Living in the heart of the rust belt I have my own ideas about this, but I'd like to hear from others. I'm talking mostly about 4WD 3/4 ton extended cab trucks in the $5k-10k price range. What say you? Oh, and you guys in the south can save your smart ass comments, as I've heard them before and agree...
Not $5k, but the upcoming aluminum F150...
They all seem to rust the same, but I have seen small Toyotas that pass the 50% rust threshold and still run fine, and I have seen Chevy trucks with 500,000 miles with no frame, no rockers, no rear quarters, no front fenders but somehow still going down the road. Not cool, Jessie James patina rust. This kind of rust:
The only pickup that doesn't rust in the north is the one you never use.
drive to south.. buy truck. Drive home.
Once rusted, repeat.
From what I've seen, Fords are best when it comes to rust, but it's still a matter of degrees.
One from southern Arizona.
you can get a nice early 2000's f250 for that price with the 5.4 and maybe a few powerstrokes if thats your thing. i dont know about the f250's but the f150's had bad rust problems on the rockers up until 00 or 01 (i think thats right) when they changed there coating on the rockers, atleast thats what ive heard and seen for the most part. my 99 is rusting to hell and my dads 01 is still clean
Fords hands down.
But with like everything else, how it was maintained before you get it will be a big factor. If it's abused, it will tend to end up being a rusted up pos. Except GM, they can't build a long lasting body/frame to save anyone's life.
Ranger50 wrote: Fords hands down. But with like everything else, how it was maintained before you get it will be a big factor. If it's abused, it will tend to end up being a rusted up pos. Except GM, they can't build a long lasting body/frame to save anyone's life.
I'll disagree with that last part. I've had 20 year old GM trucks with minimal rust. Hell, the last one I had had barely started to show the rust in the cab corners. Depends on the previous owners and how it was taken care of.
Dodge seemed to rust FASTER here, but the WORST rust were the GM's if not treated/maintained. I've seen 3 year old doge trucks with rust on the rear cab corners, tailgates and bed sides. Granted, they don't dpread that fast, but I'd be PISSED if I had something that new with that much rust. THe GM's rust from the inside out. So you don't see it until it's ate half the panel. The Ferds seem to not rust as quickly or severely but the rest of the truck sucks.... so what do you do? Tundra's rust pretty bad. Can't tell you about the Nissan, I just don't see them on the road here.
In reply to Bobzilla:
GM's, at least the '99-'06's are out, as that's what my self destructing truck is now. But I'm curious about your comment on how Fords suck. Have any more specific factual information about that? Everything I've seen shows that the reliability of all USA trucks is about the same. So what exactly sucks?
I hate working on them. It's a personal thing. I hate the way they drive. I hate the way their seats sit. I don't like the dash layout. I loathe the engines.
About the only things I don't mind are the transmissions and the rear ends. You can keep the rest of the truck.
What is wrong with your GMT800?
In reply to Bobzilla:
So your problems with them are mostly aspects that are a matter of preference. What's wrong with my truck? Well I bought it 3 years ago rust free from Kentucky. Besides the numerous repairs it's needed, the rocker panels no longer exist, the doors and cab corners are rusty, and there's rust popping out from the fender flares. The frame is a rusty mess as well. I know you like these things, but I'm done with them. Absolutely the worst automotive purchase I ever made.
FWIW, i've never seen a Nissan Titan with any sort of visible rust. Same with the 2nd gen and up Tundras.
I'm not sure how helpful that is, though... as i've never been under either one of them, but the bodies seem to hold up decently.
You know, just another anecdote that probably doesn't help much.
Huh... interesting. Both Dad and I have them with zero rust. Unless you're calling surface rust on the frame surface "rust". The F150 I spent all day working on Sat was a mess as well. 99 with 160k miles, every bushing on the front end is gone, bearings were gone (still uses caged[plastic at that] bearings in the front!), calipers leaking, one brake hose collapsed, both sway bar end links snapped, shock bushings missing etc. The whole front end needs replaced. And from the looks of the tires, it's needed it for quite some time.
