Need a new truck - Page 3

vcrt · 12-31-2017, 08:23 PM

Got the Silverado 1500 with the Max Trailering Pkg. on Friday. Towing mirrors too! That night it snowed. Now I won't drive it until I apply some anti-corrosion protection on the undercarriage. I figure you get one chance at a factory clean chassis. If anyone has experience here, please chime in.

I picked up a can of Fluid Film at Lowes today and I have a few clear paints from Eastwood as well as a rust inhibitor that I'll be using in different places. For sure, I want to get into the rockers as those rusted through on my 02, but knowing how badly these trucks rust underneath (hence the play on Silverado in my signature) I want to treat all the brake lines and the fuel lines. The frame looks like it was dipped with whatever coating they used at the factory allowing it to flow inside as well, so that's good.

Thanks for all the help on making this decision!
Rich

mainah · 01-01-2018, 06:41 AM

FF will do it, been treating my Tacoma since new in 2011 it's still black as can be. The FF creeps so I blast everything I may want to get off one day it's messy if you work on anything underneath but worth it. I have a friend that owns a body shop and frankly Chevy did some dumb things that trap salt and dirt in the cab corners, rear wheel arches and the likes if you have a friendly body shop near by stop by and ask them how you can best protect them. As far as the brake lines I think GM addressed that issue but I'm not sure about that.

vcrt · 01-01-2018, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mainah

FF will do it, been treating my Tacoma since new in 2011 it's still black as can be. The FF creeps so I blast everything I may want to get off one day it's messy if you work on anything underneath but worth it. I have a friend that owns a body shop and frankly Chevy did some dumb things that trap salt and dirt in the cab corners, rear wheel arches and the likes if you have a friendly body shop near by stop by and ask them how you can best protect them. As far as the brake lines I think GM addressed that issue but I'm not sure about that.

Well, I'm pleasantly surprised! All along the bottom of the rocker panels are about 12 plastic plugs on each side. I removed a few and could see that the backs of the exterior panel (the part you see when rust makes it's way through) is painted with the same gray paint that the entire underside of the floor pans are. I suspect that my '02 had very little, or no protective coating there since both sides rusted through and that isn't even where water travels through the rockers.

The brake lines seem to be stainless since they look like it and are not attracted to a magnet.

The chassis is boxed and is coated (seems like it was dipped judging by the horizontal drips) inside and out with a black, gummy substance. How it will actually hold up remains to be seen.

I do see a few areas around the bed wheel wells that can trap stuff if it gets up there. I plan on making some baffles to keep that from getting wet from road spray.

Happy New Year everyone!
Rich

mainah · 01-01-2018, 03:11 PM

Well good I hope they fixed them the last one I saw cut open for rust repair was a 2010 and it was pretty obvious why they rusted.

**Sunline Fan** · 01-01-2018, 09:27 PM

Congrats on finally picking up the new truck Rich!

Old Blue still around for the rest of winter?

vcrt · 01-02-2018, 05:08 AM

Yes Mainah, no protection where it was needed. I cut the outer rocker panel sheetmetal completely out on my '02. It looked better than having orange rusted metal showing.

Thanks Jon, no "old Blue" will be headed off to the dealer I bought the truck from, they took it in trade, but it's still in the shop getting the rear differential rebuilt for the second time. 13 years and just a tad under 200k miles, it was a good truck and I think it'll still be good for someone who can repair whatever breaks down next.
Maybe it'll be ready today.
Rich

**JohnB** · 01-02-2018, 07:11 AM

Congrats on the new ride Rich!

Glad it worked out. Some time when you get a chance, remember we like pic's! Always cool to see each others new things.

A 2nd rear axle rebuild... ouch.

Thanks

John

vcrt · 01-02-2018, 08:38 AM

Thanks John and I'll post some pics in the "Show off those tow vehicles"section soon.

My advice for anyone loading a tow vehicle; Check the GAWR rear as well as GVWR and have the truck weighed on a scale that weighs front and rear axles separately. Mine was overloaded at the rear.
Rich

henryj · 01-02-2018, 09:23 AM

Congratulations on the new truck!

