Rust proofing worth it?

Is it worth it to have a used 2015 Tacoma rust proofed? (bottom spray coated)

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

Yes and yes, if you are exposed to salt on roads.

 

1st post nails it!

Also it is not a 1x thing but something as a maintenance plan!

 

1st thing I did when we bought our vehicles when we lived in NY. And that is true about it not being a 1 time thin. Also if a shop or dealership does it inspect the work before you accept or pay.

 

Krown undercoat. Not the rubberized spray on garbage.

 

If you live in the rust belt, and it's done properly, and you plan on keeping the truck for a few years, then do it...

 

Thanks for the responses.

So even if the truck has been used a few years now it sounds like it is still worth it. (I was wondering if you coat parts that are rusting that maybe they'll just continue to rust beneath coating?)

Also, is getting the rust proofing from a Toyota dealer getting it "done properly"?

 

That's the "getting it done properly" part--i.e. proper surface preparation.

Probably not, I'd find someplace that specializes in applying vehicle rustproofing--very few if any Toyota dealers do...

Are you in a rust belt state?

 

I would definitely get it done

 

.
Do they still drill some of the panels and inject stuff inside ?

IIRC ... "Rusty Jones" in Canada used to drill panels and doors and inject rust proofing.

 

RUST BELT will kill it. Use a dealer that uses Krown undercoating or at least fluid film every fall before the salt hits the roads. You will never regret either of those choices. I have 3 shops near me that do both products and they are at 175.00 to 225.00 for my dbl cab sb. They pull tail lights and door plugs and get inside doors, all the way inside the bed and wheel wells, etc etc. It's the only way to go.

 

As I stated earlier--IF you live in the rust belt the do it--if not don't spend money you don'r have to.

Here is what the underside of my '09 (138k miles), that has lived in Florida its whole life, looks like:

 

Rubberized spray on goop is better, but you have to maintain it. Keep it oiled.
The problem that people have with it is that they do it once and then ignore it until the frame rots out from under them, which can be worse than not doing it at all.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rust-prevention-treatment-consolidation-thread.355928/

 

I live in NY. They salt the roads like corn on the cob around here.
Never rust proofed a single inch of my frame, and its holding up great . If I'm bored Ill rinse off the frame every few weeks. Zero issues. Rust proofing is overrated and time consuming, but to each is own.

 

I'm curious what the inside of the boxed portion around the cats looks like in your truck.

Caveat I'm down in GA so corrosion isn't a big deal but from all the northerners the salt seems to kick the shit out of the boxed section/places you can't see over anything else.

 

As a professional corrosion engineer (not a joke) if you live where it's a concern, do it.

Like cliffyk said though, prep is utterly important. Equally important is actually covering all nooks and surfaces. Standing under the truck and just spray coating directly up and sorta around isn't going to net much protection, so it's important to research a competent shop to do the work and not just a cheap 'there's a coating on there now' kind of operation.

To your point of coating over already rusted (even surface rusted) areas or otherwise contaminated surfaces; yes that's not going to work. It needs to be cleaned to either bare metal (in the event of existing corrosion) or cleaned to the equivalent of paint prep (aka no grease, grime, dirt, etc) for areas already coated with something.

Are you going to get someone willing to *properly* prep all of the intricacies of the underneath of a vehicle; no, not without a very, very hefty cost (think paint prep, aka thousands) and thus it's no longer economical. So that's the right way to do it, the real world way will be that they wash and clean the underside within reason and then apply their coating. Will that still help, especially for the low cost; yes. There's the likelihood that a highly contaminated/previously corroded areas under the coating will be concentrated problem areas, but those problem areas already existed so in the end it's a small cost for some potential reward scenario.

 

I'm not in a rust belt state, but I do take the truck in the mountains for snow sports. The Toyota dealer offers a spray service. I'll find out what specific product they use.

 

Found this picture that makes it clear why the "cats" part of the frame is such a major problem;

See that big round hole in the back behind the cab mount? That's right at the cats but from the outside.

 

Snow isn't the big culprit, it's the salt and de-icing chemicals some states use that really create the bigger issue. Yes snow, moisture, etc will accelerate corrosion versus dry climates, but what really puts vehicles at a rate of exposure that intrudes on their design life is the salts/chems.

In Colorado, they primarily use sand in winter, which is why Colorado vehicles don't exhibit nearly as bad corrosion issues as say Long Island, NY. Even though @TacomaMike37 doesn't seem to have an issue he can see, I've been around LI and the typical 12-15 year old car is perforated.

If you only see snow/salt/chemicals some, then washing the underside of the truck after those rare occasions might be more economical that an undercoat.