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The point of this post is to bring to light the Chevy portion of the testing of the four trucks. On the Chevy, the front wall of the bed literally caved in under the weight of the sand. I believe the Ford bed is aluminum.

 

Personally I think it was a mistake for Ford to put an Aluminum bed on a truck. I realize their goal was to reduce the weight but for those using their trucks for hauling rocks, sand, bricks etc: I believe a steel bed would hold up better and longer. I doubt there are many prospective buyers that are going to buy a truck with a bed that's beat up. IMHO

 

I see trucks with steel beds beat to **** all the time. I dunno, I don't think the aluminum is that much different especially when you add a bedliner.

 

Actually I don't think anybody cares anymore what the bed is made of. For personal use, most people utilize a bed liner. Over the years I have, because I would haul my own sand and gravel for projects that I had around the house. The deal is it makes no difference if you have a liner or not, after heavy use, they will all be scratched and dented. Now for contractor I believe its a different story. I have a friend that owns a small construction company. He has 6 1/2 ton's and 1 3/4 ton. They use the 1/2 tons most of the time to haul, lumber, tools etc. When a job requires hauling of demo'd material or sand, gravel or brick/block, he has a large dual axle dump trailer. It is pulled by the 3/4 ton truck. His chevy 2500 bed was nicer looking than my old 3/4 truck.

 

I agree with that. I got the dealer to include a free bedliner when I bought the truck and there was no damage to the bed after hauling 3+ tons of dirt in it. The guy loaded it with a Bobcat and dropped it in there gently and of course it was overloaded but I took it easy on the two mile drive home and I had it unloaded by the next afternoon....

 

The number one reason that I now have a Ford is for the Aluminum body. I probably would not have moved away from Ram if the Ford was still being made if steel.

Those of us living in the salt belt areas of the county welcome Ford's attempt at the Aluminum body with the hopes that it somehow will hold up better to the road salt and other chemicals that the steel bodies have. I simply am unable to wear a truck out around here before it rusts away to nothing. So, I'll gladly welcome the Aluminum in the hopes that somehow it will be better long term.

 

We're talking specifically about the bed and what beating it can get depending on what is put in it.

 

So am I. You could have loaded my Rams with feathers over their lifetime and there still would be nothing left of them. My point is that the amount of a beating that a bed can take long term is pointless if the bed rots away and is unusable.

 

Good point.

 

Not to be argumentative but isn't part of maintaining a truck keeping the bed clean and repaint if and when the need arises? At least that's what we used to do when it needed it. We didn't just drive it until it fell apart. That's why we have the various types of bed liners.

 

Absolutely. That's part of my regular routine. But, for example, my 3/4 tons that have salt spreaders in the bed are a lost cause. No matter how many times you clean them out, the bed floors go within 5-6 years. It delays it, but doesn't solve it.

 

I don`t think the material of the bed matters because almost 100% of people are going to have some type of liner covering the bed anyway.

Regardless if it`s steel or aluminum, without some kind of protection and if it`s used in the way that you mentioned, both will be dented, scratched, and just overall beaten up.

 

The beds on all my trucks have rusted from underneath, not above. Liner/no liner, or the type of liner makes no difference. Should I pull the bed and repaint the underneath periodically? How about the frame, the fuel tank, the brake lines, the trans cooler lines, the PS lines, the radiator support, the axle housing itself, brake components, the cab, the bumpers? You folks who suggest that cleaning is the answer - in the most sincere way, I have no doubt - have no idea what salt belt rust is and what it does to a vehicle.

 

 

On my old Ranger, the bed was perfect, didn't even have rust in the wheel arches like 90% of trucks around here do (which was impressive for a 9 year old truck with 180K on it), except for one area- the bed floor, directly over where the factory muffler sat, had SERIOUS rust, especially in the front crossmember. There was a heat shield over the muffler but it was way too small. It all looked like it was all heat-accelerated oxidation. It was bad enough that the bed floor was starting to rust through from underneath in that area.