OT: new Ford F150 with all aluminum body panels

[stuckey]

I know it may be a surprise to everyone here... I am a bodyman and we repair a lot of stuff still. It may not be as much as it was 15 years ago, but the majority of stuff on the shop floor right now is repair not replacement.
Using aluminum is going to create a mess when it comes to repairs. I worked at a few high end shops and the buy in was about $250,000 to set the shop up to do structural aluminum repairs. The small guys are not going to be able to afford this and the big guys will be able to charge more driving the insurance rates up.

[oldguy00]

Does anyone here use a F150 (Supercrew) or other pickup truck as a family travel vehicle?
And what about bikes? i know you can setup a fork mount type rack in the back, but what if you prefer to keep everything sealed from weather, do you just buy one of the flat tops to fit over the back, and lay the bikes down?

I'm in Atlantic Canada, so of course the next decision would be 4x2 or 4x4.....

[fiataccompli]

Land Rovers have had aluminum body panels for decades...or, forever, basically

[GScot]

Originally Posted by oldguy00

Does anyone here use a F150 (Supercrew) or other pickup truck as a family travel vehicle?
And what about bikes? i know you can setup a fork mount type rack in the back, but what if you prefer to keep everything sealed from weather, do you just buy one of the flat tops to fit over the back, and lay the bikes down?

I'm in Atlantic Canada, so of course the next decision would be 4x2 or 4x4.....

We had one for a company car from 2010 - 2013. Lots of travel. It was an FX2 supercrew with the really short bed. Bed storage works the same as any truck but it is a tiny bed, I mounted fork towers on either side as close as possible to the front making the handlebars dictate the width to preserve space as much as possible. In the front with the seats folded up just enough room to stagger them side by side using fork towers on a piece of plywood. That allowed room for luggage on the opposite side. Last long trip I added stands for the rear dropouts to my plywood. With both wheels off there is a lot of space left in the rear of the cab. Oh it was a really comfortable travel vehicle too.

[oldguy00]

Originally Posted by GScot

We had one for a company car from 2010 - 2013. Lots of travel. It was an FX2 supercrew with the really short bed. Bed storage works the same as any truck but it is a tiny bed, I mounted fork towers on either side as close as possible to the front making the handlebars dictate the width to preserve space as much as possible. In the front with the seats folded up just enough room to stagger them side by side using fork towers on a piece of plywood. That allowed room for luggage on the opposite side. Last long trip I added stands for the rear dropouts to my plywood. With both wheels off there is a lot of space left in the rear of the cab. Oh it was a really comfortable travel vehicle too.

Thx. What part of the continent are you in? Just wondering if you drove it in harsh winters, and ever felt the need to have 4x4 (FX4)...

[AngryScientist]

to answer the 4x4 vs 4x2 discussion, i drove (granted, much lighter vehicle) a 2WD s-10 for a long, long time, through northeast winters, etc. IMO, 2wd pickup trucks are pretty dangerous in snow conditions. there is no weight (unless you're loaded) over the rear axle and the rear struggles to get traction all the darn time. i used snow chains on the rear wheels for ski trips with the truck and had big, knobby tires in the rear to help with the situation, and of course i got through all right, but for a reasonable adult who wants to be reasonably safe in harsh winter driving, 4wd is the only way to go in Canada IMO.

[ceolwulf]

I've had a couple of 2WD trucks, the Nissan Hardbody was livable (barely) in snow, the long box Dakota was profoundly useless. If you have your choice of what to buy anyway and if you expect to see any snow/ice there's no reason to go 2WD.

(There's about a two degree, if that, slope coming out of our shop parking lot. The Dakota got stuck there one icy day. Zero progress possible. Of course people behind me waiting to go home. They had to push me to continue. Very embarrassing)

[GScot]

Originally Posted by oldguy00

Thx. What part of the continent are you in? Just wondering if you drove it in harsh winters, and ever felt the need to have 4x4 (FX4)...

In the PHX area. Trips were to TX, OK, and NV/ID. While one could argue that 4 wheel drive could be useful if you ever have to get out of the valley in Winter we didn't see justification for the added expense.

