rust: driving vs. sitting

[redstone65]

I have an ongoing debate with my buddy about whether or not a car rusts faster when sitting vs. being driven daily. Given a non-salt environment, my contention is that a vehicle that is driven regularly has a chance to "dry out" more than one which sits. Air flow and all. I'm not saying that it won't rust. Just saying that it would take a lot longer. For instance, when there is a hard rain I still get a trickle of water coming from my firewall seam. It's probably about 1/3 cup worth. When I drive it, that little puddle slides around, thins out and evaporates within a few minutes. If it just sat there all the time, it would take maybe a day or two to evaporate and eventually eat a hole in whatever spot the truck's angle left it in.

He says it's mostly constant humidity that rusts out the old non-galvanized sheet metal, so that it'll take about the same amount of time no matter what. And that the spots where it rusts would just be different. Overall the same amount of aggregate rust would form.

?

[slick4x4]

My opinion ... It can go either way...
Sitting out side .. dirt & debris gets on them & in them
Then moisture ....
The combination of moisture & dirt is a killer

If it's inside in the dry.... corrosion pretty much stops

I had a 77 4x4 that I mudded a LOT & drove for 27 years...
but the only rust it had was above the rear wheel arches
Because I was diligent about washing it out underneath quite often
The cab & front fenders was solid as ever

[shipwrecked]

Definitely would say exposed driving. Because people don’t lean off road salts and dirt every time they drive.

Rust is oxidation. Moisture, metal and the crucial thing- oxygen. That’s why the titanic hasn’t rusted away. There is no oxygen.

[tomrooster]

I say sitting is worst, Not to much salt on the roads in Al. Tom

[mercuryv8]

I would vote for sitting being the worst. My first thought being grass. I think tall vegetation right next to truck holds moisture there. I also think your argument about standing water is valid. When driving I never leave standing water in the truck box... but when it sits I know it's there for quite a while. This is not to mention the F.N rodents. I HATE mice.

I soak the truck in that rust check when I leave it to sit in the winter. I hope that stuff does some good.

Nic