New to me truck! Thoughts on Ford aluminum body.

Buddy with a 23 foot cuddly cabin ocean boat had both the 3.5 and 5.0. He said the 3.5 towed his boat better. I have 5.0 and find it a bit doggy when towing. Another buddy went from a tundra to a 5.0 f 150 he says he like the truck but it pulls his boat like chit.

 

Oh and none of the body shops around here want to work on insurance jobs for aluminum rigs...

 

Ford was experimenting with the aluminum body parts for years. My 2009 f150 has an aluminum hood. The small 3.5? in it has been good. Lots and lots of wood hauled in it. 19-20 mpg most of the time. Slightly less pulling the dump trailer loaded. Waiting on my dealer to let me know when he finds me a new f 250 plain Jane work truck.

 

Ford says that it’s a 2016, that I picked up in early December of 2015. Seems like they were mostly the same as 2015’s, except for maybe the infotainment was updated to sync 3?

 

Nice you’re a slalom skier as well! My 21ft Monterey throws a bit to big of a wake for sling , but it rides nice in rough water and we can fit 10 people comfortably. Pros and cons...

 

The hood on my my parents 02 explorer is aluminum. They've been dabbling with aluminum panels a long time. Audi a8' s have been all alloy for a long time, I think they were the first to be all alloy. Those are$$$ though. My, 04 audi allroad had an alloy hood. They had that back in 99 though. Gm new style half tons all doors tailgates hoods are alloy. The new ram tailgate is alloy. I'm sure there's tons more, but these were just off the top of my head.

The auto body shops that can't or won't do alloy will either have to adapt, or close. It's here, and isn't going away.

 

Pretty much minor differences on the 16's from the 15's. Sync, and the pro trailer backup assistant are the biggies. Other electronic goodies are in that. My buddy's 2015 lariat was loaded, but no trailer backup assist and other things that mine has, his doesn't as they were not available in 2015

 

Yep, pros and cons as with everything. 5 people in my 20' correct craft and it's snug. 6 in it and those in the front passenger seat better be a couple. Rides like crap in chop. But great for hauling 8 skiers up at the same time, and anything related to watersports.

 

Fine looking truck.

 

I really like it. It's been good to me. I call it "Moby" the big white whale.

 

Rock chips are the worst enemy. Once the metal is exposed corrosion starts and the paint flakes off pretty quick. I see lots of those explorers and expeditions running around here with the paint peeled off most of the hood.

 

Been running a 2019 3.5 ecoboost for a year now. Averages 20 to 22 unloaded cruising 70 down the interstate. Will drop down to the 8 or 9 pulling a heavy enclosed trailer. Only flaw I see with the aluminum body is that you can blow on it and dent it. I've dented the pillers behind the back doors setting tools and luggage in the back seat.

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Yeah, they learned a lot since the early days, that's for sure.

 

My thoughts are stick with the 5.0 if you plan to haul and or tow. Don't even think about the 2.7 motor. Now with the 3.5 if your doing light towing occasionally most are ok with the motor. Make sure you do your maintenance(oil changes) on a regular basis. We see a lot of issues with the timing chain and phasers due to lack of simple maintenance. Even the turbos. I'm not a big fan of extended warranties but if you get a used truck with the 3.5 I'd look at a certified or a extended warranty with a good powertrain coverage. People just don't take care of things now a days. Some of the things I've seen and heard is just mind boggling when it comes to people and their vehicles.

 

That was a older movie..

 

This

 

Ford recommends a 10,000 mile oil change on the 3.5. That’s what I’m doing but I’m running Lucas in it. Got 30,000 on it so far. No complaints.


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