Redeemed: rngr's Trail Taco w/side of T4R

i say no.... you're not driving the car, the car drives you

 

Man I'm sad this truck is going to rust in half with road salt and die and not be pulverized to dust on rocks like it was meant to be!

 

You’ll have to take that up with @SamSpade.

my Barbie heep on 40s gonna be sweeeeet though.

 

It better be pink, whatever it is.

 

Well, I’m gonna do my best to keep it rust-free.

First, the underbody is getting a thorough coating of FluidFilm or Woolwax. What’s the consensus on the best product?

It’s also gonna live in the garage most of the time. And when the salt trucks come out the Taco’s gonna stay home.

Finally, every time I go wheeling, I come home and put my truck on ramps and power wash the underbody.

Despite all that, it won’t be easy to keep it clean. I hate road salt!!

 

Going to have a BYOPaint party. Everyone shows up with their favorite color rattle can. The best body panels will go to the highest bidder.

 

When I lived up north, I used NHOU, spend $100 to get the truck sprayed in the beginning of the season, only spray underbody with water until spring, get it sprayed again next year. Probably some of the north east regional forums could advise you in a good direction tho.

Honestly the pricing is probably a bit different now, I didn't check.

My truck did not qualify for a buyback or frame replacement after 9 years in upstate NY/MA/VT around when frame replacements started to go crazy in those areas.

My only complaint is the stuff that doesn't get washed out will start to accumulate in the section of frame well known to rust out, on misc bolts and connectors that are tough to wash, and in the cab rockers if the ED drain hole patches fall off.

 

Thanks @Bandido
I’ll check out NHOU.

Could that be a benefit of FluidFilm? From the video it seems to be extremely thin, so maybe wouldn’t “gunk up” in holes and crevices.

Seems to me that mud, dirt and other debris holding the moisture in crevices would be the biggest offender RE corrosion. Add road salt to the mix and it basically sucks up here.

That’s why power washing after every trail ride is critical. Of course, you can’t do that after every drive on the street, and it’s a royal pain in the butt when it’s 22 degrees in winter, here in Connecticut!

 

I may have painted a car or 2 with rattle cans ..... I'm winning this comp!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJtWW2Qh2uH/?igshid=b6h4h0lsla1h

 

I'll submit part of my resume with our manual transmission swapped Subaru SVX from a 24 Hours of Lemons race.

 

Its ..... its ...... beautiful!

 

I have been fluid filming before every winter ever since I got a new frame in 2016. This is what the frame looked like in 2019 after I cleaned all the gunk/ years of FF off:

Shock relocate stuff by Michael Halat, on Flickr

If you have a compressor you will save a fuck ton of money getting the gun and the shit by the gallon. The gun has the nice 4 way spray jobby for inside the frame. A gallon does 2 trucks (I split with a buddy) so just you a gallon will go at least 2 years. Also FWIW I don't powerwash it off in the winter because I assume the FF is doing it's job.

 

looks factory new. I'm convinced.

 

We don't get salt a lot in middle TN but when we do, I usually run to Lowe's and buy like 5-6 cans of FF. It sucks doing it but the peace of mind is worth it. Using a compressor is undoubtedly easier.

 

I read all 168 pages over the last week, looks like you had a lot of fun. Sorry you sold her but I understand all about having stuff just sitting around. I just sold my trailer queen sas wheeling truck for the same reason. I would like to make my 1st gen slightly more capable but don't want to lose the drivability. Reading this thread I take it you didn't lose that with the dual cases when you were still running the KM2's? I only need some armor and dual cases, but want to make sure I can still drive down the freeway at 75 mph for as long as I please.

 

Truck I just sold and my current Tacoma that I was thinking about duals on basically just so I can go to the Rubicon once a year.

 

Yes sir, it was very drivable. The new owner drove it from TN to CT on swampers. Haha. It was very comfy in its current condition aside from the tires.

 

Wouldn't say that you need dual cases for the rubicon, but it definitely makes it much easier.
I would go dual locked before dual cases imo. Just gotta have that clutch control on lock

 

But you can do a lot more with dual case and open/open diff imo and not break. And when you re-attempt the same line/obstacle with locked/locked diff and factory case, you have little control, have more tire hop, and struggle a lot more.