Looking for a replacement for my 01 screw and Ford's marketing is a real turnoff. Fact is that there is no such thing as "military grade" aluminum, that is unless you go by the fact that any form of aluminum that any branch of the military buys has a mil spec, and could therefore be called military grade. This whole thing reminds me of the old Chrysler "Corinthian Leather" ads.

Dear Ford: Seriously, I get that you have to market to idiots, but please include some real information for those of us who aren't. If your alloy is proprietary then just say so and stop with the military grade bs. Give us real facts about the specific benefits of your aluminum panels vs. steel or other aluminum alloys.

Not trying to start a flame war and certainly not knocking the material they use. Just wishing that Ford would be a bit more informative so that I can make an informed purchase decision.

 

There is plenty of information put out by Ford that describes the Al and why they chose it over steel. You just have to do a bit of looking and not just depend on what they spew out on TV.

 

The grip frame on my 1911 Commander 45 pistol is military grade aluminum and the phrase never bothered me.
Better to be "Military Grade" than "Chinese Grade" aluminum.

 

There are four alloys of aluminum specified for use in military and aircraft manufacturing and construction. 2024/5052/6061/7075 alloys of alunimum are not Reynolds Wrap grade aluminum. They are simply stating they are not using pure aluminum without any structural integrity or strength.

Ford marketing is not going to enroll everyone in a college level course to teach you all the differences between aluminum alloys. Quit being an elitist snob.

 

[QUOTE=Bryan316;5188833

Ford marketing is not going to enroll everyone in a college level course to teach you all the differences between aluminum alloys. Quit being an elitist snob.[/QUOTE]

Easy there, Nancy! The OP wasn't being elitist. He was simply calling out Ford for their non-sense ad. And before you jump to any more conclusions, let me point out that I do have two college level engineering degrees and I worked for over 20 years as a senior aerospace engineer on military projects and I in fact wrote many of those specs and the analysis to prove/disprove them. I will also tell you that there is no such thing as "military aluminium" unless you name the appropriate military specification. If Ford meant Military specification 6061-T6 aluminium then I'm sure that they would have said "Military specification 6061-T6 aluminium". The fact that they didn't has obvious significance!

 

It's just marketing....not a big issue for me all companies seem to exaggerate their product.

It's kind of like in the movie ELF......only Buddy thought it was really the "worlds best cup of coffee".

 

Haven't found anything credible at this point, but welcome any info you may have found.

Unless the mil spec requires US sourcing, nothing requires that the material not come from China. That said, I have no idea how country of origin is relevant to the discussion.

Actually, there are far more than four alloys used in both military and civilian aircraft, add alloy armors and the list gets even bigger. If fact, if the military needed some pure aluminum foil, there would be (and probably is) a spec for that too, so military grade could very well apply to pure (non-alloyed) aluminum. An example would be a mil spec for aluminum flame spray wire.

As for the last part of your flame: I already acknowledged their need to market to guys like you. It's not being elitist to ask them to inform me.

EDIT: The mil spec for aluminum foil is MIL-A-148, Fed Spec QQ-A-1876. Just in case you wanted to know.

Exactly. Thank you.

 

Its so the Silveraydo and Ferd boys can have something to talk about with their man friends.



As far marketing goes they say it is 700lbs lighter so I could only assume with halfass commonsense it has more payload and lighter duty springs while giving it more mpg, hauling more weight, and better ride/handling.


You should buy a Silveraydo.

 

I would suspect 6061 is likely what they would have chosen.

 

grabbing

 

As an FYI: If the body is in fact made from 6000 series, that's good for corrosion, but not so good for strength or fatigue. 6061T6 is often used for automotive aftermarket and claimed to be "aircraft aluminum", however, it is only used in non structural areas for aviation.

Examples of where 6061 would be used on a commercial aircraft are:
Fairings that need to be welded. Rare on newer aircraft.
High wear and corrosion sacrificial such as a slat trailing edge seal. Not the actual slats, but the metal seal that normally wears away with use.
Trays for holding sodas
Galley carts and containers
Galley and lav trim

Where it is never used on commercial aircraft:
Anything structural.

 

6022 or 7075? Quick google search. Ford probably doesnt advertise that so they can readily change.

Fwiw, my truck got slammed by hail that potmarked the bedcover but not one dent in the truck. Also I slid a heavy pallet into the bed that would have probably creased/pinstriped the steel beds in my other trucks and this one held up.
Not really concerned about the aluminum.

One thing you notice when you walk or put weight in the bed it a 'crunch' sound as opposed a steel bed that has more of a 'thud' or 'pop'.

 

A couple of reports said both 5000 and 6000 series. End of last year Alcoa said they have a new product/process that Ford will be using more extensively.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/in-dept...d-perspective/

http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/...m-wonder-truck

http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/news/...&newsYear=2015

 

After reading that my money is on a custom blend from Alcoa.

 

Who cares... go buy a crappy RAM or Chevy then