Beach Driving and Corrosion

[Liesejunh]

Hi,
My wife has been wanting to do an overnight beach trip for a little while now and the only thing really stopping us is my fear that my truck would later on turn into a rust bucket. I know salt water and beach sand is not good for my truck frame. But I was wondering if any of you have gone on to beaches and not experience any corrosion in your rigs. And if so, what preventative measures did you take if any to stop rusting before or after you go on the beach. Thanks in advance.

 

[Anak]

I can't answer the question you have asked, but I can confirm the legitimacy of the concern.

My first Suburban was my '73. It came with personalized plates: BAJABRB. It also came with lots of free rust. The best indicator as to the source of the rust was the first time I rebuilt the front brakes I had to first remove all the seaweed from the calipers so I could find the hardware.

Interestingly enough, the frame of the truck never showed much sign of rust, but boy did the body. Lots of rust from all along the rockers even up to the tops of the doors. Get in, close the door and get showered with bits of rust.

I would say it is pretty obvious that my Suburban not only went on the beach, but also ran through the surf. So there are probably degrees of how far you can take things.

The rust wasn't quite so bad when I first got the truck (no showers of rust when I closed the doors), but it progressed like cancer. That would be something to keep in mind as you collect information. It would be nice to hear from others who claim success at beating the rust just for how long have they been able to measure their success. I got my '73 in 1991 and drove it until 2008. It is now parked. I still own it. I would love to find a donor body and put it back in service. The chassis is still good and it has a built 454. It was always a fun rig, it just got to the point the rust was too bad.

 

[LostWoods]

It's fine as long as you don't let it sit. You'll need to find a self-wash afterwards and give the entire underside a full cleaning including any areas inside the frame. You'll also want to flush the body too because the sand will settle in the cracks and rinse down the normal drain pathways.

If you want prevention, you can do the traditional methods like Fluid Film in the cracks and hard to clean places.

 

[Liesejunh]

I can't answer the question you have asked, but I can confirm the legitimacy of the concern.

My first Suburban was my '73. It came with personalized plates: BAJABRB. It also came with lots of free rust. The best indicator as to the source of the rust was the first time I rebuilt the front brakes I had to first remove all the seaweed from the calipers so I could find the hardware.

Interestingly enough, the frame of the truck never showed much sign of rust, but boy did the body. Lots of rust from all along the rockers even up to the tops of the doors. Get in, close the door and get showered with bits of rust.

I would say it is pretty obvious that my Suburban not only went on the beach, but also ran through the surf. So there are probably degrees of how far you can take things.

The rust wasn't quite so bad when I first got the truck (no showers of rust when I closed the doors), but it progressed like cancer. That would be something to keep in mind as you collect information. It would be nice to hear from others who claim success at beating the rust just for how long have they been able to measure their success. I got my '73 in 1991 and drove it until 2008. It is now parked. I still own it. I would love to find a donor body and put it back in service. The chassis is still good and it has a built 454. It was always a fun rig, it just got to the point the rust was too bad.

Thank you so much for the input. I guess we’ll be renting a truck to go to the beach then. Lol

 

[Billiebob]

I think staying out of the surf and staying above the high tide mark will make a world of a difference. That plus a massive rinse when you get home. Copious quantities of water even from a garden hose to rinse the entire under carridge will get rid of the salt.

 

[WilhelmB]

I have been beach driving for over 30 years and never had a problem with rust. As long as you give it a good clean afterwards, high pressure hose into the chassis until the water runs clean, scrub everything underneath with a soft brush and running water and do this as soon as possible after coming off the sand. some precautions I take is give the bodywork a wax/polish just before going. While on the beach I avoid driving through the salt water and if I cannot avoid try not to splash through at speed, take it slow. If Camping I bring a spray lubricant like WD40 and give the suspension parts a bit every morning to minimise damage and wear from the sand, it is also useful for when salt water gets into your alternator the bearings can seize over night.
look after it and beach driving is less harmful to your rig than running through bogholes. and in my opinion much more fun.

 

[BCMoto]

I live near the beach and the closer you are the faster the cancer. Washing it when your back home is good and staying on top of rust spots will help. I dont have problems but I do wash the truck and spray the underside. I also have some Por15 chassis black that helps stop rust also. We are going to camp at the beach this weekend too! Come along

 

[Alanymarce]

We avoid driving on beaches - they're for tranquillity, walking, surfing, swimming, and relaxing, in our view, although we respect other viewpoints completely.

We have driven on beaches occasionally, where it's legal, and only to get somewhere (Jericoacoará, for example). We have then washed the underside of the car with HP spray. No evidence of rust so far, although very little exposure.

