Undercarriage cleaning advice

Anyone washes the undercarriage of their tacoma? If yes. How and how often?

 

It would help if you tell us region you are located.

Biggest thing is drive it after washing the rear brakes in cold weather. It needs to dry out or the rear brakes will freeze up.

Some car washes have these



They are awesome for it. Mine has it and saves my back when cleaning the truck.

I just recommend wand washing it and getting as deep as you can, they dont rust out like they used to.

Once a week in salt winters.

 

I warsh my undercarriage daily.
oh but wait you're talking about the truck.

 

I live in Los Angeles. No salt on the roads. Do you use any chemicals or only that undercarriage pressure washer?

 

scroll to near bottom:
Rust Prevention/Treatment Consolidation Thread | Tacoma World

 

I spray the garden hose up in there just about every other time I was my truck. If I am coming back from Salt Lake City area in the winter then I go to the carwash and use the high pressure nozzle.

 

My local full service car wash has underbody spray. It's worked well over the years.

 

Salt in the air. I’m sure lots of road grit, grime and hate gets kicked up under in the under carriage. Any washing helps.

 

You live in California. You will be fine.

- Source: Live in Cali

 

I have an unlimited car wash pass. It has an underbody and wheel well jets. My paint is still good and shiny. The only thing it could do better is in the deep parts of the wheels.

 

Yeah no buddy not even close. Unless you live beach FRONT with no garage and launch boats/skis a lot, then no cleaning required. Just pay the sunshine tax, still better than rust belt haha

 

I do.
I don't live in a 'Rust Belt' state, (I'm very north-east corner of WA. state) and in winter, they mostly just 'sand' the road, but there still is some salt mixed in there.
But there is a car wash in Spokane (WA.) where when you drive through it, you're up on ramps... And it has one of those undercarriage sprayers that are like at 8 billion PSI .. LOL!
It's the 'Super-Duper Extra Premium Ultimate Platinum Wash' ($17.00) but... I'll do it 2-3 times a winter (just because I happen to be going by) and definitely make sure I go to in spring.
But I gotta say... It may be the Lazy Man's Way, but it's been working for 3 years now.
Every time I crawl under the truck to change the oil/filter and look around... No rust at all.

 

I live in the Lower Mainland of BC. I lift my truck up at work every spring and steam pressure wash it. I also wash down the wheel wells every time I wash the truck. Seems to be holding up so far.

We get liquid de-icer sprayed and rock salt on the roads in winter here.


Freshly sprayed down.


This is how everything looked just last week while I did the winter tire swap and pulled the spare and lubricated the lift mechanism.

 

Looks good! Yeah, I could eat off of that... LOL!

 

Some APC (all purpose cleaner) used in combination with a foam cannon works well. Mine gets dusty in AZ, but that's about it. I spray it down with water every wash about once a week and use the foam/apc whenever it needs it.

A cheap electric pressure washer with a foam cannon will help a ton.

https://www.mtmhydroparts.com/collections/lances/products/under-carriage-cleaner-2-1

This long handle brush is handy for the fender liners and outside frame rails.

https://theragcompany.com/products/soft-grip-wheel-and-body-brush?variant=37726054219959

I don't use any rust prevention coatings, but do occasionally use Adam's under carriage spray.

$18 Adam's Polishes SiO2 Infused Invisible Undercarriage Spray, Black Satin, 16 oz

https://www.amazon.com/Adams-Infused-Invisible-Undercarriage-Spray/dp/B07ZHPH4LF?th=1

 

I stop by a self-service car wash on the drive home from each trail ride.

In the winter, I go through a touchless wash with underbody spray whenever temps climb above freezing.

In LA? Wash it whenever you feel like it. Plenty of 30 year-old Toyota trucks in LA with no rust. Instead, spend the money on UV protection for the paint and interior.

 

I use a multipurpose cleaner in a foam cannon, spray the entire under body, let it soak the reapply again. Then a little scrubbing, let it dry with the help of a leaf blower, then a spray down with an undercarriage protection spray like bare bones. The undercarriage still looks new going on 5 years, 20k miles, garaged kept and its never been in the rain, silly I know but we use our 99 4Runner everyday.

 

I do it regularly after trips down beach due to salt water, use ramps and a presurewasher. I dont see why you would have any reason to in CA