I bought my 2004 F350 dually new and it has been an excellent and reliable truck. I am considering replacing it with a new F250 but don't know if I should wait for the new 2016 model or stick with the proven 2015.

Any opinions?

 

Id wait if i could just to see what they look like . Whats new or different. U can always buy a left over

 

How much of a hurry are you in? I did the same thing 2 months ago...traded my '04 6.0L that I bought new for a '15 6.7L. Like you, I loved my old truck, and it NEVER let me down. Not once. I had it modded exactly how I wanted, and it was a nice truck even when I let it go. And it hurt to let it go.

That being said, my '15 is on a different planet compared to my '04. I'm not the least bit sorry I made the move. I get the feeling anyone making a transition like that wouldn't be sorry they didn't wait for the '16. But, on the same hand, like Hotrod said, you can always buy a late production '15. Personally, while an aluminum body sounds nice, I'm a little more comfortable snatching up a steel body until I see how the aluminum trucks do. Also, a consideration for me was the aftermarket. These trucks are virtually unchanged over the last 4 years, so there's a lot of options for upgrades.

 

I would wait if your current truck is still running well.

 

I'm about to order a '15

The '11-'15's are, as you say, proven...so that's what I'm going with. I'm not going to be the guinea pig with $40k+.

That is...IF they go aluminum, and change the styling yet again. The aftermarket is already humping on the current style (if that is any concern to you)...

 

I'm with that

 

The aluminum part wouldn't bother me at all. Ford has been testing the aluminum f150 in some pretty harsh conditions for the past several years will no problems. While new to the light truck market, aluminum bodies have been used on vehicles that withstand much more severe forces and conditions than our trucks ever will(ships, jets, road tractors). With the rust issues ford has had over the last couple of decades I would hold out for the 16 just to get the aluminum body.

 

i bought the '15 with a 6.2. it is tried and true and i plan on keeping it forever. i personally would never buy a 1st year vehicle with major model changes. let them sort the bugs out first. but if you are the type to flip vehicles every few years, you are probably safe. but at $40k+, i want tried and true, not latest and (maybe) greatest.

 

If the prototype burned then wouldn't that set back the schedule to aluminize the '16s? I don't have any special info, just thinking out loud.

 

The fire wasn't caused or made worse by the aluminum body. It was an engine/diesel related and the truck would have been totaled no matter the material. Aluminum melted, steel would have been burnt beyond repair.

I would hesitate to buy any diesel on the market right now or any new gas engine until it proves itself, but aluminum is not a new concept and proven itself over and over in severe duty use(also used for tractor and trailer flatbeds hauling 50k lbs). If I trust it to fly me 630 mph, 30,000 feet high in -30 degree weather then I'm pretty sure it will hold up on a light duty pick up

 

Iknowright... everyone will fly in a jetliner across the country and think little of it but let a manf go from iron to alum and they go ape @hit crazy... too funny.

If you read the article on Forbes magazine you get a better sense to the amount of work, research and effort went into this new truck and material..

Heck they built one out of alum using 2013 body panels molds an ran the baja 1000 race.. one of the toughest off road races and of the 300 that started only 1/2 finished and the alum ford was one of them.

If I was in the market for a new truck that would be one i would be looking at.. But i never buy new. I like to get them with a year or so and 20-30K miles and avoid the first couple of year deprecation. My latest buy was a 2003 7.3L SD Lariat with 168K miles. I got it from 2nd owner and at a good price some 5K below dealer price.

 

For me, it's not that I don't "trust" aluminum...it's the fact that I am a small percentage of the population that likes to work on my vehicles. The money comes out of my pocket. How much will a bedside cost? Door skin? How will the average DIY guy weld it? Any special prep for paint/primer/bondo? How is dent pulling affected? How will my insurance be affected?
There are many different alloys of aluminum...the AL used on airplanes is very different than what is going to be used in vehicles.
Corrosion is also a concern. When steel meets AL, funny things happen.

I'll let someone else be the guinea pig for a few years and let me know about all the things that we don't think of beforehand...

 

I like to work on my vehicles too, but aluminum isn't as bad as you think. The average guy can weld it at home just as easily as steel. The aluminum wire is on the shelf right beside of the wire for steel. Same welder, same process just different wire. Painting is the same too. You just have to coat it first to get the primer to adhere, just like back in the 70's with the galvanized bedsides. Price is supposed to be comparable too from what I read, running about 10% higher.

 

No.

I am a pretty competent welder. I've taken several years of Welding to get an AAS degree for it. I still don't weld aluminum if that tells you anything.

 

I haven't taken classes on welding but I have done a pretty good amount of it, mostly with an arc and mig welder on steel/sheet metal. I helped my cousin make an aluminum car trailer a few years back and all we didwas switch the wire out to the aluminum kind and it worked just fine. I hauled flatbed for 2 years and our trailers were all aluminum. If a rub rail, stake pocket, etc, came loose our shop guys pulled out the same welder and patched it up for us.