I was under my truck last weekend putting my new exhaust on and noticed that from the front suspension back to the transfer case had about a 1-2" layer of mud all over everything, and about 3 inches on top of the transmision. It looked like a damn chocolate covered strawberry. Is this from the skid plates or what. It took me about 2 hours to chip the mud off of everything.

 

You must drive your truck on dirt roads alot cause i have a 6" lift and it's really clean under there, but i never drive on dirt roads either. I'm also a clean freak when it comes to my girl and always wash the underbody the best i can every time i get a carwash (salt is really bad in winter here).

 

It's from the tires. Dodge changed the design ever so slightly and the mudflaps don't really catch anything. There was a member that posted up last year about his experience driving in the slush covered roads. He drove to work, parked and then when he went to go home he couldn't shift out of park because so much slush got thrown up and around the transmission case and froze solid.
It was something along those lines, but a few others posted up similar stories about the undercarriage getting all crudded up from when you turn the tires.

 

Has nothing to do with aero design, just a good cleaning now and then if you drive on bad nasty stuff, did the lift on my truck after coming home from 2 weeks in tenn mtns with snow slush and clay/mud and all my stuff was clean when i did the job.

 

Dont really feel like layin' on my back at the car wash to rinse off the top of the tranny, but i guess i have to with this truck. I have mudflaps on it, mabey i need to find some different ones. I was amazed that i could shift mine, the whole cable+shifter was encased.

 

Go through an auto car wash every once in a while and get the underbody wash.

 

Any undercarriage wash that I have ever known shot the rocker panels, and not actually under the entire car. So, the trans will never be touched even with an undercarriage wash. This was at a couple of the auto car washes that my buddy worked at. The one I worked at was the same. The big namer around here is the same as well.

I did a quick search and found this which is exactly what the one's around me have--->

Undercarriage Wash is applied at High Pressure (1100 PSI ) to remove mud, sand and
salt from the bottom of your vehicle and lower rocker panels. Undercarriage Wash helps to
prevent corrosion and provides a cleaner car.

 

GR8ROWS: Just wait until you drive those same backroads during the dry of Summer... Then you also have the issue of dust "captured" in the flat inner surface of the wheels - it causes a maddening Out-of-Balance that will have you pressure washing the backsides of your tires / wheels, too... ( I posted a rather extreme experience of mine a few years ago...)
But, Hey... If you chose to use your RAM like a TRUCK, it is Supposed To Get Dirty (it's like a merit badge...) !!

 

How fast were you going through this mud?

I know a couple of guys that have the same problem, and they're not driving Rams, either.

I have to drive on dirt/muddy roads to get to my hunting property and I've never had any mud build up around the transmission. I get quite a bit along the inside of the rocker panels and on the bottom of the floor. Just changed oil yesterday and the heat shields, transmission case and the surrounding underbody is still relatively clean.

Regards,
Dusty
2010 Ram Big Horn 1500 Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 545RFE, 3.92 LSD, dual exhaust, 20” wheels

 

http://compare.ebay.com/like/2509757...Types&var=sbar

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-Undercarr...4434%26ps%3D54

Just get one of these and you don't even need to bend down.... I have one and it works just fine. I use it mainly in the spring to get the sand and salt out from under the truck.