There's more frame/chassis rust on it then Dad's Silverado with 210k miles on the clock. He's so far had to replace both front wheel bearings, front pads once and rotors, rear pads/rotors and shocks.
I've driven several F150/Expeditions over the years and I just can't stand them. The only seat that is worse for me is the first generation Tundra seat.
Fueled by Caffeine wrote: drive to south.. buy truck. Drive home. Once rusted, repeat.
This. SOO this. After having dealt with a northern truck in the south, never never again, even if it was free.
trick question
In reply to Bobzilla:
I'll agree with the f150/exped comments but we're talking 3/4 tons......
3/4 ton 4x4 trucks for $5000 - $10000 means American. Dodge, Ford, Chevy all three rust. Which one rusts the least is the one that was driven in salt the least. My brother's Ford is a rusted mess, my Chevy was a rusted mess, and my friend's Dodge is a rusted mess. There's just no way around it right now. The aluminum F150 might help the body but I bet the frame and brake lines will still rust just fine. With the added bonus of galvanic corrosion anywhere aluminum and steel touch.
I hate rust! ugh.
In reply to dculberson:
And you live in Columbus, where trucks don't rust any where near as quickly as they do here.
Seriously, I've purchased several vehicles in Columbus just because they are so much cleaner than what I could buy up here. Not to say you don't have rust issues...
I tend to have the same viewpoint as you as far as what rusts. I was kind of hoping to be proven incorrect, as I need a truck and am tired of buying them just to lose my ass on them a few years later when they are rusted beyond reasonable repair. And I've purchased trucks from areas that don't have rust problems just to pay more for them, go through a lot more trouble to get them, and then have them last only slightly longer than trucks from up here. I guess I should just keep them and drive rusty trucks, but I really, really hate rust and repairing rust. Funny thing is that my '78 C-30 has held up better over the 12 years I've owned it (a Texas truck, BTW) than my Sierra has in the 3 years I've owned it. But the '78 is still rusty. The frame is okay, and if I could find a clean cab for it, I'd rebody it and be done with it. But after several years of searching, I've yet to find a clean crew cab.
So would you guys say that something like this would likely hold up better than an merican pickup? What can this thing haul and tow? http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/4459218916.html
I've never really liked the looks of these, and I'm not a fan of Nissans in general, but if it doesn't rust as bad and can tow what I need it to, I'd consider one.
Another vote for the Ford - I have had great luck with them. Dodge is the worst, they seem to begin turning to dust just a few years after you get them....
bravenrace wrote: So would you guys say that something like this would likely hold up better than an merican pickup? What can this thing haul and tow? http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/4459218916.html I've never really liked the looks of these, and I'm not a fan of Nissans in general, but if it doesn't rust as bad and can tow what I need it to, I'd consider one.
They're rated to tow up to 9500lbs, and the payload cap is around 2000lbs i believe.
They're pretty serious business for a gas half ton. Bear in mind, they also aren't as refined as some of the other options. This is one of the last trucks that feels like a TRUCK.
And if they're really going for that cheap, i know what truck i'm buying in the near-ish future.
In my experience..
Oh, and you guy in the south can save your smart ass comments, as I've heard them before and agree...
...oh. Nevermind then. 
The Titans had issues with the rear differentials, especially when towing.
To answer the original question, I was shopping for trucks in the 8-12K range a few years ago and settled on a Dodge, which proves it comes down to how it's been maintained. I saw examples of trucks from Chevy, Ford, and Dodge that all had significant rust issues. I would look for something that's been taken care of, and I would definitely buy something from an area that generates fewer rusty vehicles. Something near the coast (even a warm coast) could be an issue, and anything that's been used to launch a boat in salt water you'll want to avoid like the plague.
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