Some Pics For You Folks Outside Rust Belt ....

[Jsdirt]

2007 NBS Silverado ext. cab, reg. bed, 4x4. This is after only 2 winters in MA. I know you folks down south & out west don't have to deal with any of this .... BE GLAD!! My $30,000 truck is going to be a pile of rust before I make my last payment!

 

Bumper removed to repair damage from a little mishap ...... I tapped a tree - no joke - TAPPED a tree at under 5 mph & it caused $1,800 in damage. Bent chrome part almost in half & stuffed it into the rear quarter panel, which then kinked at wheel well. $1,300 in body work, $480 in parts. They sure don't build them ANYWHERE NEAR the way the used to!!! Use my stupidity as a warning - if ANYTHING touches your bumper on these new trucks, your going to be spending big $$$$$!!

 

But anyway that's another topic for another day: back on topic ...... rust!

 

I figured you'd enjoy this! Be glad you live where you live!

 

[amtz.zero]

Damn, that sucks...

[MS3DALE]

Yep,Thats pretty normal looking for truck from up here.

Thats why I'm glad I have a beater to drive.

[Ryan00TJ]

Keeping the roadsalt off the undercarriage is the best thing you can do. I spray my truck and TJ's underside down 2-3 times per week if the weather is bad and roads are salted. The TJ will be 10 yrs old this year and is not as bad as your pic above. The Sierra looks as new under. Having a garage helps also for the truck. TJ is too tall to fit inside.

[emwolb469]

So the reason that cars and trucks crumple so easily now days is to make them safer to drive. We learned in physics class that when you increase the time of impact, it reduces the amount of force, so by the car crumpling, even at such a low speed, it reduces the force on you so you dont get injured.....but then again the more crumpling, the more money you need to spend fixing the car....that sucks!!

[C. Charles Hahn]

Damn.... that sucks. Time for a backup camera?

 

I got lucky, the one and only time I backed into anything was at about 2 MPH into a post in a parking lot (it was shorter than the tailgate, I couldn't see it) but I was centered right over my hitch receiver. Just the plug I keep in it was damaged!

[jrod332]

smitty. Im in NH and I know what you mean. Its ridiculous. I had the same exact accident as you. I tapped a tree and had the same exact damage. Completely crumbled the rear quarter panel. Im pretty sure I was only idling.

[5-0stank]

gotta love the NE road salt

[Josh]

NH here also, and yes.. the salt gets old

[Shatterz]

Yea it's scary to see the damage on these new rigs in slow taps and bumps.

 

I hear ya on the rust in the Northeast, it is like a cancer you can't escape. Although I think the single best thing you can do is to constantly was the underbody during times of salty roads. This is what I've been doing on my 96 for the past 13+ years and I think it has held up rather well, considering NJ oversalts the roads more than any other place I've ever been too. Here is what she looks like underneath after all these years of salt up here in the Northeast

[zxcv]

Wow, your 96 looks awesome! Good job on keeping that sucker clean eh!

 

When I turned my truck in, I looked underneath and noticed that it was starting to rust just the same as Jsdirt's.

 

 

Does undercoating do anything at all for the winter??

[Luvbelly]

Found this on another forum. Kind of proves the point. http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/24/autos/toyota_recall/

[High Plains Drifter]

Indeed, I'm glad I live in the southwest. After ten years the paint may be faded a bit but the undercarriage is good.

 

Sorry to hear about the problems.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Does undercoating do anything at all for the winter??

 

IMHO, undercoating can actually make rust issues WORSE in the long run depending on how it's done. I find that it blocks the drainage channels and weep holes the factory puts in place, causing moisture and salt to collect inside body panels and frame rails, just letting rust eat away at things from the inside out.

 

I think it's far more effective to just keep everything rinsed down and as clean as possible so no buildups happen and nothing sits long enough for it to rust. Take the money you'd spend having the truck undercoated and spend it at the car wash instead!

[rogerf]

Does undercoating do anything at all for the winter??

 

IMHO, undercoating can actually make rust issues WORSE in the long run depending on how it's done. I find that it blocks the drainage channels and weep holes the factory puts in place, causing moisture and salt to collect inside body panels and frame rails, just letting rust eat away at things from the inside out.

 

Personally had very good results from rustprofing on several vehicles over the years but have to be very careful about body drainage. This practice also becomes very expensive to maintain due to the annual retreatments needed to keep the rust warranty current. I noticed this body has an abundance of very small drains which makes it a risky candidate for undercoating.

 

My '07 NBS already has the factory coatings starting to lift with rust forming on the cross supports under the bed sheetmetal. Half tempted to injection foam the cross supports then clean the rust and seal with spray undercoating. Underbody washing is very important. I can already see the rust noted gets worse near the spare tire where less likely to be properly washed.