Why Ram Truck owners insist on undercoating and rustproofing their trucks

[Ferro]

My truck was a month old I took it to Ziebart can't beat free

 

[Otis 32]

I use motor oil. I spray it in the rockers, cab corners, tops of fenders, bottom of tailgate and in the hood. Just sold my 2005 Ram 1500 and had zero rust thru.

I did repaint the bottom half of the truck two years ago, but that was because of stone chips from all-terrain tires.

Good idea, I was thinking of that also- what do you spray it with, and do you mix it with anything ? Thanks for any info.

 

[MANual_puller]

I use motor oil. I spray it in the rockers, cab corners, tops of fenders, bottom of tailgate and in the hood. Just sold my 2005 Ram 1500 and had zero rust thru.

I did repaint the bottom half of the truck two years ago, but that was because of stone chips from all-terrain tires.

Good idea, I was thinking of that also- what do you spray it with, and do you mix it with anything ? Thanks for any info.

I'm not sure how great of an idea motor oil is. If a fire were to happen they might ask why there was an accellerant sprayed all over inside the truck.....

 

[SKS 800]

Good idea, I was thinking of that also- what do you spray it with, and do you mix it with anything ? Thanks for any info.

I just use a manual trigger action oil can with about a 12" nozzle on it. I do not mix anything with it, I use the left over motor oil from my lawn tractor as it only takes 2.5 qts.

I oil everything as I stated above then park it it off the driveway and let it drip for awhile then wipe it down and wash it.

One thing to note is to keep wiping any oil of the door seals on the bottom of the doors, if they are covered in oil too long they will become soft and deform, found that out the hard way on my last truck.

 

[Bighorn 4 Life]

I had mine done. I bought my 2010 Ram 1500 Big Horn in 2009 brand new. It doesn't have a rust spot on mine.

 

[THETANK]

Me has the best defence against salt and el crappo winter, mine stays in the garage from October to Late April. If the toys had to venture out God forbid I would have all of them Krowned.

 

[skirider]

My 2011 has a bunch h of oval plastic plugs on rocker. What are those. On painted side down at bottom?

 

[SouthShoreRAM]

i just remembered, i also use a wash-down called salt-terminator, its made for boats and marine products, highly recommend. especially if your going naked so to speak in the snow/salt

 

[jcorey2293]

What do you guys think of bed liner (linex) for undercoating? I would expect that to be a lifetime product against rust instead of having to spray every year or couple years like the products you guys are mentioning.

I am about to have all new suspension, body lift, and lift kit installed. New Offroad bumpers, front offroad Fiberwerx fenders, and also new offroad fiberwerx rear bedsides. Also, gooseneck hitch and Class V rear hitch. I'm doing it all at the same time so that way it all comes apart at the same time. So since everything is apart, perfect time to spray everything right?

Good idea or crazy idea?

 

[WaterBoy1]

Not sure I'd want to use line-x as an "undercoating" only for the simple reason if it ever got a nick or tear in it, any water/brine would get trapped underneath and accelerate rusting.

I do think it might help protect some parts though, the trick apparently is in the preparation.

Line-x won't "creep" like the other products mentioned here either. (If being used as an "undercoating")

 

[CVX20]

Mines booked in at Krown this Thurs.Had it done last year a month after I bought it.

BTW I made the mistake of purchasing the FCA factory undercoating when I bought it.Total waste of money IMHO.

 

[Hootbro]

For less than $60 and two hours of my time, Fluid filmed my underside today. Did the rattle can job for the frame/suspension bit last year but stepped it up to the bulk gallon stuff this year and used my Wagner power sprayer and it went on fine and got the whole underside this time body and frame.

 

[yoda]

My only problem with rustproofing is, Vehicles usually rust through where you cant get the rustproofing. My 05 caravan rockers are completely gone. After all the metal was rusted away you could see why, they have what looks like expanding spray foam in the rockers and other nooks and cranies, I assume to reduce road noise.
Moisture gets trapped, no amount of rustproofing would have done any good.

