Aluminum vs Steel truck bodies

[WinterDeere]

I disagree. It is not about "back then", it is where you live. Try the desert southwest, they live forever.

First, not everyone wants to live in the desert, or even in the southwest. Honestly, shoot me before subjecting me to your dry weather and long summer heat.

Second, the older vehicles were not always killed by rust, that really didn’t start until the 1980’s, with the late-70’s model year vehicles. Many local theories exist as to why, but that’s a tangent that’s already been discussed. The 1960’s and early 70’s cars still became comparatively unreliable in a short fraction of the time and mileage that we see with modern cars, all rust issues aside.

That said, none of this has anything to do with aluminum bodies or frames.

 

[Oaktree]

They were all around junk back then. My father bought a new 1975 Power Wagon. It was just over a year old when he lost the u-joints in the front axle. With only a 12,000 mile warranty he had to fix it himself. The same year he bought a used 1973 Torino. Everyone commented on what good shape the body was on that 3 year old car. Imagine a 2021 vehicle of any brand showing major rust today; that would never fly

Agreed. I'd be hard pressed to name a decent vehicle from the 70s/early80s.

 

[jyoutz]

I disagree. It is not about "back then", it is where you live. Try the desert southwest, they live forever.

1974 F-350, 1991 Dodge D-250 and 2001 Dodge 2500, still on the road.

Does this 1975 F-250 sled puller look and sound like junk?

View attachment 2088129

It’s not just the desert southwest; it’s also the mountain southwest and really much of the west where cinders and sand are spread on roads instead of salt.

 

[jyoutz]

First, not everyone wants to live in the desert, or even in the southwest. Honestly, shoot me before subjecting me to your dry weather and long summer heat.

Second, the older vehicles were not always killed by rust, that really didn’t start until the 1980’s, with the late-70’s model year vehicles. Many local theories exist as to why, it that’s a tangent that’s already been discussed. The 1960’s and early 70’s cars still became comparatively unreliable in a short fraction of the time and mileage that we see with modern cars, all rust issues aside.

That said, none of this has anything to do with aluminum bodies or frames.

I’ll bet that where I live at 6900’ elevation is cooler in the summer than where you live.

 

[WinterDeere]

I’ll bet that where I live at 6900’ elevation is cooler in the summer than where you live.

Maybe! I remember Sandia Labs was around 6000 ft, and they still saw over 100F often enough that we had to guarantee our equipment would work above that, when installed there. Very big swings from overnight lows to daytime highs out there, by comparison to my relatively-coastal lowlands location.

 

[5030]

Now that Ford has had about 10 years putting their F150 and Superduty in the field how are they working out for for the TBN'ers?
I was skeptical at first, thinking they would damage easily. Now I'm wondering why more manufacturers have not gone to Al.
Coming from Northern Vermont where rust is KING it seems that rust free would be very important.

The issue is.... The frames are still steel and so are the brake lines (I have no idea why domestic builders still use formed steel brake lines versus stainless steel or Nickle Copper brake lines) which don't corrode.

Consequently, the aluminum bodies will last longer (aluminum corrodes just like steel), but the frames and brake lines will fail sooner than the bodies. The issues with aluminum bodies is that they are glued together with epoxy so in the event of a crash, it becomes exponentially more expensive to repair them.

Might look good longer but underneath (chassis and braking components including calipers, rotors and associated parts), they are still steel or ferrous castings, all subject to corrosion from road salt or brine. That don't include all the electrical - electronic connections that are put together with Molex connectors that the OEM never bothers to put di-electric grease in so when they leak in salt or brine, they fail as well.

One thing I did with my tractors, I unplugged all the connectors and packed them with di-electric grease and I've never had an electrical failure due to corrosion. Do the same with all my battery to electric connections as well. I make sure all the connections are bright and free of corrosion and then coat them (external connections like battery posts) with corrosion inhibitor.

 

[jyoutz]

Maybe! I remember Sandia Labs was around 6000 ft, and they still saw over 100F often enough that we had to guarantee our equipment would work above that, when installed there. Very big swings from overnight lows to daytime highs out there, by comparison to my relatively-coastal lowlands location.

Sandia labs is in the valley, not the mountains or high plains. Even still the valley gets only an average of 3 days per year above 100 degrees. In the mountains, “hot” days are low 90s and average summer days are low to mid 80s, even dropping to the 70s during rainy/cloudy monsoon days. And yes there are large day/night temperature variations with nights often dropping to the 50s in the summer. Now the low elevation southwest like Phoenix (elevation 1000’) is a summer hellhole with every day over 100 degrees for months.

 

[DarkBlack]

Interesting short read, on how Ford had the technology to slow the rusting of their rust bucket vehicles, but instead sold the technology to their competitors. Amazing bean counters/ corporate greed bad decision for the customers

Automotive History: Why Fords Were the Worst Rusters in the Mid-Late '60s and the '70s - Curbside Classic

not the best picture, but the best that Google could find It’s always very satisfying to get a proper explanation to phenomena that has been described repeatedly. The endless stream […]

www.curbsideclassic.com

 

[WinterDeere]

Sandia labs is in the valley, not the mountains or high plains. Even still the valley gets only an average of 3 days per year above 100 degrees. In the mountains, “hot” days are low 90s and average summer days are low to mid 80s, even dropping to the 70s during rainy/cloudy monsoon days. And yes there are large day/night temperature variations with nights often dropping to the 50s in the summer. Now the low elevation southwest like Phoenix (elevation 1000’) is a summer hellhole with every day over 100 degrees for months.

Their specifications document listed their test site elevation as 6000 feet, and required operation in an open hanger at 104F. I have that in writing, from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Maybe they’re large enough to have test sites at multiple elevations? I thought the facility covered hundreds of acres.

I wasn’t on the team that went to do the site inspection, that was my predecessor, right around the time he retired and I took over as lead. But I got the impression from them that it was in the mountains.

 

[jyoutz]

Their specifications document listed their test site elevation as 6000 feet, and required operation in an open hanger at 104F. I have that in writing, from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Maybe they’re large enough to have test sites at multiple elevations? I thought the facility covered hundreds of acres.

I wasn’t on the team that went to do the site inspection, that was my predecessor, right around the time he retired and I took over as lead. But I got the impression from them that it was in the mountains.

Sandia Labs is in the Rio Grande Valley (Albuquerque), which gets temperatures over 100 degrees an average of 3 days/year. A warehouse building without cooling will no doubt get hotter. Sandia labs is co-located with Kirkland AFB and no doubt has hundreds/thousands of acres to play with. Los Alamos National Laboratory is in the mountains at 7,300’ and never reaches 100 degrees.