Road salt season: what’s your approach to protecting your truck’s underbody?

[mkhuffman]

Sorry but wouldn't the ability to submerge the underbody completely in water make it 'water tight'. That just doesn't make sense to me. If going through a muddy bog doesn't impact it why would salt on a road?

I am sure in certain road conditions you would want to rinse it more often but for me it will get a nice wash soon and the rain and puddles will help as well.

Salt and snow chemicals get mixed with the snow and snow melt that is sprayed up under the truck and into the wheel wells. The parts that get wet likely include parts that rust.

That is the point of the OP. It has nothing to do with whether it is water proof and everything to do with the exposed metal that can corrode from exposure to the road crap from snow storms and runoff.

I don't have a big issue with that here, but when we do get snow, they treat the roads and the chemicals get all over the truck. Seems to me frequent washes are necessary, especially under carriage and wheel well sprays.

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[Thedude]

Just live somewhere it’s so cold that they don’t use salt because it doesn’t work. Problem solved.

 

[Time2Roll]

Some of the frame seemed like steel as I was installing the rock sliders.
AI seems to agree the frame has some steel in it.

 

[lefkonj]

Salt and snow chemicals get mixed with the snow and snow melt that is sprayed up under the truck and into the wheel wells. The parts that get wet likely include parts that rust.

That is the point of the OP. It has nothing to do with whether it is water proof and everything to do with the exposed metal that can corrode from exposure to the road crap from snow storms and runoff.

I don't have a big issue with that here, but when we do get snow, they treat the roads and the chemicals get all over the truck. Seems to me frequent washes are necessary, especially under carriage and wheel well sprays.

The original post was about that but someone brought up the battery pack and it not being sealed. I always like to wash my car, underneath as well, after the snow is washed away because there is so much crap on the vehicle.

 

[CrazyOne]

Some of the frame seemed like steel as I was installing the rock sliders.
AI seems to agree the frame has some steel in it.

Almost all nuts and bolts should be steel for a start. They can possibly use stainless steel, but I have never heard of it being done. Aluminum isn't strong enough.

 

[slillie]

Underbody coating is an old school thing for old cars...Not necessary anymore.

 

[Mathme]

Wash it and rinse the under carriage as best as you can (raise it to off road mode for easier access) upon your return. I'm heading up to the mountains for the NY weekend and it'll be a snowy mess. When I get back the forecast is for rain throughout the the extended forecast. I'm going to drive it in the rain and not worry about it. When it finally dries out, I'll do as explained above.

While up there in the snow however, make sure you precondition the cabin to warm it, and use an ice scraper as necessary. DO NOT rush your departure and use windshield washers to get ice off the windows as it may scratch the glass. Don't ask me how I know this....

Drive happy!

 

[Thedude]

Underbody coating is an old school thing for old cars...Not necessary anymore.

I wouldn’t say that. Vehicles are still made of materials that will corrode when exposed to salt, chemicals and moisture.

 

[greyboundary]

I use Salts Gone spray then give it a plain water spray down on days it’s above freezing.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Nothing. It’s all aluminum under there. On nice days I’ll wash and place the rain style sprinkler underneath moving it around as I wash. But I do that in the warm seasons too.

Aluminum doesn’t rust but it sure as heck can corrode. Pitting corrosion is caused chloride ions, which come from saltwater. If the protective layer becomes damaged (and it will if you drive) then your vehicle is vulnerable. There is also Atmospheric and Galvanic corrosion, which I believe our vehicles could be susceptible to under the right conditions. All in all, there are 13 types of aluminum corrosion. When I was an Army UH-1 crewchief , we got some new sound deadening blankets to install on the interior walls of our aircraft. They looked fantastic but we discovered the dye used to color those blankets reacted with unprotected aluminum, causing corrosion. We had to have the back wall of one Huey replaced as a result. The others had less damage and could be repaired more easily.

As for me, I just take my vehicles to a touchless carwash and go with the setting that gives me the longest underboddy wash. That seems to be enough as I’ve never had a vehicle develop a rust (or corrosion) issue.

 

[theonetruestripes]

What’s been your strategy in past winters?

Past winters? Living in san jose or the inland empire has avoided salt issues. Now that I’m in VT though my strategy is “lease”, worked so far...

 

[Yossarian]

Those of us with the underbody shield can rinse off the suspension components, but what about the rest of the vehicle's underside? Since that's not accessible, can we assume that there is some built-in corrosion protection? Surely Rivian thought about this at some point, no?

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