Rap the frame with a hammer and listen for a dead thud sound. If its solid, I would be fine with it. Like I said, I dont see any cancer or rot.

* I noticed on mine the AC drain drips on the frame, so I will extend or reroute the condensate line away from or beyond the the frame..

Also, NHOU New Hampshire Oil Undercoat is good stuff. It seals up the rust in an oil film. Which I believe is better than repainting. Its about $20/spray can. I used it to stop the rust in the weld in my door at the bottom.

I have a 2006 4Runner (4th Generation) and it's lived in the Northeast its whole life. It is definitely rusty but the frame is still hanging on well. It's definitely something to keep an eye on but you'd be surprised how resilient these things are.

I wish I could agree but I have a 2005 with 90k miles. It has been taken care of but has lived it's life in Wisconsin and we do salt roads. But regardless I have had cars older than this with less rust on it's frame. Mine has been sitting in the corner of my driveway for a year because I don't know what to do with it. It isn't safe to drive in my opinion.

But the frame that was being questioned to purchase, it looks great - painted by someone or not. Just watch for issues.

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I agree, that has definitely been touched up, but nothing I’d be concerned about based on the frames I’ve seen on these here in the northeast. Usually there are holes already, or blistering under the paint where if you whack It with a ballpein hammer, you’ll punch through the scale. I’d say the previous owner or dealer just sprayed some areas to make it look better and cover surface rust. I wish my frame was that nice!

I agree with you. Mine is very well maintained and cared for. I even sandblasted, primed, and painted the frame after I bought it a few years ago. Unfortunately, the salt and sand gets trapped INSIDE the frame and rusts from the inside out, so no matter how often you wash the undercarriage it doesn’t matter.

Look into Autorust Safe-T-Cap frame repair parts. They make repair sections that are preformed to slip right over the bad areas and then weld in place. You do need to cut out the badly rusted areas, but then you can coat the inside of the frame because you can access it once the bottom is cut open to prevent more rust. I plan to do a few areas on mine before it gets too bad to salvage. They even make sections with trailing arm brackets and stuff pre-welded on!

Unfortunately I went and looked at that runner and the rust was very significant, took it to a toyota dealer and they advised me not to purchase it.

BUT, yesterday I found an awesome 2008 with 140k miles on it with a clean frame at another toyota dealer and snatched it up immediately so I'm officially part of the club! Even got a 12k/1year warranty for "free" from toyota

Thats a bummer, I bet they took pictures of all the "good" angles. Glad you finally found one and joined the club! If you're ever in SWVA, let me know. I don't do anything cool, but I need friends lol

Yea they definitely did, I even told them I was gonna take it to another shop to check it out so I wish they were just honest with me. But all is good cause I found one haha. And will do man! You've been a ton of help on my posts so I appreciate it

I live in NY and have been keeping my eyes on Craigslist for years to find a used Tundra. All Toyota vehicles are always grossly overpriced in my opinion.

Haha what? They're worth what the market is willing to pay. Plenty of cheaper non-Toyota options out there but there's a reason you're looking for a Tundra.

Ouch, that is a bummer. You may as well sell it for parts so you don't have to be sad seeing it everyday.

Thanks for the Autorust suggestion, I've been looking for something like this. Any suggestions on what to coat with? I've heard a lot of people talk about fluid film but I need something more heavy duty

So, when you install the Safe-T-Cap panels, you have to cut out the old rusted out areas back to solid steel, which will be pretty much opening up the bottom of the frame section. My plan is to sandblast, prime and paint the inside (as much as I can in that section). I will also prime/paint the inside of the repair cap section. Once it’s welded, I’ll coat the outside with primer and paint. Once everything is repaired, I’ll probably coat the inside of the frame with some type of oil to hopefully keep it from rusting again for a long time. Unfortunately, rust is like cancer, so treating it usually just buys you some more time, but isn’t always permanent. I figure if I can fix the bad areas, and keep the rest at bay for 5-10 years, or until I find something I like better, I’ll be happy. I love the vehicle and have no plans to sell at this time, but I’d have to fix it anyway because the frame would take significant value away from an otherwise awesome condition truck.

I would recommend looking up Eastwood on YT.
Go to the main page and type in rust in the searchbox.

They have several YT's on rust and what you can do about it.
Depending on where it is, how rusty it is, what your situation is.
They have several products and attack methods.
I found it very informative in my own search to eradicate my undercarriage rust issues.
Which aren't terrible, but its not getting any better just looking at it either.

I had my truck Fluid Filmed at this time last year, you couldn't even tell it was done come spring time. From a suggestion I saw on youtube, I'm currently trying bar and chain oil. It's messy but seems to stay in place well so far. I just got a spray gun in from Amazon to spray the inside. The YT video suggested either heating the oil or cutting it with acetone. I put it on externally a month ago with a brush in 90+ temps which made it go on easily. Time will tell I guess.