Winter's just around the corner

[chvtrkman]

Well folks, we just saw our first snowflakes of the season yesterday, so........
it won't be long til PennDot is out on the highway laying down that liquid ice melting stuff.......it is NASTY!!!!!!!

This will be my first winter back on the road since getting the truck back together, AND, it will also be the first time exposing it to that nasty calcium carbonate (or whatever it is they use) and I'm not thrilled at the prospect of watching my truck disolve from this stuff. I can already see the results on our 02 Burb and I'm not happy. Anyone have any tips, things you do to minimize the potential damage from sheetmetal cancer causing chemicals? And please, no suggestions to store it away for the winter. That's not possible, she's my DD.

[Longhorn Man]

they've been spraying that crap here for over a week... and it's only dipped below freezing (with no rain or snow) a couple nights.
The thing to remember, is back in the rock salt days, once the salt was dried up, it was no longer causing damage.
Now... if it's on your vehicle, (on exposed metal) it'll suck the humidity out of the air clear down to 30% humidity. This means that what ever you don't get off of there, can be causing corrsion issues even after all the snow is gone, like in may or july.
The other bad thing, the molecules are much smaller, and can literally fit under the head of a rivit.
Another bad thing about this stuff, it is an airborne issue too. Go outside on a winter day, (within a couple miles of a freeway) lick your lips, then lick them again in 10 min... you'll taste the salt. So even if it is parked, and under a tarp... it'll STILL get the brine all up underneath it.
The very best thing you can do, you already said you can't do... park it.
To thwart off the problems on a driver, you need to try and have paint on everything underneath. Even if you just get under there with a can of black spray paint (not flat, has to be semi gloss at a minimum) and cover everything that isn't painted... exhaust, frame, tie rods and ends... inner body panels like between the inner and outter bed panels... this will go a long way to help.
Mostly, wash your truck every chance you can. if it is above freezing and you have the chance, go to the coin op car wash and blast it off, Mostly worry about the undercarrige, that's where it does most of the damage. under the hood too, the lower cab firewall and innerfenders, under the battery tray... all of it.
Then come spring time, spend an hr or two under your truck with some good spray degreaser/cleaner (I like Spray nine myself... Simple green works OK too) and plan on getting wet.

[hdflstf]

Snowflakes??

Wassat???


Y'all need to move your truck south









Just having a little fun here - no harm intended

[wibilly]

mine are my dd too but once they start putting that stuff on the road i have to tear them apart so i'm not tempted and get in one of them disposablecomputer controaled fuel injected pos's for now any way. but by next winter i,ll have a 72 k10 prettyed up a little for a winter beater and plow truck so i can drive a real truck year round

[chvtrkman]

Yeah, I agree, the rock salt wasn't as bad, for the reasons you stated. And this new stuff really has a more potent corrosion factor. The trucks at work are already showing signs of plenty of surface rust on the frames.....the 2005s & 2006s look as bad as the older trucks in the fleet.

I was hoping maybe someone knew of a spray-on preservative.When I was in the military we used something in a spray can that had a wax base to it. It left a pasty residue that really clung to the surface of whatever it was sprayed on, and only came off by power-washing. It had a yellowish color that looked to similar to.......well, earwax.As much of a pain as it was to wash off, it did a great job of preserving the finish of equipment that was "mothballed".I just wish I could remember what the name of it was/is.

[retodd7711]

How about using undercoating?

[ChevLoRay]

Originally Posted by chvtrkman

Yeah, I agree, the rock salt wasn't as bad, for the reasons you stated. And this new stuff really has a more potent corrosion factor. The trucks at work are already showing signs of plenty of surface rust on the frames.....the 2005s & 2006s look as bad as the older trucks in the fleet.

I was hoping maybe someone knew of a spray-on preservative.When I was in the military we used something in a spray can that had a wax base to it. It left a pasty residue that really clung to the surface of whatever it was sprayed on, and only came off by power-washing. It had a yellowish color that looked to similar to.......well, earwax.As much of a pain as it was to wash off, it did a great job of preserving the finish of equipment that was "mothballed".I just wish I could remember what the name of it was/is.

Cosmolene....spelling may be wrong, but phonetically, it ain't.

[special-K]

Lot`s of trips to the car wash.I spray off the paint,no soap,but mostly invest my quarters in washing out up under everything.Fight liquid with liquid.I spray thinned (kerosene) used oil up in crevasses.You never see rust where there`s oil leaked under a truck,right?

[Bishops Trucks]

We just got 2 inches today but now it's raining and the snow is dissapering.

[SacramentoJoe]

You just gotta wash it a often as you can. I know, that's probably tough when the grden hose is frozen solid.

I had a friend who used to put ATF in a garden pump sprayer and coat the botttom of his truck before he took it muddin'

[oldgold70c10]

Snow? What is that? Salt? Here they put sand on the roads fro those 3 or 4 days out of the year that we get snow. I still have to worry, since most old trucks around here have rust in the cabs, but no frame rust.