ive never believed in undercoating, its for lazy people that think you can just spray it on and its good for life... thats not the case it needs to be maintained like a paint coat on a car, as if you let one little spot get a hole in it, water enters there and doesnt leave, rotting it from the inside of undercoating out.. you wouldnt even see it happening.


i had purchased a zebarted f250 that this exact thing happened, i poked at the coating and there was razor thin metal underneeth or non at all, was not maintained by the original person to had have the zebart applied.. rustiest truck ive ever owned..

 

My 17-year-old Lincoln has lived in the salt belt its entire life, and it has a fully boxed frame. No frame rust whatsoever, but the body is another matter.

You most certainly CAN make a coating that prevents rust.

 

I've never believed in it either, but a friend introduced me to this stuff "Fluid Film." He works for a municipal highway department in Vermont, and he says they have had massive problems with their big trucks, as well as one tons, rusting out from plowing and salting duties. Now they use Fluid Film, and the rusting problem is not really a problem now, he says. I've always thought of an undercoating in the traditional sense, where basically heavy oil is sprayed on to the underside, into the bottoms of doors and sills, etc, and makes a big, greasy mess. Over time, the oil swells rubber door seals and can cause problems with electric plug connections. Some people do a one and done; others re-undercoat yearly. The thick layer which builds up makes working on the underside of a vehicle a nightmare. Sometimes the initial layer of oil dries up and hardens, allowing moisture to get between the fresher layers and the old layer, causing rusting from underneath.

The fluid film is different - its based on lanolin and stays 'wet' until it takes on a coating of road dust. Because it is less viscous than a standard oil, it flows into seams and nooks better, which protects better. It is basically clear colored, and won't drip. It won't ever swell rubber or create electrical problems. It also displaces water somewhat like WD40 so it helps stop existing rust from getting worse.

I have it reapplied by a shop once a year - although you could probably easily go two years between applications - but $150 is cheap frame and cab corner insurance.

 

Maybe they should switch to a boxed frame just to stop those stupid frame twist videos.

 

Ford will probably start doing their own when theirs is more rigid.

 

I wish the underside of my truck looked like that. Only 70k on mine with spending considerable time each year to keep after rust and it still is not near that rust free. Road salt and that liquid crap they spray on the roads here makes rust.

 

We do emergency medical response in extreme condition, we roll on forestry road in emergency, also tar sand field to give medical treatment to injured worker, and the boxed frame are prohibited, first they are to stiff and don't do well on those kind of road, and our customer as by-laws for what kind of pick-up we are allowed to use , we are also in the process of buying 6 new truck i guess they wont be 2017 F350, we will have to go bigger but we are restricted in weight and length...

we will have to look at Dodge if they still have C-Channel.....

 

That's the silliest argument I have ever seen.

Buy a Ford chassis cab...whole rear is open c.

The box frame rides much better than the old c frame. It holds up every bit as well.

 

well you want be buying a truck then as all new heavy duty trucks now have fully boxed frames. Guess you will be changing your requirements. Lol

 

They will, just keep what they have or..wagons, lol

 

I actually believe I can shine some light on this subject plowing logging roads for the last 30 years. I think he misspoke there's no such thing as a band on full frame vehicles at least in New York State. The C channel frame will contour to the ground and twists giving you better traction that's a fact but, those are some really extreme conditions I could not imagine a restricting law. It will be interesting to see how my next new truck handles the roads being a full frame can't imagine it would be that adversely affected and as others have pointed out it's a waste of conversation considering all three are now full frame. There a lot of things I love about the c channel frame however when you take a 17 for a ride you realize how far they've come. There's no comparison ride handles like a dream very stable platform. I believe there was a conversation about this a while ago even some videos for a full frame to fail would be a catastrophic incident hard to believe it would even happen. So there's a trade off flexing frame or a rigid frame Ford decided to go with the rigid and I believe they made a correct decision. You're only alternative would be to keep the older vehicles running as long as possible if there is such a law on thoes private road? Could be an insurance reason liability cracks frame? Perhaps a lawyer could get a sign off I know I have special insurance just to plow on some of these roads it makes my insurance agent crazy endless paperwork lol take care

 

Some vehicles were designed from the start to utilize a flexible frame to assist with the suspension system - e.g. the Mercedes Unimog.

A fully-boxed frame still will flex, just less than the open C frame. It does allow the suspension to do a better job with movement and damping control. It also allows suspension engineers to fine-tune a little better.

The Ford frames will be completely fine. F-150 has been fully-boxed since 2004. Those frames are not cracking, breaking, or rotting any more than the C-frames would be. Yes, a 150 might not be worked as hard, but some owners routinely overload and overwork their 150's.

Likewise, RAM and GM have been running full box frames for a few years now on their HDs, without any issues.

 

The Nissan Titan has been a fully boxed frame since 2004. I know of only one bent frame that didn't involve an accident. Apparently the guy went over a large hump with his weight distributing hitch attached. At least that's what he said happened.

I have no issues with the box frame on my Titan and I'm looking forward to the boxed frame on my 2017 Superduty.

 

Wow. I have been in fleets, mainly utility and municipal for well over 30 years and I have NEVER heard of something like this before. My hunch, FWIW, is that a spec. writer got cute with the vehicle requirements to give the order to a particular manufacturer or dealer. C-channel or boxed isn't going to make a bit of difference in an ambulance, box-type bodies are very resistant to torsional stress (they are stiff themselves) and will negate most all chassis flex (at least until all the rivets pop out!). No difference off road, you are not rock-crawling in a dually! No matter now, while all (Ford, GM, Ram) HD pickups use boxed frames, the cab and chassis are still C-channel from the cab back. And that's for easy upfitter body mounting, not 'frame flex'!

 

C for life. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-rust-too.html
Facepalm gif here. https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/F...sted_out.shtml . Do you live in california.