Buy another beater, that's the cheapest route. Your truck is almost unique, unless you need the F550 in the winter why pay so much to watch a new truck rot away. The body changed, but all the PITA stuff like brake lines and diff covers and spring packs are still going to rot to same old way.

Seems like a lot of Jeeps with the 3.7L V6 are going 150k+ on the engine and transmissions, fly south and find a Liberty with 100-120k on it and it should last at least three-five years depending on what you do/ don't do to it. Parts are cheap, the engine bay is huge, the interior isn't worse than an Escape (IMO both are tiny, 2004 Escape compared to 2008 LIberty). I just sold one with 165k and drivetrain was in great shape, just body was rough from my wife bumping things and we needed more interior room for carseats.

 

Barring paint defects, it's usually possible to keep the body and doors looking good despite road salt for 20 years and maybe a little more. It's the electric gremlins caused by years of road salt that eventually brings trucks to their knees and even then I'd like to think a guy can get 20 years or so.

Keep all seams, wheel wells, or any other dirt collection points clean. Once a year in mid October: WD-40 (or equivalent) all seems (hood, doors, tailgate, under hood) and squirt it inside drain holes using the provided straw. Also once a year: Good dose of Fluid film on everything underneath (except for the exhaust system). I actually use new motor oil but starting to shift towards fluid film. Applied with an airless sprayer to spray directly into all under body seams including rocker panels, fenders, etc. Takes a couple hours but much cheaper than renting a beater car or buying a new truck. There is a rust prevention service that's been mentioned on this site that looks pretty good...kinda pricey though.

If you won't be driving for a few days during the winter, give it a water rinse underneath, around the body seems, inside fenders, etc. No need for soap because water will dissolve the salt and take it off. Truck may still look dirty but removing salt is the key. As long as it's a sunny day, the water will evaporate off...even if the temp is single digits. Helps to have the truck warm and heater on to keep glass clear.

Do not apply anything that forms a film (like paint) under the truck. These products eventually peel and trap salt. No waxy goo inside drains which traps dirt...water displacement (like WD-40) only.

 

You could switch to a predominately aluminum car, like the 2005+ Jaguar XJ. Those are awesome rides.

 

I hear ya. Just super sick of the repairs on the beaters to keep running. My hope by 2020 is to be in a Bronco. So a 2 year lease on something might be ok.

 

I'd be all over a used pickup truck, but the problem is I'd need seats for kids. Anything with a crew cab is usually out of the question.

 

Have used fluid film for years.

 

I rinse the underside at a car wash after being on Winter salt roads.
What state are you in or area of the country?
Seems like some are 10 times worse in the Winter than others.

 

Where are you living?

 

Near Buffalo, NY. Truck will turn white in the winter with the amount of salt put down. Now they are using chemicals too. Eating vehicles.

 

I HIGHLY suggest looking into KROWN.
https://www.krown.com/en/
It works.

 

Move down south.

 

Krown is the system I was trying to think of earlier that sounds good but I've never tried it.

People say harsh chemicals are used today that eat cars. That's not really true. The only ingredient that's used is salt. It's sometimes dissolved in water to help it stick to the road instead of bouncing off when applied as rock salt. Often it's sodium chloride because it's cheap. And sometimes it's calcium chloride because it's 50% more effective than sodium chloride. Any salt that dissolves in water will melt ice it's just that the chloride salts are cheap.

The chloride ion is what facilitates the rusting of iron. It will speed iron rusting as long as it's touching the metal. It's easily removed by rinsing with water. It's also very beneficial to coat metal before winter time with something like Krown, fluid film, or other moisture displacing product to stop the flow of electrons from the iron.

 

They also are using magnesium chloride a lot. Also any of the ice melter in common use will also attack the aluminum body parts as well, aluminum doesn't rust, but it does corrode. It is too early to know how the aluminum body panels are going to hold up over the long haul. Aircraft are treated and retreated as needed to prevent corrosion, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.