Any F-550 owners or towers out there ?

[Keith_B]

Although the Ford mileage warranty is unlimited, won't most owners find that 5 years will go by before the 100K or 6 year limit that GM offers? Wont most owners find 5 years goes by before rust holes appear in their sheetmetal?

I think the GM corrosion warranty works better for 95% of the US population since it's 6 years long versus Ford's 5 year warranty which only works for folks who put a ton of mileage on their vehicle very quickly. Basically it would work for the scant few who put 20K & more miles per year on their truck AND live in some kind of unholy enviroment where holes appear through sheetmetal in 5 years or less. Both of those combined are a highly unlikely scenario.

A large number of the trucks in the F450/F550 and the GM 4500/5500 class are owned by small businesses, and are on the road a lot. It is pretty common to see these trucks rack up 100,000 miles in their first 3 or 4 years of service. The GM 100,000 mile limit on the warranty means that the warranty will expire long before the sixth year; while the Ford trucks with 150,000 miles on them at four years of age still have corrosion warranty remaining.

The primary reason for warranties like this is for advertising purposes, and with the large number of commercial businesses that purchase these trucks it is a plus having unlimited mileage. It also needs to be considered that the addition of a sixth year is rendered meaningless to the commercial users that replace vehicles every five years, which is pretty common.

For the commercial owner the extra year is meaningless to them. The sixth year is meaningful to the person that purchases a truck for part time use, as they aren't going to be putting a large number of miles on the truck to begin with.

Corrosion warranties are a lot of fluff to begin with. In the '80's the corrosion warranties may have been a big deal, but not anymore. I have a 1999 F-150 and corrosion is not a problem. I had an '88 F 150 and when I finally sold it in '02 it was just beginning to get a little rust on one rear fender. I'm not going to mention the corrosion problems I had with my GM built trucks, because that was a different era and there was a lot more of a corrosion problem with vehicles in those days.

In addition to rust not being a real problem today, we must also consider that in the real world a lot of these trucks will have flat beds, rollback beds, or dump bed put on them that are not built by GM or Ford, the corrosion warranty would not extend to those.

While all the debate is interesting, it did nothing to answer the original poster's question, which asked for input from F550 owners.

 

[Builder]

A large number of the trucks in the F450/F550 and the GM 4500/5500 class are owned by small businesses, and are on the road a lot. It is pretty common to see these trucks rack up 100,000 miles in their first 3 or 4 years of service. The GM 100,000 mile limit on the warranty means that the warranty will expire long before the sixth year; while the Ford trucks with 150,000 miles on them at four years of age still have corrosion warranty remaining............
While all the debate is interesting, it did nothing to answer the original poster's question, which asked for input from F550 owners.

I disagree.

I see a lot of 10 yr old medium duty 4x4's with low mileage. And yes, I can give real world examples.

1. I purchased my '92 IH4800 4x4 in '03 (11 years old) with only 72,000 miles on it. It was owned by Mobil Chemical company.

2. I sold my '99.5 F-450 in '06 with only 32,000 miles on it.

I actually think quite a few MD 4x4's are just the opposite of what you have said. Many, many of these trucks are owned by townships, colleges, construction companies, etc and all they do is grounds maintenance, plowing, etc.

If it was a 4x2, I would say you were correct. Most 4x2's are used primarily for OTR hauling.

In any event, regardless of warranty mileage, it is almost impossible to see holes rusted through a 5 or 6 yr old truck. In fact, I bet I can find a lot more low mileage 4500/5500 4x4's than you can find rust holes in a 5 yr old F450/550. Don't you think? I mean come on, this is a bit ridiculous, to suggest someone should buy a 550 4x4 over a 5500 4x4 because they might get rust holes in their sheetmetal in 5 years and ignore all the other advantages GM gives you like: A better drivetrain, better cab visibility, tighter turning radius, heavier rears, exhaust brake, tilt hood, bigger wheels & tires and a better drivetrain warranty.

He was also asking about the competition, which is the 4500/5500 4x4. I think we've done an excellent job of making the OP aware of the alternatives and how superior they are. Maybe we helped him make a better choice.

 

[L-ENTERPRISES]

F-550 33k gcvw are used by carhaulers because the meet a specific need that Ford saw was needed.

53' wedge trailer with stingers & C4500/5500 break the 65' legal limit and require permits per state. The stingers also bang the back of the cab on a C4500/5500 , so 4 car haul is no possible.