Anyone who get snow frequently knows the dangers of road salt to paint/frame I would like to keep the new ranger new but its to cold to get out there with the hose and sponge to wash once a week and Im not going to the car wash because it scratches the paint. Anyone come up with any successful strategy's for dealing with the salt? Im temped to PAM the entire truck

 

Hell just hosing it off is better than nothing!

 

find a touchless car wash, thats the only kind of automatic car wash ill use. they usually have underbody wash to get the salt off your frame. also a quarter wash is another option, just make sure you wash it regularly in the winter.

 

There's a waterless wash seller on here or one of the other Ranger forums. I've seen his youtube videos of it, but I'm still a fan of washing with water.

X2 on the regular washes in winter. Keep the salt build up to a minimum.

 

I don't envy you guys who live in the salt belt!

Like said, just keep the underside as clean as possible, for as long as possible. It'll help, but won't stop corrosion.

 

i just youtubed the waterless wash and from what i see that doesn't look good for the paint. just rubbung it in to the paint.

x3 on washing it at least once a week in winter.

 

Yea but how? I get frost bite when I wash in 20*

 

i put gloves on or do the touchless car wash

 

What exactly is a touchless wash?

 

It doesn't have any brushes that touch the car, just high pressure water.

This is what I do for body rust protection, My Grandfather did this every year and My uncle does this too and he has a 95 Suburban that has seen every Minnesota winter and is completely rust free. He gets one of those old school oil cans, fills it with thick oil. He then sprays it in the doors through the drain holes on the bottom and all the littl nooks and crannys where the salt will just stay. Him and I do this every november and it works.

I also have a Unlimited pass for a touchless car wash around the corner from my house. It costs me $35 a month and I use it at least 4 times a week when it is sloppy out.

~HJ

 

Do ya'll not have lazer washes? Here we have a laserwash, that has a vertical bar with squirt holes in it that goes around your truck/car hitting it with soap first, then rinsing it with High Pressure water a few passes. Then commercial blow dryers dry the car off.

A touchless system looks like this:

.

They work pretty good, plus dont scratch paint. They by no means clean it as good as an old hand wash, but it gets the job done, plus cleans the underbody as well!

As a matter of fact, these are wll we have around here. Heck, ive nerver been in one that wasnt like this!

 

I wish we had a touchless car wash around here, as far as i know we dont have any (although ive only lived here a short time)

 

I just had a solution. I replaced my rear frame section.

 

X2 on the oil can idea! I just heard about this two years ago and have been doing it since. At first I thought that it would just rinse away, but it stays where you put it until you take a little time spraying it out.

 

i just go to any car wash when my truck gets a little salty. My 13.5 tsl on a 12" wide rim doesnt fit in most carwash tracks so they had wash it for the same price!

 

I just pull it in the washbay at work and steam clean it. +1 for heated pressure washers.

 

I would wash it off once a week. The one thing I hate about touchless wash is that it doesnt get everything. When ever I come out of a touchless wash I still have a light film of dirt on the paint.

 

^X2. Then i feel like it was a big waste of my $7!!! but at least it gets most of it off, and you dont have to freexe your hands off to hand wash it

 

Quarter wash twice a week. The money adds up fast but it is definitely worth it.

 

i wash my truck a minimum of 3 times a week from now until like march. whether it be at work, in my garage or at the car wash. i pull it in the garage, turn the heat on and start washing

 

Reminds me I need to wash my truck after work

 

cant all of be as lucky as you and have a nice heated shop to pull into...lol j/k

 

i used the open bay at my firehouse. its nice. you pull in. let the truck warm up for like an hour (the bays are heated) then wash it, dry it off let it sit for another hour, then pull out with a nice clean truck

 

The harsh chemicals in the lazer or touchless car washes also strip the wax right off your paint. Or at least the ones by me do.

Two tips if you are going to wash in the winter and do not park in a garage at night:

1) Put a light coating of Vaseline around the door seals to keep them from freezeing to the door.
2) Put a small strip of clear tape over the keyhole on the door.

I dont know why but my Ranger has major issues with doors and locks freezing.

 

lol mine were froze shut this morning and now my f'n dome light is stuck on (door ajar)