Is it worth buying a rust free Tacoma if you live in the salt belt state

Right now I live in Oregon where there is plenty of First Gen Tacoma's for sale that are in good shape, but I'm finding myself in the future moving back to Wisconsin and worried it won't last long on those salty winter roads. My question is are the first generation Tacoma so prone to rust, even if you spray them with a fluid film, paint, under body coat(which I find to be a bad idea), Chain and bar oil, Dump waste oil down the frame, wash the frame before the snow melts or whatever trick people use to avoid rust, will they still rust and rot away! Two of my uncles that live in Milwaukee, WI had first gen tacoma's frames that rotted away within 8 years. My uncle Joe got $10,000 from Toyota and my uncle Paul got a new frame from Toyota for free (which I think that recall is over for the first gens).

Here's a picture of my uncle Joe's Tacoma back in 2010 when the frame bent on the lift. BTW that is not my uncle in the picture.

 

Any car will rust out if exposed to winter salt and chemicals. This crap is very corrosive. If you rustproof, yes it is worth it and will make a big difference. Rustproofing must be done each year to keep maximum protection against rust.

but an honest answer would be to not drive it in winter

 

I remember my dads (lives in Wisconsin) 1990 Toyota pickup rusted so bad on the body you could feel the wind on your feet because the doors were so rusted. But the frame out lasted his brothers truck and was still not rotted out when he sold it to some guy for parts back in 2012. He loved that truck so much, he now owns a mint 1991 Toyota pickup that he bought in Oregon 5 years ago and is taking way better care of it and not letting this truck rust to crap.

 

Vehicles seem to last a long time in the PNW. Salt does these frames in but, there is no coating you can buy that will prevent this reaction. DANA Corp. omitted the phosphate in their steel making process which causes de-lamination. Basically the steel comes apart from the inside out. Putting a coating on the outside just makes the steel flake off in BIGGER chunks. Ask anyone on the Northeast.

If you find one with a replaced frame do not worry. Mine was done in 2008 and still looks cherry. I would hesitate bringing an older, factory original, frame to a heavy salt-use area. The chemical deterioration will accelerate once the salt is sprayed on. If you want more info look up steel de-lamination and you will get the info you need.
Good luck.

 

Not likely. Agree that the typical cheap under body coat is a bad idea.

Are you suggesting that your uncles both took all these preventative measures, regularly/faithfully, from new, and still lost their frames in 8 years?

 

Texas Truck to Pa never saw Winter Chemical 2 winters and it needed tender loving care .

The repairs are holding up just fine

 

I brought a CA truck to MA and this will be my third winter back. I applied Fluid Film the last two years inside and outside the frame (still need to apply this year) and the frame is looking pretty good. I'm getting surface rust on the rear end around the leaf spring perches and towards the outboard ends as well as on some frame mount welds and LCA welds.

Leaf springs are rusted over too.

My plan is to clean up all that rust in the spring with a wire wheel and paint before it gets too bad. I'm going to keep heavily applying FF in the fall and hope the truck lasts many years to come.

Rust will be unavoidable unless you park it for the winter. Even then it'll creep in

 

An opinion it is. No!
Don't waste time and money on a vehicle which is known to have a multitude of documented problems with frame rust. Even as far as the government and Toyota Corp, and even yourself admit through various recalls. Buy a beater F150 or Ranger for winter use. I recently found a great deal on a small travel trailer in Ohio. It'll have to wait for spring or summer, after the rains because I won't drive my totally rust free Tacoma to it over chemical covered roads.

 

I honestly don’t know, but I doubt they did any maintenance to the frame besides washing it. The Tacoma in the picture rusted so bad because Toyota sprayed that underbody coat and it just trapped the wet salt and it ate away quicker at the frame.

 

I’m not going to find a Tacoma with a replaced frame out in the west coast because you are correct on the cars last a lot longer and don’t rust, it’s the salt that kills them. Even up on the mountains when I go skiing they only use plows, gravel and sand. In Portland they spray a de icer chemical on the roads before the snow or ice hit which is only harmful to electrical wires on cars, but it honestly doesnt do much. It maybe helps plow the snow, but there’s still ice.

