Autoblog

In Parts 1 and 2 of his 2007 Heavy Duty Shootout, Mike Levine and his cohorts from Pickuptruck.com compared the acceleration of gas three-quarter ton and diesel one-ton pickups from Dodge, Chevy/GMC and Ford on flat surfaces, both unloaded and loaded with 10,500-lb trailers. For the third and final report, however, Levine introduced grades of 7% and 15% to the equation.

The results were surprising, and really had the most influence on Pickuptruck.com's final conclusions. We won't spoil the dramatic tail of each hill climb at Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds, but the 2007 Ford F-250 with its 6.8L Triton V10 was particularly impressive in the gasser category, and as anyone who has driven one would expect, the 2007 Chevy Silverado 3500 and its 6.6L Duramax diesel/6-speed transmission combo proved overly dominant among the oil burners. That said, the conclusions are only half the story, as Pickuptruck.com follows each truck through every gear as they climb their grades. These rigorous tests brought every truck's weakness, which were glaring in some cases, as well as their strengths.

Click the Read link below to read the conclusion to the 2007 Heavy Duty Shootout and learn once and for all what pickup these guys would park in their garage.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

The first time we laid eyes on Ford's new F-450, we knew that we wanted to run one through the ringer. Intended to satisfy those customers who find traditional "one ton" dually trucks to be a bit too limiting, this massive vehicle pegged our more-is-better meter. The F-450 is, in fact, so big as to make the title of this post a complete misnomer, as it takes something more like a barn to house this much truck.

While seemingly nearly every truck on America's roads rides along with an empty bed, there are indeed times in nearly every pickup owner's life when it's time to load up some cargo. Such vehicles are designed for exactly this purpose, but it's important to know a few things before hitting the highway with a bed full of topsoil or a stack of railroad ties.

Continue reading for some tips on properly loading a truck, and as always, we welcome additional contributions from our readers.

Disclaimer: Some of these pictures show improper loading, which we're showing as examples of what not to do. Just because we survived moments of stupidity does not mean that we condone it. When in doubt, always consult the owner's manual.