1st Tacoma, New 2020 TRD Sport. Should I Rustproof, Undercoat?

Just bought my first new 2020 TRD Sport. Had a 2004 Dodge Dakota that served me well for 16 years. The salesman tried to get me to also have the Tacoma undercoated. The dealership would undercoat with Diamond Kote rust & corrosion protection for $1,399. I told him No. He kept up the sales pitch for about five minutes and then lowered the cost by $300. At that point I gave him a Firm No, as I was pissed over the inflated price he tried to scam me with. I live in upstate New York and they use salt on the roads in Winter. Should I have my truck undercoated, rustproofed or any suggestions for a proud new Tacoma owner.

Thank You

 

Do some Woolwax or Fluid Film and call it a day. A lot of areas have Fluid Film or Woolwax days see if any are local to you.

 

Yes, do this.

 

Congrats and welcome Willy

 

If your in rust belt land, best to do some sort of rust inhibiter coating.

 

I got the dealer to undercoat my truck but I have since read that perhaps I shouldn’t have done that.

 

How far from Massachusetts are you

 

I used wool wax on my 19 tacoma last fall and will do it again this fall. I make sure I wash the underneath after driving on salted and brine roads. The wool wax doesnt wash off.

 

Definitely get it done. Mines been done every year since 2014

 

Does anyone know how many cans of Fluid Film it takes to undercoat a Tacoma properly? I just ordered 6 with the hopes to do 2 vehicles.

 

I think that would get you close with liberal application.

 

I used 5 cans of wool wax just on my tacoma.

 

Four to five cans of Fluid Film for a Taco, in my experience.

Stick with Lanolin based products like Woolwax, Fluid Film, etc.

Avoid anything that forms a permanent layer water can get behind if it gets compromised.

 

Just bought a 2020 TRD Sport and I'm having the same debate about which undercoat rustproofing to use. I live on Cape Cod and drive on the flats at low tide then winter go 4 hours up for skiing in Maine.

One guy said you have to apply woolwax 3 times and then you're good ($350 per application). Another guy said annually apply a 50/50 mixture of Penetrol/Linseed oil ($250 per application). Then the Rhino guy says either NHOU applied every year ($295). Rhino has a special wax ($700) applied once and warrantees rust for 15 years but requires annual application of the NHOU at $295 a pop.

 

Im in NY and they put all sorts of crap on the roads. I sprayed woolwax last year about 5 cans. Im doing it again this year. Costs about 60 bucks easy to apply. I also powerwash the under carriage a few times a year especally in winter.

 

I had my 17 Sport undercoated at the dealer and 1.5 years later I noticed the welds underneath starting to rust. Salt and other mix is used up here in Calgary during our long winters. This last summer I got a sand blaster and 3 bags of fine sand and got under there and hit all the rusted welds. Only took me the weekend to hit just the rusted parts then sprayed it with etching primer and painted over with 2 coats POR 15. Looked great and was looking forward to see how it would handle this winter. Unfortunately an elk had to run out in front of me on the highway this month and wrote off the truck.
Would I do all that work again on a new truck ?? Something needs to be done. Am I looking to do high maintenance steps each year that cost $200-300?? No. Jury is out on this. Still researching

 

I've been using fluid film on mine with good results so far. It's amazing how quick salted roads will rust steel if you aren't careful.

 

6 cans covers one vehicle, more like 7-8 if you do inside the panels and remove rubber plugs under frame and spray up in there. under hood, firewall, rockers, spare tire, hinges, bolts, etc. the cans arent 100% efficient but whatever.

look at your old truck for reference of where rust accumulates.

70 bucks and 90 minutes a year. heat the cans in a bucket of warm water it makes a better spray mist.

 

Took me a minimum of 5 spray cans of rp-342 cosmoline just to do one coat of the trucks undercharge. Still could use one more can to touch up a few spots.

 

I did a DIY of Fluid Film and used up about 5 cans in the process. Use a dropcloth under your truck as the overspray gets everywhere.