Ford aluminum body vs Ram steel - can the Ram do as well?

[ning]

Aluminum oxide forms a protective layer which reduces further oxidation, unlike iron oxide.
You literally don't want to remove it, though removing other crud on top of it is probably a good idea still.

 

[deserteagle71]

With the recent price increases on trucks I'm starting to wonder if my penchant for trying to get an F250 at (what I consider) a decent price is futile.
Since my wife agreed we needed a new truck I had focused on Fords due to the no rust body in my rust prone environment (Mississippi).
But with ~ a $10K difference in price I'm wondering if diligent rust prevention could make up the difference.
Comments?

If you look around on the web you can find a small study someone did on this recently, in Maine or Massachusetts I think but somewhere in the rust belt. They collected a bunch of 10 year old pickups of all brands (GM, Ford, Dodge/Ram, Toyota) and checked them to see which ones had resisted rusting/corrosion on the body the best. There was no comparison. The aluminum Fords had NO trace of any corrosion. All the rest were about the same and all were rusty.

 

[deserteagle71]

I have a few aluminium Fords, Oldest is a 17 and has no signs of any body corrosion .. Its a plow/work truck with 15K miles on it V10 F450 Dump truck.. On its 4th set of manifolds, 2nd set of heads, 3rd set of rotors pads and callipers , 2nd set of trans lines, 2nd set od power steering lines...Im sure i forgot other stuff.. But the body is fine.

Wow. Just Wow!

I've been the owner of a 2007 E350 with the V10 for 17 years now. 74,000+ miles on it now. The ONLY thing I've had to have fixed in all these years is replacing a brake switch which was causing the cruise control to randomly cut off.

No, it has not spit out even one spark plug. Great engine, smooth and powerful. Will pass anything but a gas station. Overall fuel mileage since new is 11.8 mpg. But then it weighs right at 9,300 lbs when I'm on a trip.

 

[Hay Dude]

So this discussion has been constructive, but let’s remember that frames, springs, axles are mostly all made of steel.
So while it’s nice to have aluminum body panels, no matter how many of those you slap on a truck, frame rust is what eventually gets the truck parked in the weeds.
In PA, you can have body panel rust all you want, but if the frame is structurally compromised from rust, you don’t get through inspection

 

[not2old]

Around here, I have never seen a full size Ford, GM, or Ram/Dodge with frame rust other than one with a rusted shackle mount.

 

[5030]

Wow. Just Wow!

I've been the owner of a 2007 E350 with the V10 for 17 years now. 74,000+ miles on it now. The ONLY thing I've had to have fixed in all these years is replacing a brake switch which was causing the cruise control to randomly cut off.

No, it has not spit out even one spark plug. Great engine, smooth and powerful. Will pass anything but a gas station. Overall fuel mileage since new is 11.8 mpg. But then it weighs right at 9,300 lbs when I'm on a trip.

When it finally pukes, take your 50 DE and ventilate the block.....

 

[Tomtint]

Wow. Just Wow!

I've been the owner of a 2007 E350 with the V10 for 17 years now. 74,000+ miles on it now. The ONLY thing I've had to have fixed in all these years is replacing a brake switch which was causing the cruise control to randomly cut off.

No, it has not spit out even one spark plug. Great engine, smooth and powerful. Will pass anything but a gas station. Overall fuel mileage since new is 11.8 mpg. But then it weighs right at 9,300 lbs when I'm on a trip.

My V10 gets 6.8 mpg.. Makes no difference if I'm pulling 15k pounds or rolling empty... 6.8mpg. The motor is really nice and runs smooth. It has the 6 speed trans which is nice too.

