The Ford F-150 has represented one-half of the F-Series lineup for a long time now, a true American success story that has topped the sales charts for decades to this point. As such, it was a huge deal when The Blue Oval decided to switch to an aluminum body for the redesigned 2015 Ford F-150 – and not necessarily in a positive way. Rather, there were plenty of skeptics that worried such a change would impact the F-150’s reputation for toughness, though now, it’s been 10 years since Ford made that controversial move – and it worked out just fine in retrospect.
The switch to high-strength aluminum alloy shaved a whopping 700 pounds off the 2015 Ford F-150 compared to its predecessor, which benefitted it both in terms of performance and fuel efficiency, along with corrosion and dent resistance, and it turned out to be an important enough innovation that the pickup took home North American Truck of the Year honors. That same material had been used in the aerospace and commercial transportation industries for some time, but Ford still subjected the new F-150 body to some rigorous testing to ensure it was ready for prime time.
Those efforts included conducting 10 million miles of testing, a disguised entry in the 2013 Baja 1000, plus two years and more than 300,000 miles of real-world fleet cargo bed testing conducted by customers in the mining, utility, and construction industries. However, the aluminum bodywork used on the 2015 Ford F-150 was merely one of over 100 new technology and feature patents and patent applications that also included LED spotlights on the side mirrors, a remote tailgate release, Trailer Hitch Assist, and a 360-degree camera, among others.
There were some hiccups that stemmed from the very first aluminum F-150 bodies – such as the fact that aluminum isn’t magnetic, which caused some issues with owners that wanted to stick magnetic signs on the sides – but it’s hard to imagine a world where the change didn’t take place at this point in time. The Ford F-150 then received a redesign for the 2021 model year, and was subsequently refreshed for 2024, but it still retains its aluminum body to this day.
Along with several of its lineup mates.
Amid weak demand in that market.
Though we imagine that all-wheel drive will be offered, too.
It's number 18 of the 40 built in total.
The Italian company blows away everyone else in that regard.
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I have a 2017 Lariat which has several spots that are aluminum where the paint and primer peeled off completely after 5 years. This was very surprising because my truck was not used for work. There's nothing wrong with aluminum, but you need to know how to paint it.
I bought a $30 magnetic antenna. Stupid me. You would think they would include steel at some points so customers could attach magnetic items. I didn’t want to drill a hole in my truck.
Also if Ford saved 700lbs, why isn't the payload increased by 700lbs?
Maybe the suspension wouldn't support 700 additional pounds of payload.
Then how did the suspension support it the year before?
the only bad thing I've experienced about the aluminum bed is that the truck will become just slightly harder to control in crosswinds and also maybe in the snow people might have trouble with traction but I personally have not experienced that
Aluminum benefits also : Rust - resistant and tougher.
303k miles. 2 sets of spark plugs. Several sets tires. No engine light. One set of coils all 6. Rolling!!
Aluminum is softer so easily penetrated by minor items it tears when hit by sharp items. And paint doesn’t stick as well so it scratches much easier.
I remember all the hate ford got but since them GM,Stellantis, Toyota have all Been using aluminum and other weight saving materials.
The funeral procession signs don't work either I found this out when the girl at the funeral home tried to put one on my 2022 F150 I said to her aluminum body won't stick
The funeral procession signs don't stick either, I found this out when the girl at the funeral home tried to put one on my 2022 F150 I said to her Aluminum body won't stick
Thanks for the information about the F150 i just bought a 2021 F 150 and was going to put my signs on it along with my radio antenna