If everyone in the salt belt states stop using salt, it would be terrible driving conditions for people that don’t know how to drive on roads that always have snow on them. Even after they plow there’s still snow on the roads. Front or rear wheel drive vehicles would need studs or chains and 4wd vehicles would just need good tires. Portland is an absolute nightmare when it snows and honestly if they salt the roads it would help due to all the hills and uneducated snow drivers.

 

I recommend buying a cheap beater car for winter like an old Subaru or Corolla, something you don't care about that can take the brunt of winter for the Taco. I have a 1996 Ford Contour for this purpose, my Taco hardly moves in the winter unless the snow is really deep and the plows haven't been out yet.

 

I just moved my 97 from Colorado to CT - I repaired some rust earlier this year and fluid filmed once I got out east. Hoping it'll last.

 

@NW_BoognishRising I'm in SoCal. Hopefully if my "Wi born" truck gets a frame replacement, I'll let you know. I might be selling it. : ) : )

 

When are you leaving to Wisconsin. I have a extra cab 4x4 frame in NorCal you can have a frame in your garage when you need to replace your current one

 

Dear Everybody,

Any vehicle in the rust belt states will have a limited life span if it is used in the winter. That is just the way the cookie crumbles.

The southwest, west coast and the pacific northwest are indeed strange places to live as far as life spans of automobiles. I am originally from the New York area, and all of the cars there rust to shit within 5 years of their existence. When my brother Peter and I were kids, we got shipped to my grandparent's house in Seattle quite a bit because my parent's marriage was in trouble. We always loved going home after school in the Seattle area, and stumbling on somebody who had a mint condition 1969 Camaro in the driveway or a very near perfect 1970 Barracuda parked outside the front of their house. This was back in the late seventies and early eighties. This kind of thing would never happen in New York. The other treat we would love to encounter were the first generation Broncos and first generation FJ40 land cruisers, and there were and still are a ton of them around in the pacific northwest.

Okay, lets fast forward to first generation Tacomas, which are now older than hell. You will indeed see a lot of first generation Tacomas in the southwest, west coast and pacific northwest of the United States. If you are moving to Wisconsin, you are probably better off buying something other than a first generation Tacoma. They, as you know, are prone to rust. Unless you just want a summer time rig to mess around with, I would not waste my time with a first generation Tacoma.

Good Luck,
Paul

 

I will be moving from CA to Idaho, i am concerned my rust free tacoma will rust away

But im also reading that its not too bad up there, they only recently started using salts i guess. It would suck to park my truck for months on end to avoid driving it through the snow.

 

Yes and no.

I have a 2003 with 237K miles that has lived in salt throwing Ohio all it's life but I have been diligent about spraying out the underside each opportunity with the garden hose after driving through the crap they put on the roads. It passed Toyota's frame inspection years ago and they sprayed the frame with their goop. I have been treating the frame inside and out yearly with Fluid Film and my frame is in great shape.
So, it takes work but it can be done to keep the frame rust free. You may have to look long and hard to find an owner like myself with OCD, but it is possible.

 

The only time I would need a 4x4 in Wisconsin would be in the winter if the roads are not plowed. Out here in the PNW there is ton's of terrain to use the Tacoma to its potential or mountain roads that always have snow on them in the winter (as you probably already know this). The more I talk about this I really don't want to move back to the midwest . I really do love it out here, but its getting way to expensive on the cost of living and getting sick of the traffic in Portland.

I should just buy a early 90's Toyota pickup with the 22RE, because they hold up better then the Tacoma's on there frames (but not the bodies) then sell it. When my dad bought his 91 out here in Oregon 5 years ago. He was able to put collector plates (Doesn't have to pay registration of the life of the vehicle) on the truck being older then 20 years and was surprised how many people complimented the truck.

If I move back, I think my goal will be is just to buy a second generation Tacoma with a frame that's been replaced. I just would like to have a truck to move my stuff back and motorcycle. I'm definitely selling my 1999 4runner Limited in Oregon as they aren't worth anything in Wisconsin. I love my 4runner out here in PNW, but find it useless in the midwest due to the gas mileage and not using for it's capability off-road. I'd rather own another Subaru at that point.