How much does rust bother you?

Ill lose a lot more money in a lease than if I just buy a truck and sell it in two years. But if thats not the only reason, I dont like other people owning my stuff. I like to write my name on everything thats mine, including my wife.

 

I thought you were a chick?

 

He's from here.

 

Some states do not use salt. Oregon traditionally just used aggregate, although after a nasty ice storm in Portland last year, OR has decided to use salt on a limited case basis: https://www.citylab.com/environment/2017/01/portland-oregon-use-salt-to-melt-icy-roads/512582/

for various states see: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr235/017-030.pdf
scroll down to pp. 22-23

although this document, may be a bit dated

 

I made that mistake once with someone else here before....

It was humiliating, enlightening and overwhelming all rolled into one

 

In my opinion I wouldn't do it. I live in Michigan and have been fighting the rust battle on various vehicles for almost 20 years now. Its never ending and its a huge pain in the ass. I actually bought my taco knowing about the frame recall and counting on it so I will have a nice shiny frame to start with. The problem with Michigan is its not just the frame. That shit is everywhere. Stuff rusts under the hood, your door panels, every fastener, etc. There isn't a maintenance project you can do on a Michigan vehicle without PB blaster and a breaker bar and likely some broken bolts. Alas I live here and likely wont be able to move anytime soon so it is what it is. But in your situation I would buy a nice pristine Arizona truck when you go back for your stuff and at least give yourself a head start in the rust fight. Anything that's lived in Michigan for more than a couple years is just gonna put you at a disadvantage. That's just my .02

 

As one who lived in New England for 45 years (the next 26 here in NE Florida) I would not pay anywhere near top dollar for a 4 or 5 year old from that neck of the woods--actually I would not touch one with a specially built 11 foot pole. We see them all over down here this time of year when the snowbirds come and trade 'em in on new cars; the new car dealers wholesale them off immediately to the "buy here/pay here" used dealers who "sell" (and repossess) them 4 or 5 times before they fall apart and end up in the bone yard...

 

To properly stop rust you need an annual coating of rust check, fluid film, krown, or any other product that does NOT dry out. Those once a lifetime products look good for several years until it dries out and flakes of, revealing the rusted metal behind it that has been festering for years.

If it's a good buy and minimal surface rust on the frame I'd buy it and rust check it every year going forward and you should be fine. I bought a 3' wand with a 360 degree tip on it for my spray gun to coat the inside of the frame thoroughly.
It's an uphill battle (I live on the east coast of Canada, I don't think it can get any worse for vehicle rust) but rust can be kept at bay with a lot of attention and time.

 

Lots of folks go for that thick, heavy, road tar stuff (not Rustcheck) thinking it offers greater protection. Later on a crack appears & they find out salt water got behind it causing rot & the only thing that's holding that area together is the tar. I get enough tar spray from those stupid air operated pot hole filling machines that emerge every spring. Heated parking can be a killer too.

 

My now departed uncle spent his whole life, except for the part in Korea, as a cross-country independent trucker. He sprayed the underside of his tractor with used motor oil each time he changed it--it would make contemporary tree-huggers die in their boots but he NEVER had a problem with frame, or undercarriage, or any rust--ever see what used diesel oil is like?

 

They still do it here but it's some guy in the back 40 with a set of ramps & an airless sprayer. As for the environment, what do you suppose roads are made of? Don't mean that in a sarcastic way.

 

I think that’s what they did on my Sierra as a preventative, and you can see the pictures on page 2 of how that turned out. The stuff just comes off in chunks. I also think there is a conspiracy here since Detroit is known for the “big 3”. I am fairly certain they have huge leverage in salt continuing to be used and the fact that they keep building shitty frames just means more people come back to buy another brand new truck next year.

 

Now the big 3 have shitty things about them, but a Toyota Tacoma owner must not ever refer to another companies frame as being shitty! Lol

That coating you see on your GM frame is what was applied right from the factory

 

Toyota isn’t doing frame replacements out of the good in their hearts. They put out a crap product for anybody that lives in the salt belt. Frames have to last more than the 6-8 years that they do up here or else you end up with a class action like Toyota did.

 

Lol no shit. I’m saying it’s good Tacoma owners have put Toyota on blast about it in the past and made it to media coverage, thus we get replacements.

 

Fortunately, I still own the GM and don't own the tacoma just yet!

 

To me, rust is just a part of living in the Rust Belt. When I lived in Southern California people went crazy if they saw even the lightest surface rust because it was so rare there due to the roads never seeing salt. In my opinion, expect rust if you live in the rust belt. It sucks, but It’s just a normal everyday thing in life.
When it comes to resell value, it depends on what area of the country you’re trying to sell it in. I bought an 03 Cummins a while back just to sell, because I got it cheap(5600 bucks for a rusty Laramie edition) sold it where rust is really common for 7800. In CA, I wouldn’t of probably got anyone to touch it.

 

More than what you can imagine. And I don't think the newer models frames are any better. I live in the Midwest and I don't know what mixture they spray on roads but I kid you not, it is way worse then salt alone.