What do people do to remove the road salt after a snowstorm? I've read where several people mentioned the pay car washes use re-cycled water which probably isn't good. Does that include the drive through washes and the coin-operated pressure washes? Are there areas under the truck that I should avoid shooting water?

....Thanks

 

to clean my undercarriage i drive up on my ramps and pressure wash the undercarriage.

 

It doesnt matter what you do, plain and simple. We own an auto body repair shop in PA, and I will tell you this. The salt on the outside of the vehicle is the least of your worries. When you wash the vehicle, that salt water will run into areas that you cant spray, and just rusts away. In between pinch welds, holes here, holes there Etc. Although it is messy, The cheapest and one of the best things I would recommend is get or make an air powered oil sprayer. Load with some good bar and chain oil, and spend some good time each fall spraying as much under the vehicle as you can get to. It will make a mess, so be ready to have cardboard or blankets, etc under the vehicle. Once it all drips off, you are left with a nice coating of oil, that isnt a mess to wrench on, and will run into those areas where undercoating will not.
Undercoating is an art form on a truck that has seen salt. Most of the time, you end up sealing in moisture and salt that will rust much faster than letting open.

Basically, keep washing frequently and hope for the best. if its gonna rust, most often, its from the inside out. Rust bubbles on the outside, are rust holes when ground down.

 

Get the hose out and start thoroughly spraying every inch of the under carriage and body. All up behind the fenders and inside the frame as best you can. Salt is soluble in water, so you don't need anything fancy to take it off, you just want to heavily soak everything in water so that you make sure you get it all off. I typically try to do this about every 2 weeks, depending on whether the road has salt on it or not.

Getting the truck undercoated when you first buy it is another good option to prevent rusting.

 

You can also take a garden sprinkler in the spring put it under the truck and leave it on overnight or for a few hours does good also..

 

I personally wouldn't use a pressure washer. You could do something like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4dKdDkdFDs