Ford aluminum truck beds are strong how?

[Fordman1981]

Can I assume everyone knows why Ford went from F100 to F150? And of course the other manufacturers did the same. When unleaded gas and catalytic converters were required by law, they first only applied to vehicles rated below a certain gross weight and now I don't remember exactly what that weight was. So the manufacturers started making "heavy half" ton pickups with a gross rating high enough to not require a catalytic converter.

Nope I didn't know that thanks for sharing. I call it a good day when I learn something new.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Calling them 1/2 ton trucks (for any brand) is kind of a stretch nowadays anyways.

Maybe. I have a 2003 Mazda B3000 (rebadged Ranger) that is an honest half ton. You can put 1000 lbs. in the bed and it drives like a car. I did upgrade the tires to 6-ply.

Before that I had a 1989 Dodge Dakota that was a joke. The suspension was totally inadequate. It wallowed like a washtub with a 1000 lb. load.

I think one of the big problems with new pickups is that they ship with load range B tires, and underinflated at that. Pump tires up to 55 or 60 psi and they will handle a pretty decent load.

 

[kcflhrc]

55 to 60 PSI would exceed the max pressure on about any tire I have seen on a 1/2 ton truck.

 

[Gem99ultra]

In 1973 My Dad bought a new 3/4 ton Chevy and custom ordered a wooden bed floor. When it arrived it came with a metal bed floor. Dad specified it because his previous truck a 1966 ford f100 had its bed rust out. He was unhappy with the omission & the Chevy dealer said that Chevy no longer uses the wooden floors and that they had a new corrosion system that will prevent rust through. Dad wasn't convinced and wanted it undercoated. The Chevy dealer said he would do one better and got the truck zeibarted at his cost to make up for the mix up. Zeibart was a new process that drilled holes into body and sprayed a type of undercoating inside of all panels and under the body.It had little yellow plugs to cover the drilled holes. The bed and body of that truck rusted through in 3 years. Zeibart didnt stand behind it neither did Chevy. I live on Gulf coast of Texas steel rusts here. Galvanization, High Quality Stainless and aluminum do much better. Plastic needs UV inhibitors to survive our sun. I have used the spray in bed liners and the drop in plastic bed liners. I think the rubber bed mats work as well if not better than anything else.

X

I also had a new '78 Ford F150 that I had Zeibart undercoating done on. It took me about 2 minutes to hate it! Drilling 3/8" holes in my new truck? And yellow plugs all over my new brown pickup? And dripping tar mess for, not days, weeks, or month - YEARS. At $700 in 1978 dollars, that was a total rip-off. I surely hope by now Zeibart has gone belly up.

A rubber mat for $50 has lasted my 19 years already, and nary a dent. Great for keeping cargo from sliding around, as apposed to the plastic bed liners available everywhere now.

 

[Bird]

55 to 60 PSI would exceed the max pressure on about any tire I have seen on a 1/2 ton truck.

In 1972, an uncle of mine had a 1969 half ton Chevy pickup and built a slide-in pickup camper. He bought a new set of 6 ply tires and aired them up to 50 psi. And one of his rims SPLIT! Those wheels just weren't made for that kind of pressure.

 

[dragoneggs]

A rubber mat for $50 has lasted my 19 years already, and nary a dent. Great for keeping cargo from sliding around, as apposed to the plastic bed liners available everywhere now.

Honestly, I feel a LineX or equivalent sprayed in bedliner on a new purchase and then add a rubber mat that you throw in and use when 'needed' is the best you can do. I am not a fan of the plastic liners. Way too slippery and promotes shifting loads. The mat I have is reversible. Sorry don't remember the brand but one side is smooth (sort of slippery) and the other sort of ribbed and gritty. Love it when I want the extra protection like from some goon like on the Chevy commercial. Otherwise the LineX works great for me. 10 years and like new with occasional abuse. Weathered a bit but still very much looking tough! Best mod I made to my '06 F150

 

[k0ua]

Honestly, I feel a LineX or equivalent sprayed in bedliner on a new purchase and then add a rubber mat that you throw in and use when 'needed' is the best you can do. I am not a fan of the plastic liners. Way too slippery and promotes shifting loads. The mat I have is reversible. Sorry don't remember the brand but one side is smooth (sort of slippery) and the other sort of ribbed and gritty. Love it when I want the extra protection like from some goon like on the Chevy commercial. Otherwise the LineX works great for me. 10 years and like new with occasional abuse. Weathered a bit but still very much looking tough! Best mod I made to my '06 F150

I suspect your bed mat would have protected either bed from damage from even the stupid drop of the concrete blocks. I am certain it would have protected from the much more likely drop of the toolbox.

 

[Sysop]

Solved...

 

[MossRoad]

Solved...

Show Pony? :laughing:

 

[Sysop]

Not at all. I do onsite services and have been averaging about 5000 miles a month since I bought the new truck... I built a cargo management system using the BoxLink plates and some E-Track accessories. Carries about a thousand pounds of tools and materials everywhere I go. Up to 4000' of cable (depending on how full the boxes are), cable fishing tools and supplies, couple 6' ladders, weedeater, and a 2.5 gallon Eagle Safety Can with fuel for the weedeater. A shopvac. Chains, chain binders, tow straps, 6000lbs Come-Along, ratchet straps, bungee straps, and tarps. Drill, saws, toolbox full of various handtools. All fits under the Lund cover nicely and nothing moves on the worst of bumps and turns. Anything else that needs to go with me can ride in the 6.5x10 flatbed, the 5x10 dump, or on the 7x18 car hauler.