Protection for 3-4 days driving through salt desert (1 Viewer)

[donmufa]

Hi there!
I’ve searched in the forums but couldn’t find a direct answer to this question (my apologies in advance, I’m new in the forum, and sure it’s somewhere there)

I’m about to do a 3-4 days drive through the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia (in case you are not familiar, think of something similar to the Badwater Basin in Death Valley, but way larger). I’ve been advice that this could be very corrosive and damage the underbody. Also, this is rainy season so it will be splashing underneath.

So my question: Is there any consensus over what’s a good treatment to protect the underbody against this specific type of rust/corrosion? There are some shops at the skirts of the desert that offer a treatment with gasoline or diesel, but I’m not sure if this is good enough.

Any tip that is not a huge budget would be better, as these 4 days are the only exposure we’ll have to this environment.

 

[r2m]

You attach it to your pressure washer with the quick-disconnect. It does divide the flow between multiple nozzles but works very well. I just roll mine under the rig in a grid pattern from all of the sides and watch the mud fall off onto my driveway .

Ahh, so you do need to already have a pressure washer!
I can check that box.

 

[Rednexus]

Ahh, so you do need to already have a pressure washer!
I can check that box.

Yes. That and a surface cleaner for my driveway/sidewalks have turned our $220 Sams pressure washer into a very useful tool!

 

[LWC]

When you get out of those salt flats, get to the first car wash, the ones with the pressure washers (if you have them down there) and take the time to pressure wash the entire under carriage, along with the exterior too. You may also want to hit the engine bay a little too, just be careful where you point the pressure nozzle in the engine bay.
Doing that, you shouldn't have to worry about any under carriage protection.

Yeah do this. The coatings are just going to cause the salt to stick. you in the desert, so low humidity = low rust. Leave your car as is and give it a good rinse after.

 

[markthegrea]

We drove the outer banks in North Carolina a few years back. You take a ferry to an island that is essentially a sandbar. It is 25 miles long and the only thing to do is drive up and down the beach or drink (we don't drink). We stayed 2 nights. I went to a self serve carwash when we got off the island and sprayed the sand off the bottom. A lot.

We had the GX470 for 2 years after that. We never had any new rust that I could see. Oh, and no extra rust proofing was applied.

 

[svsisu]

We drove the outer banks in North Carolina a few years back. You take a ferry to an island that is essentially a sandbar. It is 25 miles long and the only thing to do is drive up and down the beach or drink (we don't drink). We stayed 2 nights. I went to a self serve carwash when we got off the island and sprayed the sand off the bottom. A lot.

We had the GX470 for 2 years after that. We never had any new rust that I could see. Oh, and no extra rust proofing was applied.

I live on the outer banks, and everything rusts here, even if you don't drive on the beach. I don't purposefully drive through salt water, but it is often unavoidable when living here. Fluid Film/Woolwax is big help with protecting anything metal. I learned about it from the local power company; they put it on everything they have. It makes a big difference and yes, stuff sticks to it, but it also makes it easy to wash off too.

Driving through salt pans is intense, much more so than driving on the beach, and I would be doing all I could to put protect my underbody, and body cavities and then thoroughly wash/rinse it all when the ride was complete.

There's a little more to do on the outer banks than drive on the beach and drink, but those sure are part of the fun of living here

 

[r2m]

I live on the outer banks, and everything rusts here, even if you don't drive on the beach. I don't purposefully drive through salt water, but it is often unavoidable when living here. Fluid Film/Woolwax is big help with protecting anything metal. I learned about it from the local power company; they put it on everything they have. It makes a big difference and yes, stuff sticks to it, but it also makes it easy to wash off too.

Driving through salt pans is intense, much more so than driving on the beach, and I would be doing all I could to put protect my underbody, and body cavities and then thoroughly wash/rinse it all when the ride was complete.

There's a little more to do on the outer banks than drive on the beach and drink, but those sure are part of the fun of living here

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I feel your pain, first years we were married we lived on the Newport Beach peninsula which is nothing short of just being a sandbar. Every time we have extreme high tides the street drains would back up with sea water and flood the streets which we had to drive in to get to work and back.

 

[donmufa]

I live on the outer banks, and everything rusts here, even if you don't drive on the beach. I don't purposefully drive through salt water, but it is often unavoidable when living here. Fluid Film/Woolwax is big help with protecting anything metal. I learned about it from the local power company; they put it on everything they have. It makes a big difference and yes, stuff sticks to it, but it also makes it easy to wash off too.

Driving through salt pans is intense, much more so than driving on the beach, and I would be doing all I could to put protect my underbody, and body cavities and then thoroughly wash/rinse it all when the ride was complete.

There's a little more to do on the outer banks than drive on the beach and drink, but those sure are part of the fun of living here

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Didn’t know there was surfing there. Looks like some fun waves

 

[svsisu]

Didn’t know there was surfing there. Looks like some fun waves

A lot of fun waves. Not quite as good as Peru, but we get some good surf.