The Speed of Rust

My truck suffers from the well-known issue of bed rust. I've discussed it in a couple of other threads previously. This thread is to document the progress of the rust. Today, I removed the plastic liner and cleaned out the bed, and took some pictures of it. Quite by accident, I discovered that 364 days ago, I did the same thing. Curious of how much worse off the bed is a year after those first pics, I used the Pic-stitch app on my phone to create some before-and-afters. Here are the results...

Overall bed condition:

Driver front:

Passenger front:

Driver rear:

Passenger rear:

 

Bed liners are notorious for causing this. Sorry this happened! For next truck/next bed, never use a drop in bedliner. I recommend the spray on.

 

I wish I didn't see this thread but it seems more and more are being posted. It really gets my blood boiling.
The bedliners are not the issue though they may worsen things once the rust starts showing up on the bed surface. Toyota cheaped out on the sealer they used on the bed supports and now rust is showing up big time. There was a TSB but it is now "obsolete". Toyota is not owning up to another rust issue on their trucks now. It's left a really bad impression on me that "quality" means nothing at Toyota just like at the Big 3. For me this will be the last Toyota I'll ever buy.

 

I hope it's the last Toyota I ever buy, too! If I can keep the rust at bay, the rest of the truck should last forever

There's no perfect vehicle or vehicle manufacturer out there. You gotta find the one that provides the best of what you value most. For me, that's starting up every time I turn the key and getting me where I'm going without causing me trouble. That's why I own a Tundra.

 

It also heavily depends on what part of the country you live in. Drop in bedliners allow moisture to build up which causes the initial corrosion. Then, it’s all down hill from there.

 

My 07 has a spray in liner but its bubbling up in the popular spots, the 4 corners. From beneath my bed looks like @BlackSheep

I purchased mine in 2017 so it may have had a plastic liner earlier in life. For now....."don't step in the corners kids!!"

 

I would like to see how Amsoil metal protector HD would work on preexisting rust Like this.

 

In your case a bed liner will keep them from stepping through.

It reminds me of a story, though not entirely related, my dad told me long time ago. Once when he was younger, he was riding in a car with a friend. The driver for whatever reason got mad and stomped his foot. Well it went through the floor board! That was funny enough but after he was able to stop the car and get his foot out, he ended up losing one his really nice shoes.

 

The rust issue has ZERO to do with bedliners, it comes from underneath.

My 08, which I traded, finally showed rust in the box last yr, that being said I've seen big 3 trucks that had rusted out quarter panels a heck of a lot sooner and worse than my bedliner did.
This time round I'm going to spraying rust check in the areas prone to rust, best I can.

 

Just saying, but my POS 26 year old F150 yard truck that came from Minnesota 15 years ago doesn't have the rust in the bed like my 07 Tundra. There's no doubt that it's been rust proofed but it's box has no where near the rust the Tundra has. I's had a bed liner since new and never spent a day in a garage.

 

I was reading a post on a different forum about a 2010 Duramax that the rocker panels were rusted out. Lots of people commenting about how that's very common for that truck. Back in the mid 80's Toyota had a problem with it's bedsides. The upper part of the bedside was bent and connected to the floor of the bed. The lower part of the sides were spot welded onto the upper sides and then some sort of seam sealer was used in the joint. Over time the sealer would crack, water would get it, and that was it. In 89 they went to a 1 piece bed side. Sooner or later all vehicles will be made from composite materials.

As for your pictures from 2019 BlackSheep, it was already too late. Once you see bubbling like that any solid metal is all but gone. The only difference is that the flaking stuff is now falling out. It actually looks like the rust isn't spreading out much. It's just those specific spots that are bad. What's ironic is that if you could find a bed in a southern junkyard that has both sides badly dented nobody down there would want it. But up in the north it would be great for replacing the rusted spots.

 

Glad I live in the south. Although rust isn't just a Toyota problem, the big 3 trucks rust just as bad, just in different spots. When I was up in Ohio last time I saw several 2010+ Rams that had HOLES in the rear fenders above the tires. For some reason I get the impression that regular cars like the Camry, Accord, anything German don't rust nearly as bad as pickup trucks.

 

I have obtained two repair estimates for my bed rust. Both are from reputable shops in KC. They are apples and oranges, though, as they each suggested very different approaches. I'm not sure I really like either approach...

Shop #1 proposes to leave the bed on the frame, cut out the rusted spots, and weld in patches. They wouldn't do anything to the under side of the bed. They would charge $700 to do this. I would crawl under there myself and clean it up as best I can, and seal it. I know this route is just a bandaid fix, and I may be in the same boat in a few more years.

Shop #2 proposes to source a used bed and paint it to match. Their written estimate also does not include any items for treating the under side of the bed. I'm sure I could request this, but equally sure it would add to the cost. Their estimate for a new bed would cost me $5,400.