 

[Paystar]

All I can say is after I retired from trucking I work in a mine now and I get to see all kinds of fancy high end pickups in the parking lot, because rich miners like fancy trucks. The parking area is like a SEMA show. I'm in northern Ontario and the road salt and de-icing agents on the highways in winter is unreal.
My Ford F150 is now 5 years old. The body still looks brand new and the frame is still black. My commute is 4 hours on the highway and 55 miles of dirt bush road every week.
I see Rams in the parking area that look brand new but have rust holes through them in the oddest places....like on the front fenders up at top where the badges are. And the wheel wells gone.
Then there is my local GM/Chev dealer painting the frames on brand new GM products sitting on the lot.
Mine is a 5.0 10 speed and all I've had to do to it so far is brakes and tires and a license plate light bulb.

 

[Paystar]

With the recent price increases on trucks I'm starting to wonder if my penchant for trying to get an F250 at (what I consider) a decent price is futile.
Since my wife agreed we needed a new truck I had focused on Fords due to the no rust body in my rust prone environment (Mississippi).
But with ~ a $10K difference in price I'm wondering if diligent rust prevention could make up the difference.
Comments?

Ten grand more for a Ford? Funny how prices vary. Up here in Ontario Canada, GM/Chev's are by far more than Ford's and RAM is cheapest. But the Ford's are a good buy when they have those employee pricing sales on.
They are all ridiculously priced now though.
Anyway, here's what I can offer to your question. I live in Ontario and they pour the salt and de-icing agents to our roads 6 months a year.
I have a 2020 aluminum F150, it runs the highway all winter since new and 70 KM of gravel bush road once a week. The body and paint still look brand new. Even most of the frame is still painted black but a lot of it is starting to get sand blasted now. I have got it oil sprayed only twice since new.
My steel body trucks though.....they all have rust spots and/or have already been repaired and repainted.
I don't think I'd ever buy another steel body truck.

 

[deere5105]

With the recent price increases on trucks I'm starting to wonder if my penchant for trying to get an F250 at (what I consider) a decent price is futile.
Since my wife agreed we needed a new truck I had focused on Fords due to the no rust body in my rust prone environment (Mississippi).
But with ~ a $10K difference in price I'm wondering if diligent rust prevention could make up the difference.
Comments?

In all my years in Mississippi the rust I have seen seems to be more from paint fading leading to surface rust than anything else. If offroad often clean off the caked on mud. Never known of salt on roads in winter. Occasionally sand is used. Nothing super corrosive that I know of.

 

[kneedeep]

Only rusty ones I see are from never washing the wet dirt road splatter off the inner fenders.
See quite a few rust buckets in town around the first of month but it ain't from road salt.

 

[dodge man]

I get on an F150 on occasion and saw someone post that he thought someone had sprayed something on his truck to make it pop out. He apparently had a disagreement with a work crew that door dinged his truck. They gave him $200 for a PDR guy and thinks they came back and did something to get even. He posted pictures and it’s obvious something happened. His truck is a 2014, the last year of a steel body. Everyone more or less said “it’s rust dude”. It’s starting to blow out over the rear wheels like they all seem to.

 

[Tomtint]

We have a few newer Fords with the aluminium body. No issues at all.

 

[aircommuter]

I need to see how they rate after 25 years, minimum for me ti keep a vehicle.

 

[Hay Dude]

Land Rover been making alum body SUV’s forever

 

[ning]

I need to see how they rate after 25 years, minimum for me ti keep a vehicle.

That's easy for us Californians to say (My truck turns 30 this year, barest hint of rust in a variety of spots where paint has gotten nicked, nothing to be concerned about here!). The body of my truck will last longer than most other parts of it with this climate and road conditions.

 

[aircommuter]

We each have our own needs. There are other aluminum body cars as well like Audi. But there are downsides like insurance costs and long term fatigue cracks and corrosion. My older truck is a California truck that is 30 years old with 550k miles. No rust and not likely to have any.

 

[arto98607]

It's somewhat similar here in Southwest Washington.

I have 84 F250 6.9 IDI and 99 F350 7.3 PS and no rust to speak of.
Clearcoat paint failing is bigger issue, but it's hard to justify repainting, unless I decide to do DIY at some point.

Maybe after everything else around the property is done...