Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/716013
30 commercial carrier journal | august 2016 A stronger Super Duty Ford aligns F-650 with smaller siblings BY JASON CANNON S itting in Ford's F-650, towering above the surrounding traffic, feels strangely familiar. Strange only because I hav- en't driven the truck before, but familiar because of how much of its design is shared with its Super Duty siblings. This generation F-650 gets a facelift that puts exterior styling and interior comforts more in line with the rest of the Super Duty lineup. The bright orange 2016 F-650 dump truck I piloted around Ann Arbor, Mich., featured Ford's Triton V-10 gasoline engine. Pumping out 320 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque, the 6.8-liter is the only gasoline engine offered in a Class 6-7 truck. Whether in or out of the cab, engine sound is minimal – hard- ly louder than you would expect from any standard-size pickup – and that offers additional driver comfort benefits. An optional 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbo diesel also is available with three power ratings. For anyone who's driven the current-generation Power Stroke diesels, you know "diesel clatter" also is pretty quiet. Regardless of which engine you choose, you'll wind up with a fully integrated "Built Ford Tough" powertrain. The Cummins inline-six and Allison automatic transmission are no longer available. After the dissolution of Blue Diamond Truck Co. – a partnership between Ford and Navistar – Ford went all-in on its own gasoline and Power Stroke diesel engines, along with its built-in-house TorqShift HD 6-speed automatic transmission. Inside my 4-door Crew Cab test truck, many cues again are borrowed from smaller Super Duty models, such as the XLT cloth seats. Gauges, auxiliary switches and controls – including the power windows and locks – were all located conveniently and within reasonable reach for the driver. The air conditioning was cold on a cool afternoon, and the truck is standard with Ford's Sync system that offers hands-free calling, AppLink and Bluetooth capabilities. Egress in and out of the truck is surprisingly easy, thanks to strategically located grab handles and side steps. The chrome snout brings a little bling to a truck otherwise designed to be battered around a construction site, but the white 22.5-inch steel wheels bring you crashing back to the reality that this really is a work truck. The front axle, a 8,500-lb. Dana D-850F, features 8,500-lb. par- abolic taperleafs, while the rear gets a 17,500-lb. Dana S17-140 (6.50 ratio) on 19,000-lb. multileafs. Longer leaf springs versus prior-generation models give the F-650 a smoother ride, almost like you're driving your pickup – if your pickup was huge and had a GVWR of 26,000 pounds. Steering was tight for a truck of its size. Maneuverability, thanks in part to the massive windshield and the visibility it pro- vides, was incredible. Navigating some of Michigan's rural roads in a truck with a 194-inch wheelbase loaded with topsoil proved easy and posed little challenge to the rear springs. Ride and han- dling actually improved significantly with a dump full of dirt. Delivering the dirt and backing the truck down a tight drive- way – while simultaneously trying to avoid trees and a barn – was hardly a challenge. The oversized side mirrors provided great perspective and a wide view of any obstacles at the rear. Controls to the hydraulic Rugby 10-foot dump body were located conveniently on the driver's side, and with the press of a button, the topsoil was unloaded in less than a minute. Maybe 120 seconds later (at most), the bed was empty, lowered and locked in place, and I was ready to get back on the road. Ford has spent a lot of time and money reinventing the com- pany's trucks over the last few years and really hit a home run by aligning its Ohio-built F-650 with other more consumer-friendly F-Series models. Getting employees safely and more comfortably to the jobsite will pay dividends in both improved productivity and lower turnover rates. T E S T D R I V E : F O R D F - 6 5 0 The bright orange 2016 F-650 dump truck featured the only gasoline engine offered in a Class 6-7 truck – Ford's 6.8-liter Triton V-10. Gauges, auxiliary switches and controls were all located conveniently and within reasonable reach for the driver.