Silver Creek durability test Silverado Tundra F150.

[S204STi]

Did you go to UTI or Wyotech?

Depending on when and where you graduated, I might have a friend who went to school with you.

Wyotech, 2005.

[the Teuton]

Wyotech, 2005.

If it was Wyotech in PA, and you graduated in late '05, then yes, I know someone who went there.  He graduated from Wyotech in early '06.

[S204STi]

If it was Wyotech in PA, and you graduated in late '05, then yes, I know someone who went there.? He graduated from Wyotech in early '06.

Yep, graduated at PA.  I probably never met him though.

[the Teuton]

Yep, graduated at PA.  I probably never met him though.

I take it a lot of people go there.  My friend's first name is Rob.  I'll give you his last name if you want if there's a chance that you actually did meet him.

[S204STi]

I take it a lot of people go there.? My friend's first name is Rob.? I'll give you his last name if you want if there's a chance that you actually did meet him.

Sure, PM it to me.

[goldenlover1101]

The chevy did a lot worse than i thought it would. The gas cap isn't that bad, its just (as stated previously" because its not a locking mechanism. The toyta's bed looked to me like it was going to twist clean off of the front. It seemed to bend and twist a lot more than either the ford or chevy to me.

[Catman]

Those that discount this test as irrelevant are ignoring the obvious.  It's a good demonstration of how much flex there is in the frame.  Obviously the Toyota and the Chevy are not as stout as the Ford.  The Toyota's frame way too flexy for my liking.

More explanation here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRfE_XAk2mE&mode=related&search=

[565]

Those that discount this test as irrelevant are ignoring the obvious.? It's a good demonstration of how much flex there is in the frame.? Obviously the Toyota and the Chevy are not as stout as the Ford.? The Toyota's frame way too flexy for my liking.

More explanation here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRfE_XAk2mE&mode=related&search=

I find it ironic that the domestics are running tests of ride compliance and chassis stiffness while Toyota fans are running tests like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2yLIQ0pRcM&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HQcJuvK73E&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pavXEwCJow&mode=related&search=

It's like a complete role reversal.

[Catman]

I find it ironic that the domestics are running tests of ride compliance and chassis stiffness while Toyota fans are running tests like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2yLIQ0pRcM&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HQcJuvK73E&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pavXEwCJow&mode=related&search=

It's like a complete role reversal.

LOL, so true.  All these trucks have enough power for me, I'll take the toughest chassis before I worry about HP.

[GoCougs]

I find it ironic that the domestics are running tests of ride compliance and chassis stiffness while Toyota fans are running tests like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2yLIQ0pRcM&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HQcJuvK73E&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pavXEwCJow&mode=related&search=

It's like a complete role reversal.

LOL - that's my Toyota dealership! Bellevue is just east of Seattle.

The F150 didn't have a LSD...
The Dodge didn't have a LSD, and looked to be the 4.7L...
The Chevy looked to be the 4.8L or 5.3L (but had an LSD)...

Further, what if the Tundra was in 4Lo, and the others weren't? Ford's test is amost as suspect as these IMO.

[565]

Interestingly this is what C&D had to say about the Fords chassis structure. 

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/12503/2007-ford-f-150-fx4-4x4-supercrew.html

"On rough roads, the structure flexes noticeably more than the newly engineered Chevy and Toyota."

All of these trucks are rated well and I doubt any are going to fall apart during towing.  Thus what matters more is how a vehicle's structure feels as it drives.  As C&D points out, despite Ford's claimed stronger frame, the other two are much better.

[SVT_Power]

[Catman]

Interestingly this is what C&D had to say about the Fords chassis structure. 

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/12503/2007-ford-f-150-fx4-4x4-supercrew.html

"On rough roads, the structure flexes noticeably more than the newly engineered Chevy and Toyota."

All of these trucks are rated well and I doubt any are going to fall apart during towing.  Thus what matters more is how a vehicle's structure feels as it drives.  As C&D points out, despite Ford's claimed stronger frame, the other two are much better.

C&D claims that yet the video diplays the complete opposite.

[Tave]

C&D claims that yet the video diplays the complete opposite.

And a wet Bounty paper towel can hold a full-set of billiard balls, two bundles of bananas, and three small children, jumping up and down, without ripping.

All competitors' towels start to dissolve when water gets within fifty feet of the paper.

[Catman]

And a wet Bounty paper towel can hold a full-set of billiard balls, two bundles of bananas, and three small children, jumping up and down, without ripping.

All competitors' towels start to dissolve when water gets within fifty feet of the paper.

Does Pickuptruck.com sell manufacture trucks?

[565]

C&D claims that yet the video diplays the complete opposite.

I guess people's concerns of how Ford decided on that number 28mph might play a role.  I mean... 28 isn't exactly a nice round number.  Also C&D noted that the Tundra had a pretty stiff suspension while the Ford's was super soft.  A plush suspension tends to make the structure look stiffer than it does.

