so i recently got an 07 dodge ram 1500. i know dodges are famous for rusting in the rear quater panels. so i used 3m rubberized undercoating and sprayed what i could under the covers onto the metal and then filled in any gaps and holes in the wheelwhell area. was this a bad thing to do or am i better off having done this. i hope i explaind this right

 

Undercoating is very tricky as you can easily seal in moisture and make things worse. As someone who lives in the northeast salt belt I've come to find what seems to work better than others. Generally one of the best thing you can do is a good job cleaning (by hand not a laser wash) and WAX. I had a lot of rust buildup and let me tell you POR-15 really works. The outer surfaces should be well enough protected if you wax frequently - inside when you start getting any rust - quick as you can get a wire wheel and sandpaper and get any loose surface rust off. Apply some POR-15 on top when it's all cleaned and the loose stuff is off - you don't see it and you can even get their grey primer to match pretty well - and it stops the rust. I've seen a TON of people up here have nothing but bad experiences with undercoating. Just my 2.

 

I guess it wouldn't hurt but my 2003 doesn't have even a hint of rust on anything so who knows where that info came from.

 

alot of the dodges around here their quarter panels are shot. i want this truck to last awhile. hopefully it doesnt rust now

 

I thought about undercoating my truck.. don't like the rubber spray on stuff.. Too easy to seal in moisture and dirt with those. If I ever do decide to do so I'll use the Por15 stuff. It's a bit pricey but the reviews are fantastic.

As far as my exterior goes I detail the truck quite frequently and it has multiple layers of high end synthetic sealers on it. which are way better than standard wax and can't be found in generic auto parts stores. During winter time I frequently spray off the entire underside at the DIY car washes with the pressure washer deal. Use the soap and water one and then rinse.. then they have a setting where there is a liquid wax in the spray as well. Just go to town with that under the entire underside of the truck.. and mine is good to go so far.

 

Like the above mentioned, stay away from the undercoating. It's cheap and most likely will cause problems. I used the por15 on my whole [rusted] truck frame, and it's probably the best product. Since you don't have rust though, perhaps just a coat of rustoleum spray paint perhaps? Or just clean the hell out of it with soap and water on a regular basis

 

ill havta look into that por15 stuff. sounds like it works wonders

 

i just hope by the lil bit that i sprayed of the rubber stuff that i didnt screw myself

 

One of the best investments you can make is in a good set of mud/splash flaps. Most trucks do not come with them, and they do wonders at keeping the rocker panels and rear bumper from getting peppered with debris from the road, which will eventually lead to rust. I find that this can be really bad on the Rams with the 20 inch rims.

 

QFT.. when I got my truck brand new it didn't come with them.. In fact before I picked up the truck I had the parts dept. order the inner rear wheel well liners and the OEM splashgaurds. I didn't get to put them on until maybe 3 days after picking up the truck.. and holy hell the amount of **** that was sprayed all around the wheel well, and underpanel was insane...