 

[k0ua]

When did pickup truck manufacturers stop using wood for bed floors?

Steve

Abut 1970 or so.. Chevy was the last holdout.

 

[jrclark]

Some people actually use their trucks for work. Even though the test may be a little dramatic, it makes a very good point. I would have never thought the bottom of the bed would be aluminum, that is truly foolish and a big mistake by Ford. I'll keep my 14 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab LTZ. Maybe that's why Ford is having $11k incentives to buy one of those POS.

Good try - GM has dished out 10k+ incentives. Would take a lot more to convince people to by an underpowered, inferior product. I'd rather pay sticker for a Ram.

As stated before, if you're using it for work, get a plastic drop in liner or at the very least a spray in. I've dumped large hickory and oak rounds in my truck without a dent to the bed and relatively minor scuffs to the liner.

 

[k0ua]

In my opinion of course a rubber mat would fix the "deficiency" And many have said, who in heck would dump blocks in their bed like that.. Only a moron. BUT how about dropping an empty toolbox accidently in the bed and gouging a great big old tear in the bed... That cannot be good. No one was more disappointed than I to see this happen. Look, I have owned several Ford pickup trucks, and most were good, except for the 87 with the soft paint and the oil burning, and yes I own a Chevy now, but that is mainly because the wife insisted we have OnStar in our vehicles. I finally talked her out of that and canceled the OnStar subscription just last month.

But all that said, anyone that thinks aluminum for a truck bed probably thinks aluminum siding on a house is a good idea too. I will tell you it is not. This just sucks, the pressure from the federal government to make light vehicles.. now down to the point that freaking trucks cannot do the jobs they were designed and expected to do, namely stand up to toolboxes being dropped into beds from bed rail height. Ford would have been a heck of a lot smarter to find a polymer to make beds out of instead of that stupid aluminum. Aluminum hoods are one thing, you don't expect to drop too many things on a hood, but who ever designed the aluminum bed was an idiot..

That is my story and I am sticking to it.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Advertising BS. I remember when every Chevy truck would be a rust bucket in three years. Chevy wishes they had a truck comparable to Ford. Yes, I own two 2015 F 150 Platinum's.