A 1962 Ford F-850 truck with concrete mixer at a job site. Photo: Ford Archives

A 1962 Ford F-850 truck with concrete mixer at a job site. Photo: Ford Archives

Ford recently highlighted how the F-Series has been a part of the U.S. workplace for nearly a century.

One of the early landmark projects that involved the F-Series was the building of the Hoover Dam in 1931. According to Ford archives, estimates of the project included 5.5 million barrels of cement, 5 million cubic yards of concrete masonry, 15 million pounds of hydraulic equipment, 40 million pounds of electrical equipment, nearly 20 million pounds of gates and valves, and 30 million pounds of reinforcing steel.

The Alaska Road Commission used Ford trucks to help build and maintain more than 2,000 miles of road and 70,000 miles of trails. In 1939, a loaded, 2-ton Ford V-8 truck could make the 370-mile run from Valdez to Fairbanks, via gravel roads, at an average speed of over 20 mph, according to Ford records.

In 1933, Ford F-Series trucks were used in another major dam project near Glasgow, Montana, with the building of the Fort Peck Dam across the Missouri River. At the time, the Fort Peck Dam was the world's largest earthen dam, containing 123 million cubic yards of earth. During construction, Ford V-8 trucks hauled 14 million yards of earth to clear a path, according the automaker's records.

In addition to helping with the construction of the Hoover Dam, Ford F-Series trucks were used in the late 1930s on the construction of the Hoover Dam Transmission Line, which was designed to power the city of Los Angeles. Ford trucks were used as concrete mixers, were equipped with winch gear for hoisting power towers, and even as a portable service station for fueling field equipment in the high desert, according to the automaker.

Today, Ford F-Series trucks are employed across numerous industries, including waste management; street and highway construction; electric services; water, sewer, and pipeline construction; and in the crude petroleum and natural gas industry.

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