Option #3, which I have looked briefly into, is me sourcing a bed myself, preferably a black one that wouldn't need painted, going to get it, and installing it myself. There is one locally (within 100 miles) for $1,500, but it has some apparent rust on the top side of the bed. The guy who sent the pics to me says the under side is clean...but given what I know about these truck boxes, I am hesitant to believe him. This route would probably cost me around $2,000-$2,500, depending on how extensive the repairs are to the rust. I don't like this option, either, as I would still have repairs to make, or look for who knows how long for a rust-free bed and drive who knows how far to get it.

 

Option #4. Block the bed up off of the frame or remove and flip it over, cut out the bad floor areas, drill out cross member spot welds and remove, install new OEM cross members with appropriate weldthru primer and seal seal properly, weld in new floor patches. Paint/coat as desired.

 

This is what I wanted the shops to do, and told them as much, but each provided its own version of the repair. I guess if you want something done right...

 

Exactly! There's a member on here who either had his bed rust repaired or they attempted to repair it but he said no way would he recommend the repair they did. He didn't even post pictures of it after. It must have been bad. I won't name names but I'm guessing it was similar to option 1.

 

I think shop #1 is the quick turn-around, high-volume type of place. Shop #2 I am more familiar with, as they do a lot of Toyotas, and are a block away from my wife's employer. They are definitely a higher end establishment than the other place, do a lot of insurance work, and more 'by the book.' I think if I went with #1, I'd find a similar outcome to the member you reference.

 

I wouldn't do anything that doesn't require the bed to be removed. Most shops around here will do exactly what you want in a case like this. I don't know why neither of the shops you talked to would. To me, option #5 would be to call every junkyard around you looking for a bed from a 5 year old tundra or less that has damage to the sides. It should be cheap to pick up and then just have a body shop cut the sides off of your bed and weld them to the new one. Most junkyards aren't going to list the bed with damage unless it can be repaired so calling would be the only way to find out. For example a rollover will most likely take out both sides but leave the floor of the bed in good shape. Done right the only painting would be to protect the welds and it wouldn't need to be matching.

 

If I ever get around to patching my spots, I'll probably just slap some Bondo on it, smooth it out and call it good. I'm not good at metal work nor welding and I can't afford a body shop to fix it.

 

Got it done. Not pretty, by any means, but the rust is gone forever (I hope) and even if it comes back, I'll know how to handle it without letting it rot for years.

Now, on to funner projects!

 

Looks good. Nice job. Frame looks to be in good shape too. Did you use any rust inhibitor like CRC or LPS3? Cross members look to be in good shape too. I'm about to remove the bed and dig into a couple week frame restoration myself. Having a heck of a time finding a solution for replacing crap crossmembers...any advice would be welcomed!

 

Thanks. I used opsho rust convertor everywhere I saw rust or bare metal on the bed and the frame. For going through ten Kansas City Winters, I also thought the frame was decent. I don't know where you could find cross members for a frame. Perhaps car-part.com?

 

in socal this is not the case. my rust is from the contact point with bed liner and the vibration/rubbing of the liner with paint surface. it grinds its way through then paint and primer then rust begins

 

plenty of f150s, chevys and dodges less than 10 years old i've seen with holes in the bed. all the companies are cheaping out on materials due to gas mileage requirements and using the "environmentally friendly" coatings (which SUCK)

 

didnt ford go with aluminum beds and ram or gm was talking crap about it if it were to be a work truck with heavy loads?(easily denting and bending out of shape) but at least it wouldn't rust out...

 

The 2015 and up yes. We’ve had 10s, 12s trades in with holes in the bed floor


Personally I still think the tacomas composite bed is the best idea ever. And I’ve never seen one break. Who knows if it would hold up in a tundra though

 

Yes, It was Chevy demonstrating by dumping some sharp items in a Chevy and Ford. The Ford had some serious holes punched through the bed.

 

I'm wondering if this bed problem isn't from the frame flexing. As it does it's breaking the sealant in the metal joints near the bolts. Way back when in the mid 80's Toyota bed sides were three pieces. The top portion of the bed came down to the height of the floor turned in and was welded to the floor of the bed. Short little extensions were then welded onto the bottom of the upper piece of the bed, one in front of and one behind the rear tire. They would then apply a sealer to that joint. Since that joint was 100% visible you could see when a crack would form and not too long after that rust streaks would show up. Sooner or later the lower piece of steel would rust away. The problem was that those lower pieces of steel were well attached at the ends opposite of the wheel but only had a thin bracket by the wheels to keep it from vibrating. This is exactly why I bought a Tundra that spent it's whole life in South Carolina. Last week I had to pull the brake pads out and the pins that hold them in I was able to push out with one finger on my '07. Rust sucks no matter what brand you buy.

 

Yes I used to see rust at the joints even on the 80's trucks in the Los Angeles area that were only a few years old. I used to drive a Datsun truck then. Never had any rust issues with it. I think that up until the mid 80's Datsun/Nissan pick ups were better than Totyotas. When Nissan started building the "Hard Body" design in mid 86 is when they started making crap. I bought one new in 93. It was crap and 6 months later I traded it on a brand new Chevy Silverado. That Chevy was the best truck I had owned and regret ever selling it about 15 years later.