A couple of tips from Canada for getting through salty winters:

Krown Rustproofing has an excellent product and they drill holes to get to every part of doors, pillars corners etc. They even remove the taillights and use a long wand to spray the inside of the wheel wells that are so prone to rust on virtually every truck. Unfortunately the realities of cross border trade are that Canada is about the size of California, so while American companies, like Walmart, find it relatively easy to expand across the country, much smaller Canadian companies generally don't penetrate too far from the border into the US. Krown does have decent coverage in NY and PA and if you happen to live close to any of the PA dealers, I highly recommend this product and have been a satisfied customer for over 30 years.

Krown Rustproofing dealers

Gatorback mudflaps are not cheap, but they are arguably the best mudflap available. They are so heavy duty, I took them off my old truck to put onto the new one. I found these mudflaps in western Canada where new truck dealers install them on virtually every pickup used on farms and construction. The dealers install so many, they don't bother with the rear hanger brackets. I like the brackets for DIY as you only have to drill one hole. The bracket uses two other factory holes and that guarantees the flap will hang straight and square. The front flap does not have a bracket and uses the standard "drill your own holes" install. Careful measuring and placement is needed to ensure that these also hang straight. The advantage of a big mudflap like this--and I know some people don't like the looks--is that the running boards stay relatively clean and absolutely no slush gets behind the back fender well and into the bumper. They also do a good job of protecting the upper parts of a trailer, but don't protect the lower part, especially the frame, as well as a dedicated full width towing flap.

Gatorbacks are made in Canada and sold direct by Truck Hardware.
They are sold in the US by amazon and Sharp Truck who is amazon's retailer.

vcrt · 01-02-2018, 10:21 AM

Thanks for the links and advice Henry. It was your advice on the truck that encouraged me to consider the 1500 with the NHT option.
Rich

vcrt · 01-16-2018, 03:34 PM

Here's a few pics of the new truck:

Rich

**JohnB** · 01-16-2018, 04:48 PM

Wow!!! That's one nice looking truck!

That camper is just itchy to get hitched up! You past the 500 miles or so break in period yet before towing?

Have fun with your new truck. Have you figured out all the new gizmo's? You took a mega leap in truck electronics.

Thanks

John

**Sunline Fan** · 01-16-2018, 09:34 PM

Looks good Rich!! How come the Sunline isn't back in the tent?

vcrt · 01-17-2018, 05:02 AM

Thanks John and Jon,
I'm about up to 375 miles or so, and I do want to hitch up and test it on some hills once I'm over 500 and the weather is decent.

The gizmo's, yes they pile those on these days for sure! I think I could do without the power adjustable pedals, but blue tooth, integrated GPS and heated seats are nice.

Jon, it was one thing after another at the end of last year and we had no opportunity to move the camper. Once I got the old truck back from getting the differential rebuilt (that reminds me, I want to post pics of the broken gears), I used it to tow the camper and put it away under the canopy. But what a day it was! freezing cold and the wind blowing the zippered front vinyl panels all over the place. I must have made 15 tries to get it set up to back in without hitting the side walls. It's a tight fit at 10' wide.

I've decided to go with a tonneau cover instead of the fiberglass cap this time. I'm planning on getting a Diamondback SE cover https://diamondbackcovers.com/produc...nt=28905652553
That saves about 100 lbs. right there. I also won't be putting the bed slider back in since that weighs 200 lbs. I'm just finishing up on building an abreviated version for my tools and compressor that comes in at 30 lbs.
It's also easily removable.

Rich

**Sunline Fan** · 01-17-2018, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcrt

Jon, it was one thing after another at the end of last year and we had no opportunity to move the camper. Once I got the old truck back from getting the differential rebuilt (that reminds me, I want to post pics of the broken gears), I used it to tow the camper and put it away under the canopy. But what a day it was! freezing cold and the wind blowing the zippered front vinyl panels all over the place. I must have made 15 tries to get it set up to back in without hitting the side walls. It's a tight fit at 10' wide.

