Ford aluminum body vs Ram steel - can the Ram do as well?

[Oaktree]

I see a lot of Fords and Ram's with rotted out wheel wells. You must clean the wheel wells religiously or the crud collects in the arch and rots them out.

Lots of vehicles have plastic cladding around the wheel wells. Trouble is they trap salt/moisture, make it very difficult to clean out and hide the rust until it gets bad.

I've always had my vehicles undercoated every fall, initially with Fluid Film and more recently with something called NH Oil. No, it doesn't prevent rust, but it does extend the vehicle's life here in road salt country.

 

[MT Kioti]

With the recent price increases on trucks I'm starting to wonder if my penchant for trying to get an F250 at (what I consider) a decent price is futile.
Since my wife agreed we needed a new truck I had focused on Fords due to the no rust body in my rust prone environment (Mississippi).
But with ~ a $10K difference in price I'm wondering if diligent rust prevention could make up the difference.
Comments?

I would never buy a Ford again. The place where I work bought 5 new from the dealer. within months they all developed transmission issues which were concerning, from a safety aspect. The dealer stated that Ford considered this issue "normal" and refused to fix them. After months of back and forth, we got them repaired by a local transmission shop for about $2K each.

This isn't to say that Dodge or Chevy are any better. I've personally had too many quality issues with Dodge.

I currently own Toyota. Expensive, but worth it. I've run Toyotas for up to 30 years with little problem and minor maintenance. You pay more at first or you pay all the time. I would choose reliability and the "buy once, cry once" philosophy.

 

[D&D]

While I don't have the issue of driving on sales roads, I wonder if one could set up a powerful sprinkler to drive over for rinsing salt of the underside.

or buy one

https://www.thegreenhead.com/2025/04/vehicle-undercarriage-water-broom-pressure-washer-attachment.php#:~:text=This%20convenient%202-in-1%20pressure%20washer%20attachment%20combines%20a,and%20a%20foam%20cannon%20for%20powerful%20cleaning%20versatility.

Not an endorsement, one of many such at Northern Tool, etc

 

[Snobdds]

I know of a place in Colorado that puts sacrificial anodes on metal body panels and then grounds them to the frame. Mountain towns of Colorado put tons of salt on the roads and a car will be lucky to survive 5 winters there. The rusting via salt is to due positive ions, that use the salt solution as a vehicle, to seek a ground. If those ions seek a ground via an anode, the body panel will not rust. Physics.

It seems to really prevent rusting.

 

[klm]

With the recent price increases on trucks I'm starting to wonder if my penchant for trying to get an F250 at (what I consider) a decent price is futile.
Since my wife agreed we needed a new truck I had focused on Fords due to the no rust body in my rust prone environment (Mississippi).
But with ~ a $10K difference in price I'm wondering if diligent rust prevention could make up the difference.
Comments?

are you comparing Ford vs Ram model for model and feature for feature and getting $10k difference?

 

[5030]

Lots of vehicles have plastic cladding around the wheel wells. Trouble is they trap salt/moisture, make it very difficult to clean out and hide the rust until it gets bad.

I've always had my vehicles undercoated every fall, initially with Fluid Film and more recently with something called NH Oil. No, it doesn't prevent rust, but it does extend the vehicle's life here in road salt country.

Called inner fender cladding, aka: plastic inserts. The trick is to always carefully clean the wheel arches of salt and brine residue and in my case, mud from the road we live on. When I purchased my 97 in 97, Ziebart was all the rage and I purposedly passed on it. 'Rustproofing' is just an excuse for collecting rust inducing chemicals and compounds that promote corrosion.

My 97 OBS 4 door 4wd long bed is in great demand today. Been offered what I paid for it new in 97, but it's not for sale. Have pictures somewhere, I'll have to dig them out and post one...

 

[Tomtint]

It all comes down to how much you drive in salt/what you do about removing salt if you do and whether or not you keep your truck in a garage.

It has very little to do with the brand.

I’m in an area where salt brine is used generously. Yet my vehicles don’t rust. I rinse off the frames, springs, exhaust, spring mounts, axles, everything underneath for a good 10-15 minutes. I also rinse the rinse out fenders, shocks, undersides of doors.

Salt isn't corrosive until it gets wet. Up here, plowing snow its usually sub 32* so washing does nothing but build ice. If someone has a garage where a vehicle can be power washed inside..THOROUGHLY.. It may help the rot cycle for a couple years, But the areas inside the frames, between springs, behind placed the rinse can't hit.. Will all rust and the wash will expedite that as well. Im a believer in spraying the underside yearly with an oil base product.

 

[5030]

I know of a place in Colorado that puts sacrificial anodes on metal body panels and then grounds them to the frame. Mountain towns of Colorado put tons of salt on the roads and a car will be lucky to survive 5 winters there. The rusting via salt is to due positive ions, that use the salt solution as a vehicle, to seek a ground. If those ions seek a ground via an anode, the body panel will not rust. Physics.

It seems to really prevent rusting.

Been doing that to saltwater boats with steel hulls for decades.

 

[5030]

Salt isn't corrosive until it gets wet. Up here, plowing snow its usually sub 32* so washing does nothing but build ice. If someone has a garage where a vehicle can be power washed inside..THOROUGHLY.. It may help the rot cycle for a couple years, But the areas inside the frames, between springs, behind placed the rinse can't hit.. Will all rust and the wash will expedite that as well. Im a believer in spraying the underside yearly with an oil base product.

Exactly why I use the car wash up town and they employ a hot water chassis wash plus I wash it in my heated garage as well. I own a diesel fired hot water / steam pressure washer. Not a cheap date by a long shot but like any expensive piece of equipment, it will outlast me. 20 years old and back then was over 5 grand. Beckett oil burner with a CAT triplex pump and a 15 horse Honda electric start engine. Wash down all my equipment with it as well.

 

[5030]

I considered at one time doing the 'Fluid Film' chassis deal but it's just way too messy plus you have to 'renew' it on a regular basis. I have a 2 post lift in the garage but while I can access the underside, the Fluid Film would get all over and I did not want that mess in the garage at all. I do use it for limited uses. Makes a dandy battery terminal corrosion inhibitor.