humblerb

Saw this mentioned in another post, but wanted to ask a more direct question of those who have the newer trucks with aluminum.
How much lighter (in general) are the lighter trucks?
I guess the lighter material increases payload.


The big question I have is, do the lighter trucks have less stability when towing at the upper end of your specs?
Had never thought about it, but it does seem like that would be a possibility.


I wrecked my 2012 EB Friday and may have to find new transportation.
I really like my current vehicle, but I do tow a travel trailer that pushes my limits now.
Been trying to decide if I want to look at another F150 EB or maybe look to move in to the F250 world.
This is my daily driver, with maybe 6-10 relatively short trips (max 4-5 hours) with a trailer per year. So most of my time in the truck will be empty.

mass-hole

They are a decent amount lighter. I think the 700 lbs claim is probably on the biggest trucks(supercrew 6.5' bed or supercab 8' bed) because those had the most steel replaced with aluminum. My guess is something like a supercrew with 5.5' bed is gunna be around 500 lbs lighter.

Payloads are generally increased option for option. Where you wont see much of an increase is if you went from a 2011-2014 with max-tow package to a 2015+. Reason being is that while the 2015+ trucks are lighter, they also have a 650 lb lower GVWR than the 2014 max tow trucks so it comes out in the wash. The 2015+ trucks I have looked at with the same options as my max tow 2014 are generally within about 50 lbs of payload. That said, if you are coming from a non-max tow truck to a 2015+ then I bet you would see about a 350 lb increase in payload all else being equal.

There definitely seems to be a trend where the 2015+ trucks seem to be a little less stable towing the same trailer. I've seen a number of threads where people have been complaining when they traded in from an older F150 to a new one. Some of it could be the weight, but I bet some of this is likely that the same configuration on the newer trucks has a lower GVWR and thus softer springs. I bet if you got air bags and/or uprated shocks it could balance things out and make them tow fairly similar. If you think about it, a softer spring even on a lighter truck will be affected more than a stiffer spring. If the 2012 truck had 500 in/lb springs then a 500 lb weight would compress them one inch. If you put the same weight in a 2015 with 400 in/lb springs then it would compress 1.25" even though the truck is lighter.

SixShooter14

I agree. I think the weight is part of the seemingly consistent instability of the '15+. But I think the spring/shock configuration is also a factor. It seems a lot of folks are quite dissatisfied with their shocks.

Barristersteve

Went through the same just before Christmas. Texting driver slammed into me from behind while I was stopped at a red light and did $7500 damage and bent my frame. It got straightened and I have been assured that it is as strong as before and repairs are guaranteed for as long as I own the truck. I was able to see that the gaps between the cab and box were different at top and bottom and from side to side before the repairs. Truck drives like new after the repairs. Would want to make sure it is a shop with good reputation for frame straightening because it can be done wrong.


While my 2010 was in the shop, I did get the chance to drive a 2017 F150 with the 5.0 for 3 weeks. Driving back to back, you could tell the 2017 was lighter based on steering and responsive. Winter traction in 2wd was much better with my 2010 which makes sense when you think of the difference a couple of hundred lbs of sandbags over your rear wheels in the box will make and I imagine most of the 700 lbs savings would be in the box.


A good quality WD hitch with proper tongue will negate any possible disadvantages of the lighter F150 when towing heavy. Been using a Propride 3P for 3 years and have yet to hear of anybody having stability issues with the Propride or Hensley hitches.


One of the things you will notice in the non-HD payload trucks is they will not come from the factory with LT tires and will be missing the extra leaf in the rear and apparently the new HD Payload trucks come with a different 3.73 rear end which is only available on the Eco with HDPP package. Not sure if the 2015+ still comes with upgraded cooling and radiator capacity like the pre-2015's.

mass-hole

The factory shocks on my 2014 are pretty heinous. When ever I have loaded it up for camping I can feel how little control they have over the truck, I dont even need to tow. And that is with Airlift bags in the rear leveling the load.

I will be ordering Bilsteins this spring when its not 5 degrees outside.

Siskiyou

I keep hearing how light these trucks are and it is causing problems. I bought the truck in my signature below and took my old '02 Silverado 1/2 ton, extended cab, 6.5' bed, 4x4 across the scales, the ford with a new canopy and me in the drivers seat 175lbs came in at 5500 lbs. My Silverado on the same scale with canopy and me in the drivers seat weighed 5400 lbs. The weight on the rear wheels was almost identical, one of the reasons I tested this was I was curious how light the rear was because of winter traction. I haven't towed at full weight yet but I have pulled my TT empty and I am getting 6 ply LT tires, I had to do the same thing with the Chevy when I bought it. The chevy towed great but I had to add an extra leaf to the springs, it wasn't overly stiff with that but it really improved the towing.

acdii

The shocks suck. They were not so good on the 2014, but are horrible on the 2016. As far as weight, well, I had a 2014 Screw SB RWD Lariat 501a, no sunroof, no running boards, 26 gallon tank, pretty basic, not much in options, and it had 1470# payload.

It got wrecked 1-11-17, I replaced it with a 2016 same style, Lariat Screw SB, but this one is 4WD, 502a, power running boards, Moonroof, 36 gallon tank, Loaded!

1583# payload. I has 113# higher payload than the 14, so yes, the aluminum body does make it lighter to give more payload.

mass-hole

The new F150's are only claimed to be lighter than the previous F150 models. The previous F150s were actually quite a bit heavier than their Ram and GM counterparts so the new aluminum F150's only come in slightly lighter than a similarly equip GM or Ram 1500.

mass-hole

My 14 Lariat Screw LB, 4wd, Max-tow, 502a and basically every option/add on (bed liner, wheel well liners, etc) comes in at 1539 lbs. Max-tow is required on the old trucks to get them close to the new ones, otherwise my truck would only have like 1200 lbs of payload.

humblerb

I know it's not exactly apples to apples, but what I am hearing from those who have had or looked at both is, the new trucks should be relatively similar to towing with a GM or Ram?
Searching the internet, I did find that the difference between the 2012 and the 2015 is around 500# - 700#, depending on options and model.
Thanks to all who chied in.