In Canada most of my time was in Alberta, where putting salt on the roads was not permitted (and a waste of time when temperatures were below -17 C anyway), so rust was not a problem. It was widely recognised that when buying a vehicle it was a good idea to make sure that it had not been imported from Ontario or Quebec, where salt was used... Evidently salt will result in corrosion if steps are not taken to rinse the vehicle after exposure.

If you drive on salt flats (e.g., Salar de Uyuni) then it's a very good idea to wash the underside of the vehicle as soon as you can afterwards.

I do recall, many years ago, a study showing that the biggest contributor to corrosion on vehicles was actually air pollution.

 

[bgenlvtex]

I can't answer the question you have asked, but I can confirm the legitimacy of the concern.

My first Suburban was my '73. It came with personalized plates: BAJABRB. It also came with lots of free rust. The best indicator as to the source of the rust was the first time I rebuilt the front brakes I had to first remove all the seaweed from the calipers so I could find the hardware.

Interestingly enough, the frame of the truck never showed much sign of rust, but boy did the body. Lots of rust from all along the rockers even up to the tops of the doors. Get in, close the door and get showered with bits of rust.

I would say it is pretty obvious that my Suburban not only went on the beach, but also ran through the surf. So there are probably degrees of how far you can take things.

The rust wasn't quite so bad when I first got the truck (no showers of rust when I closed the doors), but it progressed like cancer. That would be something to keep in mind as you collect information. It would be nice to hear from others who claim success at beating the rust just for how long have they been able to measure their success. I got my '73 in 1991 and drove it until 2008. It is now parked. I still own it. I would love to find a donor body and put it back in service. The chassis is still good and it has a built 454. It was always a fun rig, it just got to the point the rust was too bad.

You need to locate an Olds Vista Cruiser and swap the body onto the Sub chassis

 

[bgenlvtex]

I have seen much conversation of people treating under carriage with Fluid Film to abate rust. I can testify that Fluid Film is good stuff and use it frequently on tools and such.

I could however see where applying Fluid Filmaand tthen ddriving iin ssand would form a grinding compound on anything that moved under the truck.

Personally I would avoid the oceanside and certainly stay out of the surf, but I would expect a good subsequent cleaning after exposure would largely mitigate corrosion concerns

 

[Alanymarce]

This is why they make rentals

Gernerally - a good point. A bit tough though to rent in Uyuni, drive the rental to San Pedro, and ask someone to drive your own vehicle the long way (the VERY long way) around to meet you in SP.

 

[Anak]

You need to locate an Olds Vista Cruiser and swap the body onto the Sub chassis

Oh man...

Yes, I have seen those. Those poor things are rust magnets. That sunroof idea looked nice, but it sure didn't work out well.

FWIW, my first vehicle was a '72 Olds Custom Cruiser (built on the B-Body chassis rather than the A-body). It came with a good deal of rust along the bottom of those wrap around quarter windows. But nothing like a Vista Cruiser.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

We get the salt air here on the coast constantly. When it sbows, it is used all over the roads. So I used Fluid Film under my 14 Sierra, and rubberized under the little lady's 13 Terrain. Rubberizing only works if you dont already have rust. Her car was pristine so we tried it. If you have pre-existing rust, then the minute a big or sharp stone kicks up and slices the rubber, air gets in and water gets trapped, and if you had any rust before you rubberized, it resumes its course, but is hidden from your view.

The Fluid Film seems better. You can scrape or grind away rust, or not. Just apply this over it if you really want to be lazy, it's still helpful. You want to make sure you get it inside the frame, however. And under the lip of the rocker panel, up inside the bumpers, underside of the body behind the back wheels and so on. You do have to wait a few days for it to completely dry. Around here it gets cold, so it eventually sort of hardens up a bit. Does need to be reapplied every couple of years or so.

If you do something like that, and wash under your vehicle after prolonged exposure to salt, you should be in fine shape.

 

[Cpol]

Wash after every trip and fluid film twice a year

 

[MidOH]

I fluid film inside my frame with the sprayer hose thing. I Woolwax the outside of the frame. Same stuff, but gloss black and less stinky. Paint it on with a brush.

But that's for the salt belt. Just rinse your ride off after beach use. If you love near the shore, beach or not, salty air will still eat your ride up.

 

[huachuca]

We live about a hundred miles inland from the NC coast and visit out Outer Banks (Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores) at least monthly. Past vehicles were 05 and 12 Tacomas and current is a 19 ZR2. The Tacos both had over 150K when sold and neither suffered from rust damage. After each trip, I thoroughly clean the undercarriage with a pressure washer but nothing beyond that.