Southern truck headed north, advice?

So the gf and I have a trip planned to Colorado in the next couple weeks. I'm guessing there will be snow, which means salt on the roads. We will only be up there for about 4 or 5 days. Will being exposed to salt for this period of time cause any rust issues? I'm not sure what to do exactly because we never salt the roads down here. Will I be ok to just wait till I get back down south to wash the truck off? I'd rather not apply any fluid film or other products for a short trip like this if I don't need to.

Any driving in the snow. Should I keep it in 4 hi on the roads? I plan on getting some sandbags in the bed to place over the axle once I arrive and unpack. Just not sure how much weight I need.

This southern boy needs help!

 

For that period of time don't worry about any of it.

Throw it in 4hi if the roads are slippery and go.

 

Been a long time since growing up in Northern Michigan. My dad had a little blue Toyota pickup that I got to drive. Rear wheel drive, nothing fancy. I seem to remember keeping big bags of dirt or cat litter in the back to help with the weight and to use as traction if you get stuck. Never happened to me though - just take it slow and give yourself plenty of room to stop. Have a great trip!

 

Put it in 4wd if the roads are slippery, just be mindful that driving on pavement that has good traction can be stressful on the 4x4 system. 4 or 5 of those 60lb sand tubes can help with traction in both 2 and 4wd. Hopefully you have a decent set of all-season or AT tires on the truck. Summer tires up in the mountains will be dicey. Also, depending on where you are going, there might be a requirement for tire chains on some of the high passes or if there’s a storm warning.

As for the salt, just give the undercarriage a good hose-down with clean water when you get back. Shouldn’t be an issue at all.

Have a good trip!

 

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll keep it in 2wd unless needed. I'll get 300lbs or so of sand bags to put in the back. I have the falken wildpeak at3w tires. I believe they're rated well for snow. My main concern was the rust issue. Glad to hear I won't have any issues with that. I'll do some research on where we will be traveling exactly to see if there is a tire chain requirement.

 

You have some really good tires- you’re golden there. I wouldn’t worry too much about the sandbags then- I see now you have a crewmax. They put a little more weight in the rear axle than a DC.

 

great white north guy here

wash underneath every day if you feel so inclined
or buy some rustproofing spray online and give the frame a good coat
even WD40 would work, just not as well as say fluid film

but like others have said, you may not have to worry about it at all

I'm going to assume you dont have any rustproofing places down where you are

drive safe!
cheers!!

 

Irrigate the underside of your chassis with liberal amounts of low pressure fresh water when you return.

 

Colorado doesn't salt the roads, they put sand down or just plow.

 

I take sprinkler to it. After returning from beach

 

And this is why your roads are flavorless.

@Saltyhero13 ... front and center, young man. Pack an overnight case including prodigious quantities of personal lubricant. You're Colorado bound to un-f**k the tasteless road situation out there.

 

More good advice here. I love this forum. It's helpful, hilarious, and I'm happy to be a member! And no, we don't have rustproofing places here, we get flash rust or light surface rust from the humidity, but that's about as far as it goes with almost anything I've encountered. So Colorado puts sand on the roads instead of salt? I didn't know that. Pretty interesting. If its just sand I won't even have to worry about an immediate wash. I have tons of sand and gravel under there now from my most recent escapade

 

Like already stated, they just put sand down. Which is cool until you get 70mph winds and you truck sounds like it's getting sandblasted.

I personally wouldn't put any weight in the back. Never did in colorado and still don't in Alaska. The best advice is to drive according to road/weather conditions, which can vary greatly by time/location in Colorado. Where are you planning on going? The snow doesn't usually stick around for long unless your up in the mountains.

 

I'll have to check with my gf on the locations, all I know right now is "Colorado". I need to listen to her better I'm pretty sure its in the mountains at a couple cabins and a hot spring

 

Nice. Have fun, lots to do in CO.

 

Outrage! OUTRAGE I SAY! What is the culinary travesty! LET. THE. UNCOUTH. HAVE. SALT!!! <starts gyrating in the roadway tastefully>

 

I don't think I'll ever look at a Colorado road the same after this

 

We can recommend a good psychiatrist to deal with the trauma. Discount code: SALTYTUNDRA

 

Huh, didn't know that. Is that a new thing? I haven't lived there for a couple years.

 

They seem to have quite a number of warm water self car washes.
When you get there rinse the truck real good then do it again when leaving.

I thought the locals would look at me like I was crazy until I saw the line of local cars waiting to wash
Up after 18” fresh.

 

So the only place I know of right now is Monument CO. I'll update once I know of the other places we are going.