http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_LLV
As a point of reference, the USPS has purchased over 140,000 mail delivery trucks or LLV, (long life vehicle) between 1987 and 1994. These trucks are comprised of an S-10 chassis and drive train with a military grade aluminum body. Some have been sold off to Mexico and Canada and are used all the US. The point? Aluminum will stand up to the test of time and abuse.

The LLV assigned to my route was built in 1994, it's a newer model. It has 82,000 hard miles on it, the body is scratched, no dents and no rust. It's in great shape.

I'm excited that Ford made this decision. Time will tell if the resale / trade-in value hold up to the initial cost though Ford states that it will be priced competitively with the market.

 

Great info. Thanks for posting this Tim.

 

Yep, see those around my area pretty frequently.

 

Aren't all UPS truck aluminum too? And, if new truck holds up like my 1950s era DuraCraft aluminum boat that has seen much duty in lakes pulling up on rocky and sandy shores, bumping over logs, branches, rocks, etc. salt water marshes, I ain't worried about nary aluminum body! I like it better!

 

My concern about aluminum is the repair costs for body repair as it is much more difficult to repair - sometimes requires replacement whereas steel would not.

This will lead to increased insurance premiums across the board as a result.

 

a lot of class eight trucks have aluminum bodies too. All the International 9000 series trucks have aluminum cabs with the only non aluminum parts being the roof cap and the top of the sleeper, which are fiberglass. Also Peterbuilt has had aluminum hoods for many years. Freightliner has had aluminum cabs also.
I've been running 9000 series Internationals since '01 and the aluminum holds up really well. The only issues is around the rivets, if the paint chips off and you don't touch it up eventually the aluminum oxidizes underneath the paint and the paint will start flaking off.

 

Ford specifically addressed the insurance issues, saying that the increased repair cost is mitigated by the reduced frequency of repair, since the aluminum would be harder to damage in minor ways (bump in the parking lot, etc.) Whether or not that really holds true, who knows.

I have an ARE DCU aluminum topper on my truck, and it's holding up as well as the truck itself (very). That's an 09 that's always parked outside in the Texas sun, with 137K on the clock. And it's not made of anything special... just typical .035 aluminum. Certainly not what Ford is making the new body panels from.

There are lots of cars already using aluminum heavily, along with fiberglass and carbon-fiber. Our tanker-pumper is built on a Kenworth T300 chassis - the entire cab is fiberglass (which makes things like radio antenna installs a royal pain in the ****, but I digress).

At the end of the day, I think the move to aluminum is going to be at most a minor issues for body shops to adapt to. The average consumer won't know the difference, except for the gas mileage improvement which translates into real money savings day-to-day. I suspect Ford will increase sales more with a 3MPG bump in fuel economy than they will lose from a move to aluminum body panels.

 

I thought all the other class eight trucks were composite metals and then the pete 359, 379, and 389's here the only ones that were mostly aluminum? But i could be wrong?

 

The plastic on the Saturn cars hold up great. The great thing about the plastic is that is doesn't "ding". Aluminum will Ding very easy as I've learned on my aluminum enclosed trailers over the years.

I still think it's a great move! I hate rust!!!

 

The only thing that comes to my mind with aluminum is... Airstream. They've been making Airstreams since the 40s and, of course, the bodies are all aluminum. The only thing they did was slap a few layers of clearcoat on them and call it a day. After 5-10 years the clearcoat flakes and peels off and several, several year later, the body will start to oxidize. If theyre are 60+ year old campers out there still alive and kicking made of aluminum then theres no reason the aluminum on the F-150 shouldn't hold up.

 

For the most part, body shops do not repair stamped steel panels. The days of pounding out a dent are long gone. Most commercial shops weld or glue replacement panels, so the argument about repairs is not valid.

 

I think that the aluminum they use might be slightly more dent resistant than aluminum trailer siding! Lol. Cold weather and the plastic explodes,

 

Yup. Labor to pound a dent out costs more than a replacement in most cases. Very few repair shops do it anymore.

 

It really depends on the labor and parts costs. If it is a fender for a Honda Accord that they can get aftermarket for less than a $100, - yeah they'll replace it.

If an OEM part is only available and the damage is repairable, they'll fix it. Depends on the labor rate and part cost for the most part.

When you replace a panel, you normally need to blend the adjacent panels to match the paint. That means removing and installing trim, moldings, etc. If the dent is small to moderate size, the shop may be able to use filler and blend the paint within the panel. If they can, the repair makes much more sense.

F-150's are a dime a dozen and I would imagine there is large supply of aftermarket and recycled parts available. So, the cost to replace a panel might be a more cost effective than a repair depending on the amount of damage for the particular type of vehicle. You need to consider fitment issues in using these parts - most insurers are not going to pay for an OEM part.

How will this all play out when the new model hits the street? It remains to be seen I guess.

I completely disagree that the argument about repair cost not being valid. Aluminum is more expensive and harder to work with.

 

Thin (think soda can) or pure Aluminum might dent easily, but some alloys can be pretty tough. Ford learned how to do this with the Jaguars, anyone know first hand if they are easier than average to dent?