Who drives their truck in the winter?

[bladerunner]

Sometimes I feel guilty driving my truck in the winter. She ain't no trailer queen, but the body and paint are brand new. I just can't afford to garage it and frankly, I want to drive it.  The undercoating is 2 years old, but I wash her at least once a week and always after a storm.  Plus I am planning on POR'ing the frame this summer as well as sundry other parts. It just has rubberized undercoating on it now.

Who else drives in the winter? What steps do you take to thwart or stall the rust bug?

[Irish_Alley]

blazin plows with "yellow snow" some put a coat of oil on the underside. i drove mine last year and let her sit for a while now its ugly under her belly

[bladerunner]

Anyone ever try Ziebarting an old truck? Probably better to do it yourself.

[black85k10]

been lucky this year with very little snow. all i do is be for it snows every time a good coat of wax and wash it the next day that it is at least in the 40s to  get the salt off. as for the underside i put 3m undercoating on  last year

[pholliday1]

There is a big difference in where you live i'm in upsate ny near the canadian border. Here they use straight salt on the road other states they use sand/ embers. These square bodies seem to rot in mostly the same places. Common spots above rear wheels cab corners rockers etc. Pretty much spots where debris sits and people don't wash it. Use your own judgement applying oil like alley said /i agree oil does'nt rust!

[PromiseKeeper]

Re: rustproofing
My personal observation is that anything done to prevent rust on these trucks is a step in the right direction. We do need to remember that rustproofing was a very big business back in the 70's and 80's and lots of trucks had it put on them. Even so, most still rotted away when exposed to salt. It's a two sided thing. If you drive it, you're going to have rust. If you don't, then your enjoyment of the truck is about cut in half. Just for a reference, I priced having mine done last year. The quote was about $400.

[bladerunner]

PK -

Who quoted you? A local shop, dealer or a chain? What kind of product were they going to use?  How bad would you characterize the rust on your truck?

[thirsty]

Here in northern NH it is like what pholliday1 described. You drive over rock salt and sand and can hear it going up in everywhere. Then (living in ME you know I'm sure) you got the big salted snotsickles that hang down off your rig all winter.
The undercoating around here that is used the most is Fluid Film sprayed on. I had some wax type stuff also all over my new cab. That stuff worked great by the looks. It was terrible to clean off though.

Best thing you can do is not keep it in a heated garage and run it a lot. Sitting and especially sitting in a heated garage with salt on them is what kills them quicker then anything in my opinion.

[bladerunner]

Here in northern NH it is like what pholliday1 described. You drive over rock salt and sand and can hear it going up in everywhere. Then (living in ME you know I'm sure) you got the big salted snotsickles that hang down off your rig all winter.
The undercoating around here that is used the most is Fluid Film sprayed on. I had some wax type stuff also all over my new cab. That stuff worked great by the looks. It was terrible to clean off though.

Best thing you can do is not keep it in a heated garage and run it a lot. Sitting and especially sitting in a heated garage with salt on them is what kills them quicker then anything in my opinion.

I have talked to some folks and they say garage it at all costs come winter while others say the best thing to do is run it while taking preventative measures.  Some people seem a little too fatalistic about rust.

I know all too well about "snotsickles". Kids call 'em snow boogers. 

[thirsty]

Best thing to do is look at a vehicle that is driven all winter and parked in a heated garage at night and compare it to a vehicle that is driven all winter and kept in the cold.

Bottom line unfortunately is that if it sees road salt it is going to rust. Best thing is to find a winter beater to drive and then put your truck in the heated garage before it snows and tinker on it all winter 

[bladerunner]

Maybe I will do that next year. One winter shouldn't kill it, especially with undercoating on it and since we have had a relatively snow free winter here in central Maine.

I don't have a heated garage, is there some inherent disadvantage to an unheated one if I did not plan on working on it?

[thirsty]

Your truck might catch a cold...That's about it. 

As long as it is dry and your antifreeze is good so your block doesn't freeze it would be fine

[PromiseKeeper]

Bladerunner,
Not sure which chain it was, maybe Ziebart? I didn't have it done. My truck sits in a heated garage all winter and has never seen snow. I do spray some oil underneath to keep things protected.

If Vile were around, he'd be telling you to use body shutz (Where are you anyways, Vile?) Do a search of that on here and read up on it.

Scott

[Donut]

Maybe I will do that next year. One winter shouldn't kill it, especially with undercoating on it and since we have had a relatively snow free winter here in central Maine.

I don't have a heated garage, is there some inherent disadvantage to an unheated one if I did not plan on working on it?

I used to live in the Capital area, my old one came from the dealership with a plow, so it saw winter (and rust).
My garage was a big pine in the yard.  So non-heated garage, like mentioned catch a cold, and frozen fingers.
Other than everything mentioned, not much else to add.  When I was rebuilding the truck, the cab bottom was painted with epoxy (new inner fenders also)  Frame was needle scaled and Rustoleumed, easy touch ups.

My '86 was a southern truck.  Cab corners are showing rust holes and the cowl to engine bay is worse than my '73 ever thought of being.

[Blazin]

I pressure wash mine with hot water once or twice a week, or after every storm. I spend about an hour / hour and a half maybe a little longer each time. I open the hood, flood the insides of the fenders, kneel down on something and blast all up underneath, on top of the gas tanks, up in the rear quarters, inside the frame, axles, motor, etc. Wash it with soap about every third or fourth time. I have never waxed my truck since I painted it!
I sand blasted , sanded the who;e under side of the cab. Sealed all the seams with seam sealer, and sprayed three very heavy coats of SEM spray on bed liner on it. Sprayed three coats to the floors from the fire wall seam, to about 6" under the back window inside the cab with it too. I will need to replace the fenders and doors in a few years as they were used / repaired when i put them on. They are starting to show some blisters. I keep saying i'm going to oil it but never seem to do it!