As for the bending angle video, I'm sure Ford optimized the points at which the frames were stressed.  Also the Tundra may be stiffer than the F150 when fully assembled because the body might do more of the work than the Ford, who knows.  It's always suspicious when they test just a single component in isolation instead of the whole vehicle.  In many ways thats why I like Toyota's demonstrations of performance in their commercials with a fully assembled Tundra rather than Fords campaign of "hey look at this dissembled part and how strong it is.  In some ways I feel it also sums up the domestic vs import automakers.  Domestics think of their cars as a collection of parts.  The better and beefer the parts are in the collection, the better your vehicle is.   Take the Corvette Z06, a collection of kick ass components put together at an amazing price.  But it always is exactly the sum of their parts (but sometimes the sum value of the parts is just too good to pass up, as I found out).  Somehow import automakers treat their cars more like intergrated wholes.  It's not just how great the parts are, but how well they all fit together.  It's not how well the parts work on a stress test in isolation, but how well they work on the road on the actual vehicle.

[565]

Does Pickuptruck.com sell manufacture trucks?

Actually, I didn't state this in the original post.  The video comes from Ford.  They showed it at this demonstration/presentation thing.  Pickuptruck.com had this video on their site, but said it was from the demonstration they attended.

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/stories/silvercreek/silvercreek.html

"According to Charlie Tegarden, Ford durability engineering supervisor, "Silver Creek is foot-for-foot the roughest man-made durability test road in the world."

Ford recently showed us video of a 2007 Ford F-150 running Silver Creek, along with comparative footage of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and 2007 Toyota Tundra over the same course. All are four wheel drive."

[Tave]

Does Pickuptruck.com sell manufacture trucks?

As 565 said, it's a manufacturer-devised test. Cougs pointed that out on the first page:

Think that the test speed of 28 mph was a fluke? It ain't hard to devise a test to show your product in the best light. Chevy and Toyota could similarly devise tests to dig on the Ford.

[Tave]

One wonders why Dodge wasn't included.

[Catman]

As 565 said, it's a manufacturer-devised test. Cougs pointed that out on the first page:

And they all did the same exact test.......

[Tave]

And they all did the same exact test.......

Uh.....yeah. The one Ford came up with.

[Catman]

Uh.....yeah. The one Ford came up with.

Does it matter?  It's a good test that demonstrates frame stiffness.  Obviously the Chevy and Toyota are not as torsionally stiff.  It's a good test in my opinion.

[TBR]

The only thing that stands out to me is 28 mph, why not 25 mph or 30 mph? Seems like the number could've been delibrately picked specifically because it made the Ford look good.

[GoCougs]

The only thing that stands out to me is 28 mph, why not 25 mph or 30 mph? Seems like the number could've been delibrately picked specifically because it made the Ford look good.

Also, look at the disparately-option trucks tested:

Silverado Z-71 w/20" wheels
Tundra standard 4wd w/18" rims (no TRD)
F-150 standard 4wd w/18" rims (no FX4)

The Silverado had the optional stiff suspension and heavy wheels. How would the F-150 with the FX4 suspension and 20" wheels (analgous to the Z-71 package) performed? Not so good I bet.

[SJ_GTI]

Does it matter?? It's a good test that demonstrates frame stiffness.? Obviously the Chevy and Toyota are not as torsionally stiff.? It's a good test in my opinion.

I mentioned this before, but I didn't see any flexing of the Chevy frame. The Chevy's issue was related to the suspensions inability to cope with the bumps.

[Catman]

I mentioned this before, but I didn't see any flexing of the Chevy frame. The Chevy's issue was related to the suspensions inability to cope with the bumps.

I think the rear suspension was too stiff like you said.  The Toyota looks like a wet noodle.

[Jus2shy]

Here is the old Silver Creek test vids, it features the 03 Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra, Chevy Silverado, and Nissan Titan

These tests were conducted at 30 mph, so I don't know if it's so much as they chose 28mph to conduct the newest set of tests to expose the vehicles, but they chose 28 because of handling issues on the Silverado (because of the dancing axle). It seems like 30mph would be their ideal set to test at, but they may want to have done an apples to apples comparison of Ford vs. New Tundra vs. New Silverado. Oh yeah, ignore the crap in the beginning where the guy is blathering, the test footage will show up soon enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KD8ByS-EmQ

[GoCougs]

Here is the old Silver Creek test vids, it features the 03 Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra, Chevy Silverado, and Nissan Titan

These tests were conducted at 30 mph, so I don't know if it's so much as they chose 28mph to conduct the newest set of tests to expose the vehicles, but they chose 28 because of handling issues on the Silverado (because of the dancing axle). It seems like 30mph would be their ideal set to test at, but they may want to have done an apples to apples comparison of Ford vs. New Tundra vs. New Silverado. Oh yeah, ignore the crap in the beginning where the guy is blathering, the test footage will show up soon enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KD8ByS-EmQ

LOL - why the heck would you brag about bed bolts? When is the last time a new truck buyer dislodged a bed because of broken bolts?

[S204STi]

I remember some commercial focusing on that...as if the truck didn't have any other outstanding merits.

Oh, right it doesn't.

[TBR]

Also, look at the disparately-option trucks tested:

Silverado Z-71 w/20" wheels
Tundra standard 4wd w/18" rims (no TRD)
F-150 standard 4wd w/18" rims (no FX4)

The Silverado had the optional stiff suspension and heavy wheels. How would the F-150 with the FX4 suspension and 20" wheels (analgous to the Z-71 package) performed? Not so good I bet.

I don't believe that the FX4 is available with 20" wheels. The Tundra would have worse as well with TRD and 20"s (a combination that is definitely available).