Ford aluminum truck beds are strong how?

[Sysop]

I used my pickups to haul weight in the box. Up to 4000lbs.
I hauled Tooling. Metal manufacturing assemblies.
All the boxes are not up to snuff for hauling stuff in the box.
Haul anything that has some weight in it and slam on the brakes. If its not tied down you just tore up the back of the box.
Turn a corner too sharp and bang the side is shot.

A bed liner is worse for this. Too slippery.
I always made my own "bed liner".
I used a 1/2 x 4 x 8 PT plywood sheet on the floor screwed to the box, 1/4 thick Aluminum plate behind the cab screwed to the box with angle iron top and bottom and 4 x 4 x 1/4 wall aluminum angle iron on the sides of the plywood. To bolt the side angle irons you had to use reinforcing plates on the bottom of the box. If not the bolts would just pull thru the box under a load. The side angle iron had holes in them for strap clamps. I clamped any load down in the box so it could not move. I also ran with no tailgate. Tailgates are also crap. Don't rely on them for keeping load in the box or being able to handle any kind of abuse.

Last truck I had was a GMC heavy 3/4 ton. One big difference between 1/2 and 3/4 ton that most never mention is the brakes. Load a 1/2 ton up with 2500 lbs in the box and hit the brakes. Then try the same in a 3/4 ton. Big difference in stopping distance.

Sounds like the way to carry loads that big, or just go with a big flatbed on it.

Couple pages back brakes were discussed. The brakes on all of the current half ton trucks are as good or better than the brakes found on the heavier trucks from 10 years ago.

 

[antlers125]

For the guys saying no one would ever load a truck this way, just remember 99% of the time the owner of the truck is not the one loading it. This is very common in the landscaping business. I feel the biggest negative on the aluminum bed is going to be resale. Just think how people react to dents. Can you imagine what their going to say if there is a hole in the bed.

 

[Sysop]

I really don't think landscapers are the largest segment of pickup buyers. Of the few big landscaping outfits we have here, none even use half ton trucks. They generally use 3/4 ton or larger with big 25' trailers holding 3 commercial riders, two or three push mowers, and a half dozen weedeaters.

I do agree where the aluminum bed will affect things most is with resale.

 

[aczlan]

A 10k trailer needs a gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch. Or pintle hitch if you have a commercial trailer. There's no way you can put 1000-1500 lbs vertical load on a receiver hitch. A reasonable tow load for a half ton on a receiver hitch is about 4000 to 5000 lbs., with trailer brakes, a load leveler hitch and a second transmission cooler. I have seen a few 5th wheel travel trailers behind a half ton, but the pickup was looking kind of squatty.

For a half ton from the 1990s perhaps. A half ton these days is setup like a one ton from the 1990s and a one ton these days is setup like a 5/4 ton from the 1990s.

For the guys saying no one would ever load a truck this way, just remember 99% of the time the owner of the truck is not the one loading it. This is very common in the landscaping business. I feel the biggest negative on the aluminum bed is going to be resale. Just think how people react to dents. Can you imagine what their going to say if there is a hole in the bed.

Why would someone who is going to install blocks like the ones in the video (where they need to be in one piece) dump them in vs setting a pallet in the back of the truck?

Aaron Z

 

[antlers125]

I was referring more to the way the trucks are loaded for the residential home owner. From personal experience, when picking up stone, crusher run, or fill dirt I can assure you the people loading my bed are not concerned about height of load. In my community, there are a half dozen or more neighbors that use 1/2 ton trucks for this very purpose & it wouldn't take too many loads of stone to get the same results.

For a half ton from the 1990s perhaps. A half ton these days is setup like a one ton from the 1990s and a one ton these days is setup like a 5/4 ton from the 1990s.


Why would someone who is going to install blocks like the ones in the video (where they need to be in one piece) dump them in vs setting a pallet in the back of the truck?

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

I was referring more to the way the trucks are loaded for the residential home owner. From personal experience, when picking up stone, crusher run, or fill dirt I can assure you the people loading my bed are not concerned about height of load. In my community, there are a half dozen or more neighbors that use 1/2 ton trucks for this very purpose & it wouldn't take too many loads of stone to get the same results.

So, you would allow someone to load a bunch of pavers or large rocks into your truck like that? I wouldn't (and our truck has more than a few dings/dents).
Gravel, crusher run and fill dirt isn't likely to do much more than knock the paint off of the bed.
If you are letting someone dump rocks bigger than a softball into a unprotected pickup bed, you are being foolish (IMO).

Aaron Z

 

[arkydog]

i think the point of all this is the aluminum truck bed including wheel wells and side walls are more susceptible to tearing than just denting. it is also harder and more costly to repair. the block isn't dropped into the bed but from a height of only a couple of feet and look what the damage is. most people that have a truck never use them as a truck.

 

[antlers125]

It is a little more involved than you may think. For example, if someone (homeowner or contracter) were doing paving work having to remove an old set of steps or patio, I don't think they are thinking about damage to thier truck bed when loading broken up concrete w/ pieces of rebar in it. As far as having someone loading material from any professional facility, most of the people I know that have a truck aren't there to supervise someone loading their truck. My moto is " it is a truck, use it that way."

So, you would allow someone to load a bunch of pavers or large rocks into your truck like that? I wouldn't (and our truck has more than a few dings/dents).
Gravel, crusher run and fill dirt isn't likely to do much more than knock the paint off of the bed.
If you are letting someone dump rocks bigger than a softball into a unprotected pickup bed, you are being foolish (IMO).

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

I know we were hard on truck beds in high school...

Always hauling dirt, concrete and brush to make a buck...

The old beds circa 1970 seemed very robust to me... the big thing with the double wall construction so you could load it and dents would not show from the inside to the outside like a lot of the Japanese pickups...

 

[k0ua]

I know we were hard on truck beds in high school...

Always hauling dirt, concrete and brush to make a buck...

The old beds circa 1970 seemed very robust to me... the big thing with the double wall construction so you could load it and dents would not show from the inside to the outside like a lot of the Japanese pickups...

Yes, for those of us old enough to remember single wall truck beds, The "double wall construction" was a major selling point at the time.