And for some extra info it was two trucks, the first a 2010 with a 5.4. It could get 17-18 with me driving it on the interstate and rolling 80 or so. Typical in town would be 14. It was my partner's primary vehicle most of the time and he drove like hell so maybe 12 mpg for him. The second was a 2012 ecoboost. I got 21 or 22 on the highway and 17 when I had it in town. Partner never got more than 15 mpg with it because if you keep your foot on the floor it can burn plenty of fuel.

[oldguy00]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

to answer the 4x4 vs 4x2 discussion, i drove (granted, much lighter vehicle) a 2WD s-10 for a long, long time, through northeast winters, etc. IMO, 2wd pickup trucks are pretty dangerous in snow conditions. there is no weight (unless you're loaded) over the rear axle and the rear struggles to get traction all the darn time. i used snow chains on the rear wheels for ski trips with the truck and had big, knobby tires in the rear to help with the situation, and of course i got through all right, but for a reasonable adult who wants to be reasonably safe in harsh winter driving, 4wd is the only way to go in Canada IMO.

Hadn't thought about that, tha lack of weight in the back. I've made due the past winter with a 2wd Honda CRV, and just assumed a 2wd F150 would be much better.

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

how many "truck guys" are going to be thrilled with a 2.7 liter 4-banger though?

I was mistaken above and corrected it. New engine is turbo 2.7 V6. More TQ than V8. Want more....use 3.5 Turbo.

[Ralph]

Ford may have to being a new small diesel to market for competitive reasons since Dodge has one now.

But main reason they haven't is from an engineering reason. Benefit not worth the extra $3-4,000 cost per engine. I know you can't convince a diesel enthusiast of this, but if you take the best characteristics of a small diesel engine, direct injection and turbo's, and add that to a small beefed up gas engine, you get 80-90% of the low RPM TQ of a diesel, almost same real world economy considering fuel cost, and gas engine is much cheaper to build and maintain over it's life. And engine life is about the same. Small passenger car diesels with aluminum heads and blocks, forged pistons and rods, don't last much longer than the gas versions. It's difficult to make a case for a small diesel on this side of the pond......from a dollars and cents point of view. Ford engineers know this. They are not dummies and have several terrific diesel engines they could import if they wish.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by Ralph

Dodge 1500 light truck gets a 3 L diesel this year. Maybe close to 30 MPG highway rating. Is Motor Trend Truck of the year. Has IRS etc. Nice truck.

Ford may bring over a small diesel soon also.....but generally they don't think diesel is the future. Urea injection, Fed smog controls hurt economy and power. Same engine makes more power and has better fuel economy in Europe. Also.....the Eco Boost small gas engines with direct injection and turbo (with forged pistons and rods, steel cranks, and beefed up blocks) gets about 90% of the fuel economy of diesel, has about 90% of the low RPM TQ, has about the same engine life as a passenger vehicle diesel, uses fuel that costs about 90% of diesel, and an engine that costs way less to build. Anyway....that's their argument.

Me.....as a Ford shareholder......I would like to see a small diesel for the F150 to go along with the incredibly powerful diesel in the F 350 and up Power Stroke trucks.

Want the new Colorado with the small diesel.....

[mtb_frk]

I have a screw fx4 long box. It is a big truck, but I tow a 27' camper with it. Anyways, I used 4 hi quite a bit last winter, with about 300lbs of weight in the back. Never had a issue with lack of traction. The winter was pretty harsh in michigan last year.

I can fit my bike inside the cab with the front wheel off pretty easily. I have some large bikes so I am sure most any normal sized bike will fit fine. I also have the yakima biker bar in the bed. I like it because it locks to the truck, but I can't really get a bed cover with it on. That is the one down side I have found with it so far. Yakima is supposed to be coming out with mounts for the roof "late summer" they said, mine is a 2013 btw.

It really is a roomy vehicle but I miss having a SUV for the inside storage space, but living out in the middle of no where it is nice having a truck to haul stuff around in the back that I wouldn't want inside a SUV.

[Fatty]

Originally Posted by kramnnim

As does my '98 Ranger...

Yep. Sold my '98 Ranger, that I purchased new, last summer. The hood was the only thing that had not succumbed to rust.

[pbarry]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

how many "truck guys" are going to be thrilled with a 2.7 liter 4-banger though?

The many Tacoma buyers who are into their 200-300k miles...