 

[Hootbro]

My only problem with rustproofing is, Vehicles usually rust through where you cant get the rustproofing. My 05 caravan rockers are completely gone. After all the metal was rusted away you could see why, they have what looks like expanding spray foam in the rockers and other nooks and cranies, I assume to reduce road noise.
Moisture gets trapped, no amount of rustproofing would have done any good.

Rustproofing at best is an abatement process to slow down the rust process. To not do it because of inevitability is foolish and a waste of a truck's value to not get the longest service life possible.

 

[Bee1971]

Remove all four plastic wheel well liners is a must , I would do that myself before dropping it off at a rustproofing business

Also all those small plastic body plugs can bee removed by hand under the rocker panels and then you have some bigger rubber body plugs within the door jambs

I stole the snap on videoscope from work and put the camera within those small plastic rocker panel plugs from underneath when I removed them on both sides on my 2011 and did not see a spec of dirt - rust - corrosion or and foam or sound deadening material , and this was after five years , and I did not spray anything within those holes since new

After five years the metal inside looked brand new - Almost looked like the bare metal was clear coated inside the rockers because you could see drips and runs in areas using the camera

Anyways make sure the back side of the front fenders get done where the strengthening adhesive patch is on the backside

And then on the rear quarters you have the spot welded bracket area up on top of both rear quarters

Also you can remove all the factory tape on the backside of the rockers underneath the truck - They apply this tape at the factory to cover all the body holes - If that tape comes off and you don't pay attention it's an open invitation to mud dirt and moisture

Anyways some of this tape gets removed when you install side steps

You can spray within those holes also

I used a roll of gorilla black industrial tape weatherproof double adhesive found at Home Depot , to cover the holes after spraying , man that tape works awesome and stays put even after years

Those rust pictures of the rockers still blow my mind because I exclusivity use my truck in WI and the U.P. For hauling snowmobiles in the winter

I used Fluid Film and LPS 3 on my truck over the years from underneath.
Really went to town this summer removing everything that I mentioned and looking everything over before spraying

On the red plastic extension straws that you attach to the cans , you can run the straws through a plastic zip tie attached to the can , that way your not losing all those straws within the body holes while spraying the fluid

 

[breal201999]

Also you can remove all the factory tape on the backside of the rockers underneath the truck - They apply this tape at the factory to cover all the body holes - If that tape comes off and you don't pay attention it's an open invitation to mud dirt and moisture

Anyways some of this tape gets removed when you install side steps

You can spray within those holes also

I used a roll of gorilla black industrial tape weatherproof double adhesive found at Home Depot , to cover the holes after spraying , man that tape works awesome and stays put even after years

I was just getting ready to do my first Fluid Film application and wondered about these holes that had the tape over them. My first thought was to remove the tape to let the holes "breathe" to allow the moisture to escape, but also didn't want to allow mud or salt in them. Would a mesh like tape be better, or best to try to block the hole again like factory? With a mesh though, water run off from salt like when snow melts could possibly get in there, so probably best to use a solid tape like you suggest.

On the red plastic extension straws that you attach to the cans , you can run the straws through a plastic zip tie attached to the can , that way your not losing all those straws within the body holes while spraying the fluid

I haven't bought a can of this stuff yet, but I know the straw you are referring to... like a can of WD40... I'm just not visualizing how to zip tie around the straw to the can. Maybe it will be more apparent when I actually buy the can.

 

[InvictusII]

I got the Krown spray done last week. They drill a few holes to get into the rocker areas and other sealed areas to spray with the fluid. At first, I was unsure about drilling holes in a new truck, but I decided that rustproofing would highly outweigh the rusty alternative.

 

[powderbrad]

I suppose a good hand wash and dry a few times a year would help as it removes the engrained oils and filth better than a spray job.
Run a dry cloth under the door sills and jams to rid water after washing.

I do see in inordinate amount of rusty new vehicles around though. It's like the 70s all over again lol.

Don't they zinc new panels on newer vehicles?

Maybe a good paint sealant every 3-4 years would help? Like a Ming coating??

 

[Hemi395]

This is what I use to get into the rockers, door bottoms, wheel wells, frame, etc. I tape a metal rod to it so its rigid.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C...fluid+film&dpPl=1&dpID=41kqpPKR8RL&ref=plSrch