Originally Posted by Dalko43

15 years for a northeastern truck is pushing it IMHO. The rust will eventually start to take its toll on any vehicle up there.

Apply fluid film once a year. Maybe take some of your skid plates off, sand them and repaint them every few years. Eventually, the axles and frames will l develop significant layers of surface rust; at that point you may want to look into repainting the frame and axles.

But, by that point, there is a good chance the paint/body itself will start to develop surface rust. You can drive vehicles for longer than 15 years up here, but they will start to turn into rust buckets.

Don't worry about rust. Do some maintenance (listed above), take care of the vehicle and drive it. By the 15 year mark, you'll likely want a new vehicle, even if the 4runner is still in semi-decent shape. I take very good care of my 4runner (2011); fluid film, frequent washings (including wax and claybar), ect. There is already some surface rust on the paint and a good amount of rust on the frame and axles....even with good maintenance that stuff is inevitable in certain regions.