Frame Protection From Rust, Raptor Bed Liner

Allright so I recently bought a 2010 Taco and read about serious frame rust issues. I decided to do something before I had any issues and decided to add bedliner material to the entire frame and sprayed the entire underside. I bought this product called UPOL Raptor bedliner material. I read great things about this product on other forums and found the whole setup which includes 4 bottles of material, a can of hardner, and a spray gun. The whole setup can be bought for less than 100 dollars at the follwing link:
http://www.tptools.com/Product.aspx?display_id=2600

The only thing needed besides the kit is an air compressor, some 400 or so grit sand paper, acetone or "spray gun cleaner" and some painters tape. All these items can be found at an auto supply store. I went to HiLo Oriely.( Hopefully you already have the air compressor, cause if you don't this little project will get expensive)

Now the kit says you need a compressor rated at 8cfm at 40-60 psi. Mine didnt meet the 8cfm but had a 125 psi max rating. Though, found my compressor did a good job at supplying enough pressure to lay down the bedliner on the frame and underbody.

1. As far as prep work, just make sure the frame is as clean as you can get it. Remove rust and as much dirt as you can.
2. Tape up any areas you dont want to get bedliner on. I taped the edge right under the door. The edge nearest to the frame.
3. Use your sandpaper to scuff up all the areas you want to coat. Now this doesnt have to be perfect, the bedliner material is very forgiving. But the better you prep the better the results
4. As far as mixing the material, just add 250ml of the hardner to the black bottles and shake for 2 minnutes.
5. Assemble the gun and connect to your compressor.
6. Attach the black bottle containing the bedliner material to the gun and spray away.
7. When you're done be sure to clean the spray gun with the acetone so you can always use it later. Trust me you will have leftover bedliner.

Now dont worry bout spraying, this product goes on easy. The spray pattern is very narrow so you can really control the stream of the bedliner material. I chose to shoot the material in quick bursts instead of just leaving the trigger pressed and painting like i was painting a car. I found this gave me a really nice texture. Very uniform also, I swear applying this stuff was really easy.

Now remeber light coats are best. I removed the front tires to get better access and sprayed one side of the truck first, including all of the differential. I preped the other side and by the time I had finnished it had been like 45 mins. I then applied another light coat to the first side and repeated this procedure for the other side of the frame.

The included 4 bottles of material is more than enough for the frame of a double cab Taco. I did my entire truck frame, differential, the front skid plate and all frame it was attached to, and then did the entire underside of the cab using only 3 bottles. I still have an entire bottle of material left over should i need it for something.

Well i have to say the results are professional looking, as can be seen in the attached pics. The whole process took around 3 1/2 hours. It was a lot easier than I thought and would have been easier if I had a lift which would elimate me having to be on my back spraying the underbody. I would rate this easy, anyone can do this at home and save alot of money also.

 

x2 I would have left the suspension components alone

 

I've done similar to my chevy and never had a problem after I sprayed the suspension components.

 

Interesting solution. I hope it works well. It is deeply regrettable that Toyota allows Dana Corp to use such insufficient paint on our frames. That is one of the few complaints I have about my truck. We should not have to do this to our trucks frame.

 

I see no issues with spraying some of those components. Its not on that thick where you wont be able to crack the bolts. The alternative would be to have to crack the rusted bolts if you didnt spray. I use rustoleum flat black.

Looks Great!!!

 

Thanks I did pay special attention to not spray any bolts or joints really thick. I'd rather deal with a bolt covered in bedliner than rust. Hopefully this offers Tacoma owners a solution to the rust issue. I know the canadian guys were also having something sprayed on their frames, but this had to be done once a year. Hopefully this stuff lasts longer. Either way I'll keep you all posted to how this stuff stands up.

 

Great write up. Looks good. Thanks.

 

Thanks..I would have liked to have done a better write up but i couldnt get the pics inserted inbetween the text. Either way guys its very easy to do. I mean the included instructons are like only 4 or 5 sentences. the only thing you have to worry bout is not getting any of that stuff on something you dont want coated.

I'm hoping other members follow and protect the frame of their tacomas. And for just a tad under 100 dollars this product is very promising

 

By the looks of this no one is having rust issues on their taco.

 

Looks great!

And it will stay looking great for years to come.

x2 I would have left the suspension alone, but to each his own.

What made you go with U-Pol and not something like herculiner, or an actual rubberized undercoating?

I've actually never heard of them before, but I do love urethane, so thanks for the tip!

 

Very nice job. Thanks for the write up and pics. How did you address the inside of the frame in front toward engine. In mine the frame is a backward C in the back and open but in the front it is kinda like a box and hard to get inside. Thanks again. Curious George.

 

Not on second gens, no.

 

I went UPOL because I read good things about them on other forums. Theres this guy who did the inside of his jeep and it looked amazing. Plus I love bedliner material also, the thing is everything proof. Plus for 100 dollars and included spray gun I couldnt beat the deal with a stick.

 

Check out this thread:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/96706-going-back-dealership-rust.html

I know there are other threads, but just threw this one in for a quick reference. You can search for the others.

By the looks of it the rust issue might also be affecting 2nd gen Tacos. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I sprayed my frame just to be on the safe side.

 

Agreed! There are plenty of second gen rust stories around here. Good link you provided.

 

Isolated incidents are not statistically valid.

I'm sure there are people here and there that have rust issues...just like people here and there with diff breakages, and people here and there with transfer case issues.

4 people on the internet having a problem out of over a million second gen Tacomas sold does not mean a design flaw...in fact, it means the exact opposite.

I have no doubt people in the Northeast have more problems with rust than we do in temperate climates.

I agree 100%. This is why I wash my vehicles, including underbody, at least once every two weeks, and why I crawl under it once a year to sand potential trouble spots and nail 'em with rustoleum.

Actually did the truck for the first time (only had it a year) a few weeks ago - it's holding up great. Just a couple spots on the leaf spring shackles, and two scratches on the rear axle where the dealership had it on a lift. And I had it out for hours every time it snowed this past winter, playing like crazy.

 

jandrews, I think it's wrong to say that a rust problem does not exist. There are 72 threads in the second gen forum with RUST in the title.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/search.php?searchid=712989

I can share too that I live in a very arid climate with only 9 inches of rain per year and after one year of ownership my truck shows signs of light rust. The problem it would seem is insufficient paint on the frame.

 

Most of them being threads like this, talking about how rust is being prevented, or what the best way to prevent rust is, or what someone did to prevent rust, or hoping they don't get rust, or does rust still happen, or talking about the rust warranty, etc.

Again, out of over 1 million Tacomas sold, I am unconcerned. With normal maintenance, there is no evidence to suggest 2nd gens have a rust issue as the 1st gens do.

 

I am not going to try to convince you since you seem to be set on your opinion but I couldn't disagree more. When I crawled under my 1 year old truck and took a look around the evidence was crystal clear. The paint on my 2009 sucks! Dana at Toyota's direction, should have used 3-6 coats of paint to protect it, but they did not.

Just how do you explain a truck in San Diego, California that rusts? Here is my truck at 8 months old: