TRUCKS & TRANSPORTATION

FILLING THE CAPACITY GAP Ford introduces new chassis cab with smaller footprint and bigger capability By Lee Toop, Associate Editor

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hen Ford held its annual press event at the Work Truck Show this past March, nobody was expecting a brand-new nameplate to be introduced – but that’s just what happened, and buyers will be able to take advantage of that surprise addition to the company’s chassis cab line in 2020. Ford rolled out the entirely new F-600 Super Duty work truck to fill a gap that has been a challenge for customers for some time: they have been asking for more capacity in a smaller package. The new truck will deliver the capability of a Class 6 truck in a Class 5 footprint. It was one of several updates to Ford’s work truck line that were released at the event. Medium-duty customers had been asking for a number of new features in the Super Duty line, and Ford found an opportunity to take that feedback and run with it, said Mike Pruitt, global chief program engineer. “There’s certainly a need there for that increased incremental GVWR for vocational users, whether it be for dump beds, bucket trucks or in landscaping – it helps them do more work,” Pruitt described. “The best way to categorize it is that it’s between our Class 5 chassis, the F-550, and our medium-duty F-650, which is Class 6.”

list for some time; we go out and poll our customers pretty regularly and we have advisory boards that provide us a lot of feedback, and at some point over the last two or three years, their voices steered us in this direction, where they wanted to have more capacity in the F-550,” Koester said. The main desire was for an increase in payload capacity, as much as was possible to fit into the F-550 chassis size, Pruitt suggested. “The real advantage here is providing that increased GVWR, which for the F-600 is up to 22,000 pounds, in that familiar Class 5 chassis,” he said. “Our tagline is ‘it’s poised to go where

the bigger trucks can’t.’ That’s what we’re excited to deliver.” Ford’s customers in the market segments that will be interested in the F-600 are leaders in their industries and are looking for tools that are better suited to their tasks than the competition, said Koester. “Let’s say you have a customer who’s going out into an oil field; they’re loading up their truck, trying to make decisions about what tools they can put on and stay under weight. Are they going to be able to bring enough people for the job? When you get to a point where you are having to make decisions about what you’re going to put

into your truck based on the weight capability. . . quite frankly, you’re in the wrong truck,” he explained. “This keeps people in a platform that they very much like, that’s an industry leader, and it gives them the extra payload so there are fewer decisions; the feedback we had that drove us to this is very much focused on that point. People are continually asking for one more pound, one more foot, and that’s what this achieves.”

New 7.3-litre V8 available

The F-600 Super Duty will feature Ford’s new 7.3-litre V8 gasoline engine, which replaces the previously

Customers drive development

Ford has been hearing customer demand for a truck along these lines for some time, said Kevin Koester, Super Duty fleet brand manager. “This was something on our wants

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The F-600 cab will feature numerous comfort features as well as updated technology options.