Michigan Tacomas

Headed north to camp at Wilderness SP and came upon a fellow mitten taco.

 

@usmc2msu Next time you come up, if you want to run some forest back roads let me know. I live in Cheboygan and be happy to have a trail partner!

 

For sure! Thanks!

 

New to Michigan with a brand new Tacoma. I’m religious with cleaning and waxing. Is an undercoating a must or will I be ok with pressure washing and scrubbing weekly? My uncle in Benton Harbor said he doesn’t worry about his Toyotas and doesn’t undercoat. He said he has never had a problem? Is it absolutely necessary? Thank you

 

So, welcome first of all! Secondly, YES, not undercoating, but find a place that does Fluid Film or the like. Your frame will thank you. I have a 2013 and my frame looks new still. If you look back 1 page to 171, we were just talking about this exact subject! If you live in the tip of the mitt, and need a trail partner, let me know!

 

Thank you but I have a trailer queen. I bought a 4 x 4 in case I have to take my wife to the airport. She has a very important job and sometimes has to respond. I’ve been reading posts but haven’t been sure, Toyota Put wax in the frames of the 2020s and 2021s. It’s thicker than the old stuff they used to use on the door hinges from the cars that came from overseas. Toyota used to do that to keep the salt water out while on the ship. The stuff from the factory is super thick and black, it’s in all the right spots. I am mainly concerned about suspension components and stuff piling up around the rear bumper. With the bumper covers on the SR, I am a little concerned with salt and sand piling up inside. Intentionally went with the SR because I was worried about road contaminants storing in fender covers. I’m from Portland so I know how to drive in the rain, I don’t have any snow legs; we were lucky To get 3 inches of snow a year.

 

Yeah they did a "recall" to do that to all of them. Although my goo was white they put into the frame and joints. However, if you want the surface rust and EVERY nook to be corrosion resistant, I'd still have your truck done with some form of winterization/rust proofing. Not sure where you live, but Great Lakes Chemicals is down state and if you live here in the north land, there's only a couple of places that do it and copy on the trailer queen.

 

I'd highly recommend fluid film or Woolwax (same thing but thicker). An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My father in law is pretty religious about washing and waxing as well but after 7 years of his ownership in northern Indiana, he too has body rust forming around the wheel wells and fenders.

 

Grand Rapids area, I just emailed Great Lakes chemical’s..
I put boat wax on everything I could underneath inside/outside the frame and spray painted every nut and bolt that I thought it would be in the path of flung salt. This will be a learning experience. Thank you for the replies. I probably have a top five cleanest Tacoma in the entire world.. just call me TQ for short

 

I would also like to echo what others have been saying. The last vehicle I owned was pushing 260,000 miles and still drove fine till the day I got rid of her. The rust is what caused her demise. I was always very diligent in cleaning the salt off in the winter but it got to the point that doing routine maintenance was a pain in the buttocks and the body rust was becoming unsightly to me. With my Tacoma (2021) I said no f*cking around this time and made sure I started with the rust proofing products immediately and plan to keep up on it as the years tick away. The price is minimal when considering the peace at mind.

 

I grew up in Detroit, which by the way sits on top of huge salt mines. The old saying was “ if your quiet, you can hear em rusting”. Get it rustproofed, cheap insurance.

 

I've never heard of anyone using boat wax but maybe it'll work! Just be sure to avoid any rubberized undercoating because that stuff basically seals in the moisture and rots the frame faster.

 

looks like wax, the military uses it on their planes.
It’s NOT FUN but I put 2 coats on the undercarriage. Can’t spell fun without fu.

 

The real question is, how often do you have to reapply that and how well does it resist spray? Obviously if it is marine grade it should resist very well

 

The real question is:

Can I be 1st in line to buy your truck when you are ready to sell?

 

If you want to keep your truck, get the undercarriage treated. The salt up there can be brutal, especially in harder winter. 50 years of MI winters that I don't miss. If you're on the west side, you'll have your share of lake effect snow, and thus more salt to deal with. Trailer queen or not, I'd get it done. And if you're worried about the rear bumper and fender dirt and salt retention, some good mud flaps will help with that.

 

Umm...just FYI, we don't wax aircraft in the Military. We wash them, yes, but no wax. 26 year aircraft maintainer here. Man...I hated wash preps...so many pages of forms to fill out.

 

That is the question for Michigan. I just sold my 06, it sat outside – not garaged. I put that stuff on the wheels and lights and windows literally everything. It rains about 200 days a year in the Portland area, it seems, however, they don’t use salt, just windshield breaking pebble size gravel if it snows. The stuff keeps brake dust off the wheels…(original paint on wheels) Applied at least 2-4 times a year. Oregon has heavy sap with the pine trees out there. I’m noticing the walnut trees spit sap pretty bad here. It’s going to be a learning experience. I appreciate the information from locals.

 

Neighbor was a C-5 galaxy pilot who recommended it years ago.Read they were using it on Blackhawks and c-130’s to help with exhaust stains. Maybe they were just testing it. Idk the stuff works.

 

We have our share of gravel as well, especially when it gets too cold for the salt and brine to work.

She is definitely nice looking. I traded in my 2008 Canyon as rust was beginning to show on the bottom of the tailgate. It was in pretty good condition for a Michigan truck, minus the frame. But that was likely my fault since I opted to get the dealership undercoating when the truck was already 6 years old. It basically sealed in the flavor and rotted it faster.