The Ford F-600 Super Duty chassis cab was named Work Truck’s Medium-Duty Truck of the Year for 2021.

Selected from a field of 14 tough contenders, Work Truck readers selected the Ford F-600 Super Duty chassis cab as the truck that best fit their fleet requirements, including application effectiveness, durability, quality, servicing, maintenance, and lifecycle costs.

“We’re honored that fleet customers chose the new F-600 Super Duty chassis cab as Work Truck magazine’s 2021 Medium Duty Truck of the year. We developed the unique F-600 in response to customer needs for a truck with Class 6 capability in a more manageable Class 5 package,” said Nathan Oscarson, Ford commercial truck brand manager. “F-600 is slotted between our F-550 Super Duty and F-650 Medium-Duty trucks, which I’m proud to say, were the winners of this award in 2019 and 2020. F-600 has the familiar size, interior, and controls of an F-550, but can manage larger upfits, carry more equipment, and tow heavier loads than any other Super Duty chassis cab its size.”

The award was announced at The Work Truck Show 2021 on March 8.

“Ford’s F-600 is an adaptable truck that earned its place as the 2021 Medium-Duty Truck of the Year. As always, this award is fully fleet-focused, with our Work Truck readers naming Ford No. 1 once again in 2021,” said Lauren Fletcher, executive editor of Work Truck magazine.

This is the eighth time Ford has been honored with Work Truck’s Medium-Duty Truck of the Year Award.

“Thank you to the hard-working men and women who voted for F-600, which is Built for America at Ohio Assembly Plant,” Oscarson added.

Under the Hood

The Ford F-600 delivers the capability of a Class 6 truck — including a maximum GVWR of 22,000 pounds — in a familiar and easy-to-manage Class 5 Super Duty package.

Positioned between F-550 Super Duty and F-650 Pro Loader Medium Duty truck, F-600 has the familiar size, interior, and controls of an F-550, with a step-up height that’s only 3 millimeters higher.

Additionally, the F-600 uses higher-capacity wheels and tires, upgraded driveshaft mounts, an upgraded rear axle and brake rotor materials, and strategically placed frame reinforcements behind the cab to deliver Class 6 capability in a compact Class 5 package.

F-600 comes standard with a class-exclusive 7.3L V-8 gasoline engine. The 6.7L V-8 Power Stroke diesel engine is available. Both powertrains are built by Ford.As F-600 enters its second year of production, the Ford TorqShift 10-speed automatic transmission comes with a 10-bolt design live drive power takeoff (PTO) provision standard on both powertrains. The power takeoff provision works with aftermarket power takeoff units to drive auxiliary equipment anytime the engine is running, either in stationary or mobile mode.

In stationary mode, it is rated to handle up to 300 lb.-ft. of torque. F-600 equipped with the diesel engine offers split-shaft PTO capability that makes it possible to run two pieces of auxiliary equipment at the same time when the vehicle is stopped.

With the 6.7L V-8 Power Stroke diesel engine, F-600 delivers gooseneck towing capacity of 34,500 pounds and a maximum GCWR of 43,000 pounds.The trucks are available in regular cab configuration with a choice of four wheelbases, two- or four-wheel drive, and three fuel tank configurations. F-600 is upfit-ready with six factory-installed overhead upfitter switches, a programmable upfitter interface module, and the same cab-to-axle dimension as F-550.

“The F-600 gives our customers the capability and capacity of a traditional Class 6 truck, in the familiar and nimble envelope of Super Duty. All in all, the F-600 is a great vehicle for our customers, but also a great platform for upfitting and work equipment integration.  Ford really hit the target with the F-600,” said Mandar Dighe, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Knapheide Manufacturing.

Technology to the Rescue

F-600 offers helpful driver-assist technology including available Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning, which can help drivers avoid or mitigate collisions; auto high beam headlamps; and audible lane departure warning, which scans the vehicle position between the lines in the road and informs drivers who edge out of their lane with an audible alert.

A standard embedded modem with 4G LTE can provide Wi-Fi for up to 10 devices to help keep drivers and crews connected. Ford Telematics and Ford Data Services are available to help customers operate their fleets more efficiently.

Ford Telematics and Data Services enable fleet managers to enhance uptime and asset utilization, optimize running costs, improve driver behavior, and protect their fleets using Ford OEM-grade telematics software, integrating with the existing telematics service provider, or taking vehicle data directly into their own IT systems.

We did a walkaround of the 2020-MY Ford F-600, check it out: