Ford F-450 Saves the Environment

Our friend Mike Levine over at PickupTruck.com has penned one of the best stories we’ve ever seen on how and why large pickups like the Ford F-450 exist and who uses them for what. We’d guess most owners aren’t helping out wildlife conservatories every day, but it’s interesting to see that when an environmental group needed help, it also needed a truck this big with its capabilities. 

Levine used the F-450’s 5,720-pound payload rating to haul two cubic yards — or 4,500 pounds — of donated topsoil 40 miles. No half-ton or three-quarter-ton trucks could handle that task.

The story illustrates one of those points we routinely try to make to people who think there’s no need for vehicles like this to exist. Those folks genuinely believe these are being used for commuting, but there are many legitimate uses for such trucks. Heck, even if every home built was completely green, builders would need something to get the supplies to the site.

Nature's New Friend Road Test: 2008 Ford F-450 Super Duty (PickupTruck.Com)

Comments

So very very true, but most people, once set in their ways and thoughts, are about as hard to convince as telling a wall to move.

[JBK]

I disagree. I'm not convinced that the 1% of the time this payload is useful justifies the 99% of the time it isn't needed. That's what rentals are for. The reason we have hight fuel costs today is that Americans just don't get it that we need to make an effort to reduce fuel consumption. Prices may drop a little in the short run, but in the long run what we've seen recently is nothing.

[Hybrit]

The F-450 obviously does the job on heavy loads, but just about any full size pickup equipped with heavy duty springs would also get the job done, including the Silverado work truck with the Vortec V-6 (in my opinion one of the best value vehicles on the market). Cities and fleets order lower-powered regular cab trucks with the big springs every day, and they can get 20 mpg on the highway. The F-450 can carry that heavy load and still outaccelerate some cars, and that would seem to be overkill.

[HD]

@Hybrit: Max payload for a Silverado is about 1,700-lbs. In this story they moved 4,500-lbs. It would have required 2.6 trips to move what the F-450 moved. That takes 20-mpg and reduces it to the equivalent of 7.7-mpg. With regards to acceleration, according to Motor Trend, the F-450 was one of the 10 *slowest* vehicles they have tested. How is this truck overkill if it's doing what it was meant to do?

[J]

Okay,
So he needed the truck for like what? 3 hours? Oh, 40 MILES!
What does that truck do in the rest of its lifetime?
Increasing our foreign oil dependence!

I am surprised that cars.com would post such a horrible article.

[HD]

@J: How would you have moved all that dirt?

[J]

Go to enterprise and rent a truck and do couple more trips.
Instead of just buying that truck to do just that job.

[@J]

@J: So, is Enterprise increasing our dependence on foreign oil? I don't read in that story where he bought the truck to deliver one load of dirt. That would be stupid.

[Lil'Tom]

Just to argue, I have to point out that a half-ton could easily pull a utility trailer carrying 4500# of dirt.

I realize the need for big trucks and I have no problem with the people who buy them, but I never really understood the F-450. It's great that it can tow 24000#, but you can't legally do that without a commercial drivers license. The truck clearly isn't targeted towards the commercial market: Ford doesn't even offer a regular cab configuration. How many people are there who find the one-tons too weak and limiting?

[Mike Levine]

Good points Lil'Tom. I'll respond by saying that while a half-ton with a trailer could have pulled the soil, it would have been a pain getting the trailer up the CWC's small, uphill driveway and backed into the pen where the soil was dumped. Call it the last 200-ft problem. Hauling it all in the F-450 was the simplest solution.

As to which market Ford is aiming the F-450 at, it's primarily for Recreational Vehicle owners towing 5th wheel RVs with granite counter tops. They're heavy! It will be interesting to see how much that market shrinks with such high fuel prices.

[Dan]

I'm always glad to see a vehicle like this being used for its intended purpose. It's kind of pathetic that that makes me glad, but it has become incredibly rare.

I'm glad someone does manufacture such vehicles, and I'm glad landscapers, cement workers, equipment haulers, etc. have access to them.

I wish that the rest of us would make reasonable enough choices not to buy one when we don't need it.

[J]

So, in other times, the truck is either sitting at the driveway collecting pollen and dust, or just increasing our foreign oil dependence.
Any difference?

[J]

Just saw the topic of this article.

Is that sacasm?
Saves the environment? By what? Burning more fossil fuel than we should?