Hello 4th gen members. I just traded in my 06' for an 11' with 40k miles on it. I LOVE this Ram. Dead quiet, smooth as glass and a well laid out interior. No complaints at all.

My 06's despite being washed often has massive rust issues on both rear fenderwells as well as the bottoms of all 4 doors. The rust was coming from the inside out since the paint would bubble up first and then rust was breaking out. I'm in Massachusetts where the love to spray liquid calcium chloride all over the roads and i'm sure that is part of the issue. But it seems a bit odd that the truck would rust this quickly. It seems as though these areas are trapping moisture.

Has Dodge eliminated these trouble spots on the 4th gen? If not, is their any way to limit the problems in these areas?

 

Well, when it come to drive it everyday vehicles your probably realizing nothing is forever. That goes double for the "rust belt" areas.


Into DIY?
If your truck doesn't have them already you might invest in wheel well liners for the rear. I picked up a set for my '05 Ram. If we ever get some "global warming" (where the hell is AL when ya need him?) around here I'm going to rhino line the wells before installing the liners. Also thinking about rhino lining the bottom two or three inches of the box, outer rockers, and fenders.
I've also bought some items to do my previous truck, an '02 Durango, from Eastwood for inside the frame, doors, gate, and rocker panels myself. It got totaled before I could do inside the frame. I used the internal frame coating in the '05 Ram rockers. I'll finish in the spring and hope to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.


Other than that you could have it rustproofed "professionally" somewhere in your area. I think the warranty would be a "fix or refund" thing.

 

The first day i took mine home I sprayed underneath with Eastwood's Rubberized Undercoating. I sprayed 4.5 cans worth under there after I taped everything off neatly. I used the bigger professional spray style cans(not aerosal)
I've only touched up here/there with the aerosol 3yrs after. Been on for 6yrs total now and still looks great.

What I ALWAYS do and highly recommend,...When you spray your truck off, open each door and spray the lower portion off. Salt and dirt does get stuck up in the rubber trim. I open one door at a time and spray on the inside lip and rockers as I work my way around the vehicle. I also spray heavily up inside the fenders, especially the rear fenders.
I probably spend more time under the truck washing out behind the rocker panels, frame rails, suspension, rear qtrs, under the hood and behind the bumpers as I do on the exterior paint parts!
$5 is barely enough to do a good spray from the DIY'er.
I keep a pair of half arm rubber gloves in each of my cars for washing them

Going through those automated one's and choosing "undercarriage" will not clean your vehicle nearly enough. That undercarriage is basically a wheel washer and somewhat of a rocker washer. Does not do underneath or in your wheel wells like you really need.


As far as the rustproofing, unless you go to Ziebart and pay a super high amount, your not going to get anything descent. They do have wax treatment for inside the doors. I dont like the fact they drill holes to put the wax in there... Any hole drilled needs to be painted or sealed or it will rust there.
I would highly recommend NOT to have them spray in your engine compartment. The stuff they spray in there is a mess and attracts dirt and does not come off. Looks terrible.

 

No they have not. I just had this problem and I hope you checked your new truck for this. The metal on these new trucks are very thin. So thin my bed started to get a dent from caving in due to stress. I started getting rust when I first bought it brand new. Ram said to monitor it. When I got pack rust and perforations they wouldn't take care of the $3k problem. I got rid of the truck. The paint on these trucks are junk. I had missing clear coat and spots where you could see primer. I'd say if you want to prevent the pack rust you should take out fender well plastic protectors. I think they are one cause because dirt sits in there. Then there is so much movement in the bed that it acts as sand paper. Then the water sits in the crevice and creates pack rust.

 

I have bought a case (12 cans) of Fluid Film as well as a 3' hose that attaches to the cans and has a brass multi-angle spray nozzle to allow me to get into tight areas.

My plan is to coat the INSIDES of the doors as well as any hidden body crevice a few times a year.

My 06' had BAD rust at both rear fender wells at the top as well as the bottoms of all 4 doors. I hope my 11' will not have the same issues once i start using this product. It was highly recommended on other forums as well as by some Canadian friends who swear by it. I was going to spray a lot of undercoating on the underside but my 06' never had any major rust issues on the undercarriage nor does my 11'. The consensus i have heard from many is that undercarriage rust is typically not an issue because it dries quickly as you drive from the wind and it rinses salt off when you drive in rain in the spring and summer. The waring has always been for the places where salt gets in but then never gets washed off and where parts stay wet. Such as water sitting in the door skin for days if not weeks.

 

I truly think the problem is dirt between the plastic wheel wells. I'm not to sure lanolin oil will make a huge difference other than possibly keeping the salt and penetrating water out. However, I also had adhesion failure on other areas of the truck.

 

My 06' did not have the wheel well liners. My 11' does.

This Fluid Film stuff supposedly stays wet and will not wash off easily without a pressure washer. So it lasts for months. It apparently works by keeping the water from actually contacting the metal. Thereby eliminating rust. As i mentioned, i have heard nothing but good things about it. I am hoping it wont let me down.

 

Anyone tried the electronic anti-rust devices??

 

We use them on bridges and haven't had much success.

 

Around the undersides of the doors, all of the edges, and the door sills I would put a couple of heavy coats of WAX prior to winter. I have used the Turtle WAX ICE on my 2010 and the truck still looks new. Clay Bar before you Wax it the first time. I also use the quick spray wax once a month from spring to end of fall.