Understandable. It's not an easy job when it's nice out, but when it's cold and all you want to do is get back inside where it's warm, patience wears thin! At least you could get the zippers open and they weren't frozen shut!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcrt

I've decided to go with a tonneau cover instead of the fiberglass cap this time. I'm planning on getting a Diamondback SE cover https://diamondbackcovers.com/produc...nt=28905652553
That saves about 100 lbs. right there. I also won't be putting the bed slider back in since that weighs 200 lbs. I'm just finishing up on building an abreviated version for my tools and compressor that comes in at 30 lbs.
It's also easily removable.

That looks like a nice one. My dad has a Roll-n-lock on his, which works well and has held up well, but you really can't put any weight on top of it, even just to set something there temporarily. This one looks heavy duty and should last a while.

**JohnB** · 01-17-2018, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcrt

I've decided to go with a tonneau cover instead of the fiberglass cap this time. I'm planning on getting a Diamondback SE cover https://diamondbackcovers.com/produc...nt=28905652553

Hi Rich,

I have not seen them before. The first thing I thought was water getting in the hinge area but their video shows how they have a formed drip rail and a compression seal. It looks like a rugged cover. Please report back if you get it. Interesting for sure.

I went with the Extang Full Tilt. https://www.extang.com/p-36830-full-tilt-snap.html

The cover is now just crossing over 10 years old and the cover is still in great shape. I use 303 UV protectant on the cover and I have not had any material issues. I can take it totally off the truck in less than 5 minutes in case I want to use the bed and I do from time to time.

The security is not there, if someone wants to get in, they can for sure. Knock on wood, so far this has not been a problem.

When we head on extended stay trips, the plan has been to get a truck cap. We have maybe 2 to 3 years before that starts.

Good luck with the cover.

Thanks

John

johnnybgood · 01-17-2018, 05:07 PM

Funny you all talking about a cap. Noticed a large majority of pickups at campgrounds don’t have a cap. I’m thinking it would be a good thing.

I know I like camping with my van, but have yet to see another one at a campground.

vcrt · 01-18-2018, 05:18 AM

a few thought on truck caps;
I've taken note of the lack of caps myself, having one on my truck all these years, I notice these things. Most trucks I've seen have either a tonneau cover or nothing at all. When I had bought my 02 Silverado, it had a fiberglass tonneau painted to match the truck. I loved the look, but using it for my business, I needed access to the entire bed and I couldn't get to the front very well with a one piece cover, so I bought the cap.

I also thought I needed to have the interior height of the cap, but most of the time, that space was unused and there were many times I couldn't use the truck to haul bulky items because they just wouldn't fit under the cap. Removing it occasionally wasn't an option because it's quite heavy (200#) and this was proven about two weeks ago when I had a burly friend help me take it off and put it down on four 5 gallon pails. I have it listed on Craigslist now.

This Diamondback cover comes in several configurations and the one I want also is made in a version (HD) that has a weight capacity of 1600 lbs. and allows two ATV's to be loaded on top. I don't need anywhere near that weight capacity, so the 400 lb. capacity SE will do just fine. It's also easily removable like yours John.

On the 303 protectant, have you used it on other items like headlight lenses or alloy wheels?
Rich

**Sunline Fan** · 01-18-2018, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcrt

On the 303 protectant, have you used it on other items like headlight lenses or alloy wheels?

303 wouldn't do anything for wheels- they are painted with regular paint and clearcoat like the rest of the truck. It's best to wax them just like you would the rest of the truck.

Even polished wheels are clearcoated, so they can be cared for just as body paint would be.

mainah · 01-18-2018, 07:05 AM

I have a Tacoma it has a 6' bed a friend was scrapping a full size pickup it had a tool box type of aluminum thing, well it fit really nice in a 6' Toyota bed length wise! I put treated wooden runners on the bottom to fit in the bed groves removed one of the bed bolts replace through a hole in the box so it can't be removed! works great I Leave my camping stuff in it and just slide it out when not being used for camping with all the "stuff" still inside.