I see this a lot. I have lived in many locations, and my vehicles do not rust.

Why?

You're gonna call me a liar, but it's because I wash them. A lot. Anytime it snows, I wash. Otherwise they get washed every 2 weeks, top and bottom, and inside the engine compartment. Something I learned as a kid from Grandad, who has always had amazing long life out of his vehicles. Reinforced in the Marines working on aircraft, and seeing first hand the difference a failure of corrosion control (Fancy term for "Wash that bird, Private!") makes on aircraft.

I also wax them, but I do it the lazy way with spray on wax. I'm not after the shine, I'm after the added protection.

I have lived in N. Carolina, South Texas, N. Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Okinawa, and S California. None of my vehicles have had significant rust, and I tend to keep them till they are 15 years old or so. In Okinawa, the rust is bad, and very very invasive. I looked for a vehicle that had been kept well, and washed regularly, and continued that the two years I owned it. It was 6 years old when I sold it to leave, and not a speck of rust. Most cars in Okinawa are rusty by the time they are 3 years old, and in a junkyard by 5, due to rust. Very polluted, salty, and wet air there.

 

One other comment that I want to add... towing weight is only part of the deal... You need to understand that the shape of the trailer has a lot of influence on how well it is towed as well. If you are going from a pop up to a full height trailer, the air is going to influence how it pulls. In a headwind, you can litterally add thousands of pounds of force that you have to overcome, depending on how tall the trailer is etc. Side winds also can introduce sway etc.. so all of this must be considered.

 

I agree washing and waxing will help with slowing down the corrosion. Here in NY however the problem is the rock salt used in the winter it excellerates the natural rusting process. Also washing in the winter can only happen when it's above freezing if you still want to open a door[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Typically the rockers panels, cab corners and cab mounts are the first to rust through but each model/manufacturer is a little different. Until I bought the 02 Sierra I never had a new truck always used so I will have to see how it holds up. A typical year for me is only 6k miles YES I only have to change my oil 2 times a year. But it is still exposed to the ellements 365 days a year. Before I bought this truck I had a 91 Suburban I bought in 97 with 80K it had 112K when I traded it in 02. The body still looked ok with only a few holes but I could take a ballpeen hammer and put a hole through the driver side front cab mount because it was so thin from rust. I concider this to be unsafe. This was a guage I learned many years ago.

The wind drag is a good point and I believe Dodge is one of the few manufacturers that have you calculate the frontal area of the trailer as part of the equation in determining your maximum towing capacity.

 

Ford also list a Maximum Frontal Area in their towing guide as well. And it's not all that much. IIRC, it's the combined truck and trailer. Most of the Taj Mahal 5th wheels go WAY over the frontal area maximum.

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I just recently sold my 99 1500 Z71 4x4 5.3L truck for a 01 2500 4x4 Duramax. There is a huge difference and a dont know if I will ever go back to another gas truck, and this is my first diesel. Anyways with my 99 1500 I towed a 20ft flatbed bumper hitch aprox 2,000 lbs empty. I towed my race car aprox 3000 lbs. Stock the truck could handle it but it worked it pretty hard. I added 3,000lb super springs which were great, they are built to adjust to the load so your truck rides like stock when unloaded and when its loaded it does not squat hardly at all. I also added a K&N cold air induction kit and dual flowmaster exhaust. I believe it had 373 gears but not sure. With all of that the truck would handle and pull the weight just fine. It was hard on the transmission even with tow/haul and the trans did go out at 125,000. So another addition you will want to be sure to make is a good trans cooler because the GM trans in the 1500s are not built for towing they overheat and go out. My bro in law has almost an identical truck to yours and I have drivin it and would say your going to want some serious upgrades if you are pulling with it on a reg basis. The biggest towing weaknesses on your truck are suspension, trans, and gearing. Yes your truck will pull the weight the way it is but it really has to work at it. So at minimum get helper springs, heaver springs, air bags, ect. Install a good trans cooler, and deff regear to 373 at least to help your motor, but if you drive more than you tow then your gas milage is going to drop.

Now for the new truck. I dont have to do a thing with it and it has lots of power in reserve to use. Where the old didnt want much more. And the biggest benifit of the new truck is that Im getting 17-18 mpg unloaded where as the 6.0L and up are getting 8-14 mpg unloaded if they are lucky. And Im getting better milage loaded than the gassers are unloaded. I also drive 70 miles a day and need a heavy truck for farm use so its the perfect fit for me. And I have never been a big diesel fan but after I tried it I dont know how I will ever go back to another gas. They are just so far ahead of the gassers in efficiency, durabilitly, and reliability. And if your looking at dodge then I would look the other way quick. They are the worst for fuel economy in gas and I do know others with dodge diesels and they are getting 8 mpg loaded and 14 at best unloaded. And my grandpa's half ton hemi gets a great 10-14 mpg where my 5.3 chevy was getting 16 at worst and most of the time 17mpg. And he drives very similar to me as far as mainly highway/some in town driving. Good luck and if you have any other questions that I might not have covered let me know.