1 ton for salt county

[GeorgeHayduke]

A few years ago we relocated to the upper Midwest where they salt the roads in the winter and vehicles seem to rust out in about 10 years or less. We spend a lot of time on dirt and gravel roads which makes the situation worse as the chipping and pitting around wheel wells and rocker panels gives rust a starting point.

I'm thinking about upgrading our RAM 3/4 ton to a 1 ton gasser but it pains me to think about the shortened vehicle lifespan. Are there any HD trucks or specific configurations that will last longer in this environment?

The aluminum body of the Fords comes to mind right away of course. In our neck of the woods, GMC/Chevy seems to be the most popular choice and those are often setup with full plastic fender liners and fender flares. I hear about fluidfilm for the undercarriage but am not sure if this helps with body panels.

How would you set up a 1 ton truck for gravel/dirtroads and salt? Prioritize aluminum? Plastic? Cheap beater that's already rusted?

 

[phsycle]

I’ve heard good things about FluidFilm. But it still doesn’t get into all the nooks and crannies.
Aluminum panels help but the frame, suspension, bolts, etc are all steel and will rust.
I’d do the fluid film and try your best to spray off the undercarriage after each drive through salted roads. It can get tedious.

Best solution? Move!
😆

 

[NoDak]

Any vehicle can be kept rust free with some preparation and work.

Aluminum body is only half of it. Window regulators, door hinges and pins still rot so spray out the door jambs often.
Fluid film the frame and suspension components really good in the fall then run it down a gravel road to get a layer of protective dust on it.

I wash the undersides of my vehicles thoroughly a few times in the spring to get residual salt out making sure to flush the frame rails, crossmembers and rocker panels really good. I’ve managed to keep a lot of the factory paint on my frames by keeping up with cleaning.

Just my opinion but I’d skip the rusted out beaters. Too unsafe.

 

[GeorgeHayduke]

Fluid film the frame and suspension components really good in the fall then run it down a gravel road to get a layer of protective dust on it.

Interesting, I wouldn't have thought of the gravel dust as protection. I know all my woodworking tools seem to rust pretty quickly if I let sawdust sit on them now, I think because the sawdust holds moisture.

What do you guys think about the parking situation? I've heard two schools of thought, one is to park indoors and let the slush melt and try to dry the truck. The other theory is to keep the truck parked outside and keep it cold with the thinking being that higher temps in the garage and sitting over top a puddle of salt water speeds up corrosion.

 

[yamaha225]

I live in the northeast in Maine so I unfortunately have plenty of experience with salted roads and rusty vehicles. We have the double whammy of also being near the ocean and getting the salty air as well. Fluid film is my prevention method of choice and I have been extremely pleased with the results. Back in 2017 I bought a 2006 Honda Accord with 216,000 miles as my commuter and winter beater. I absolutely doused it in fluid film regularly every fall. I would then also touch it up every time I worked on it or did maintenance. The nice thing about fluid film is it stays wet and will creep into areas you didn’t spray (at least to some degree). The key is to spray it inside of every nook and cranny. In particular spray inside the rocker panels, inside the bedsides (take the taillights out if needed), inside any boxes frame rails, inside the weep holes on the door bottoms and tailgate bottom, and inside the engine bay. I just sold that car this spring with 409,000 miles and it was one of the cleanest cars in the area of its age.

 

[kmacafee]

3 decade Minnesota resident here where salt is applied liberally to the roads. Salt works really well above freezing so if you park in a heated garage, the corrosion will happen very quickly. I have a 10 year old Ram 3500 and I take it to car washes regularly to get the undercarriage washed. I still have surface rust like most vehicles do but nothing structural. A good undercoating would certainly help and I've used Fluid Film with some success.

 

[1stDeuce]

Turns out we salt the roads in Colorado too but you don't see the rotted vehicles here... I suspect it's because our humidity level is dang near zero most of the year... I have friends in MI that have kept older trucks. The secrete is not to let mud build up and hold salt in places that then rot because the salt attracts water with humidity. Rinse the bottom of the truck a LOT during the winter and particularly well in the spring. Stay out of heated garages, and remember the whole bottom of your truck needs washed well as often as possible, not just the top side of the painted part...

Fluid film helps, as does spray bombing the whole underside during the summer months when it's dry and clean.

Other than that, when you see rust starting, get it fixed right away. Put some big mudflaps on it and keep speeds down to keep the dirt road mud buildup down.

Good luck!!

 

[Ole Chipper]

Tried the Fluid Films but seems to wash off. It's a little on the thin side for my liking.

What I have been using with great success. Is diesel waste oil, blacker the better. Just spray it on and drive it down a dirt road. Makes a nice oil crust that self seals if a rock chip or whatever. Once it's on a few months it stays put. We have all seen oil or grease covered steel laying around rust free.

Have heard of using a mix with chainsaw oil cause it's sticky. Heated grease, heated to thin it out. Waste oil of course and even linseed oil all mixed in various amounts.

NEVER use anything that hardens up. Like rubberized undercoating. Just makes a great salt trap as it flakes off.

Mud flaps and fenders to keep rock chips off the painted surface. Immediately touch up any chips before they start to rust. Do this monthly as it doesn't take long in the salt to rust.

Lastly watch the weather and plan trips when it's colder. Warm sunny days and you get a nice salt bath. Maybe wait til tomorrow when it's cold or a couple days for the roads to melt off. I know some can't help driving every day. Being a retired body man in WI I hate rust and salt. I wait a couple days if needed to keep my rigs out of the salt baths.

 

[yfarm]

Boiled linseed oil and a Wagner power sprayer or used motor oil, coat liberally and repeat periodically, works for beach trucks in salt water.