My Silverado may not pass state inspection, so I may be forced to buy a new truck. My Silverado has over 240,000 miles on it but in upstate NY, the salt has rusted it badly on important structural parts. I am leaning toward the 2015 Ford with aluminum body panels. On the other hand, I did get 240,000 miles out of the Silverado. I am 68 years old, so this may be the last truck I purchase before I am drooling on myself in a nursing home. I tend to keep my vehicles until the bitter end.
My particular concern is how the aluminum skinned Fords will hold up in a northern NY winter where they add molasses to the salt they put on the roads to make it stich better to the road (and also on your vehicle).
I would appreciate any thought you have on the corrosion issue, as well as any other thoughts you might have.
The body on the new Ford pickup is made from a military grade aluminum alloy. So if it’s good enough for the military it should work on a civilian vehicle. And that saves almost 800 lbs from the overall weight of the vehicle. So that helps with the fuel economy of the vehicle.
Also, if you’re going to tow or haul with the vehicle, the Ford engine will produce more low end torque than the Chevy engine.
Just ask my neighbor Greg when he bought a travel trailer and a new Chevy pickup.
Here is some reading material regarding aluminum corrosion resistance (good) and body repair cost (more expensive). You might want to do some searching with the key words: “salt spray resistance” or “salt spray testing”. Salt spray tests are commonly used to determine plating or other surface coating thickness and methods needed to get a desired outcome.
The Ford sounds interesting. I, for one, would likely buy one if I wanted a pickup.
PS, according to the latest Ward’s Auto World, steel companies are countering the possibility of more aluminum in motor vehicles with ultra high strength steel which can be thinner yet but makes for the possibility of even faster rust perforation.
the body is alumunium, but the frame is steel. Fords have been most prone to rust problems in my history, but at this point it does not matter. Drive em both and pick which one you like better, and put an extra rocking chair out for me, as you seem like a guy i would like to visit.
Get a Ford. I’ve had great luck with all of mine. There is a flaw in the super cab model on the off center front crash test performance that ford will fix on the 2016 models. The 2015 crew cab is fine.
I’ve heard tell that soaking rusted metal in molasses will remove the rust straight away, so maybe the State of New York road crew is helping prevent rust by adding it to the road salt mix … lol …
Molasses? glad we dont do that around here,you couldnt keep the bears off the salt pile,looks like it would build up on the equipment.Anyway take your pick,they are about equally capable,let your wallet decide.
@spanzone This is really a non-issue; I don’t think it matters what truck you buy. Dodge Ram and Ford F150 are both good trucks, as is a full size GM model.
If you drive 15,000 mile s a year, a lot for a retiree, you will be 84 by the time you reach that 240,000 miles point. Most retirees, including myself, drive 10,000 miles or less per year. That gives you 24 years of driving pleasure, if you still want to drive at age 92.
I would try all three, as well as the a Toyota mid size model, the Tacoma. That would be my choice; it’s easier to park.
Go for comfort and seats, whichever model makes you feel the most at ease. Visibility would be one of my key considerations.
B52 aircraft and many others have been in service for well over 60 years in all kinds of weather, and they’re all aluminum. And man, you should see things rust on Guam!. We had BUFFs there for years, 150 of them in December '72.
Properly designed, aluminum is no more prone to corrosive damage than steel. Maybe less. A well designed aluminum unit will (rust-wise) outlast a poorly designed steel one.
My main concern would be the design itself. I’m not by nature an “early adopter”, and I’d want to wait a few years to let any design or manufacturing issues get worked out. They did, after all, do an enormous amount of retooling to switch to aluminum, and in addition they may have a learning curve.
Drive both the Ford and Chevrolet pickup trucks with similarly sized engines. One may really stand out. Back in 1974, I was looking for a good used half ton pickup to replace my 1950 Chevrolet pickup and the old Rambler I was driving. A Ford dealer advertised a 1968 half ton 6 cylinder Chevrolet with the 3 speed manual. I went to check it out and took a test drive. The dealer also had a 1968 Ford half ton with the 6 cylinder and the 3 speed manual. I didn’t buy either one as it turned out, but for me, the Ford was really superior. Now, times have changed and one may really stand out for you. If not, the dealer may be the deciding factor. If the Chevrolet is your preference, check out the GMC. It is the same truck.
Back in 1972 when I bought my 1950 Chevrolet for $115, I wish I could have found a Diamond-T. The Diamond-T was one great truck. They did make a,pickup, but they weren’t very common.
Pick the one you like best and gives you the best deal. You might consider the Ram 1500 diesel. It gets great fuel mileage. That isn’t important today, but in the future it will be. If you don’t tow it’s a great choice and if you do tow it might work if the load isn’t too high.
''They’re all the same, Vern. ‘’ ( Jim Varney commercials )
So…
DRIVE them each.
In 91 I drove Nissan, Chevy, GM, Ford, Dodge small SUVs working on my theory of buying any brand at all…but buying locally only.
I bought the 92 Ford Explorer, kept it for 17 years and sold it with 130k.
YOU do the same…BUY LOCALLY from businesses or people who do business with you.
The trucks are all essentially the same and their corperate competition assures the highst quality among them all.
Test drive for YOUR needs and wants’
then BUY from the one who treats you right…first impressions DO matter here.
even shop financing off site then bring ‘‘cash’’ to the purchase.
It will be a coin flip as to which is best but since the Silverado has served you well then why not stick with what’s worked for you.
The use of aluminum may sound good but as with most things the public becomes the lab rats for the experiments. My feeling is wait for a few years and allow the real world stats and complaints to pile up before jumping on the next big thing so to speak.
There was also a story the other day about the smaller aluminum Ford pickups being rated poor in crash tests.
It did a little worse in a newer made up test @ok,what kind of a test will they make up next?the 60 mph head on water flotation test?.I imagine in the real world an offset collision with a light pole or tree is going to have pretty serious consequences on about anything you ride in,its puts me in mind of that SUV fiasco about 20 years ago and also reminds me of all these magazines reliability ratings,practically anything now is more reliable then average cars of 25 years ago. If I remember correctly it did a little worse in the 40 mph offset front end collision test,all they had to do was add the same braces and crossmembers that the other model trucks had,these safety busybodies,worry me sometimes,while they have good intentions,sometimes they complicate things.They have been responsible for putting a whole lot of expense and complication on newer vehicles,with dubious benefits(deadly airbags etc)
Get the Chevy since I have an aversion to Ford trucks. The only Ford I would ever recommend is a Ranger and they are no longer sold in the good old USA.
Vehicles are personal choice. I would like to mention that the 2014 Nissan Frontier ext cab SV we have had for a year now has not disappointed at all. While not as easy to get in and out of as the S10 we had it is not difficult.
The only aversion I have to the Ford trucks,is the price-I believe if you play your cards right you can get a good Chevy cheaper,like Volvo said,the Nissan is a decent truck,one of my neighbors(who seems to be pretty klutzy)has a Titan,I couldnt believe how tough that truck is,so let price decide for you,take your time and do not overpay,sometimes you can shift the purchase area and save several thousand dollars,remember anything with a so so rating now,is miles ahead of the 20 year ago stuff.
I used to see a red Diamond T pickup in Williamsport PA when driving through there that seemed to be in daily use, but I stopped driving through there 20 years ago when I retired.