being trapped , my 2011 sport was easy to wash and get salt off, but rubicon you cant get behind the rail to wash .
east coast in n.h. gets tough winters usually, just wondering if some folks remove them to wax or coat them with somthing to prevent rust then reinstall?
new rubicon id hate to have lower part rot out under there Attachment 246527

 

You could take them off and put on good coat of wax without buffing it off and then reinstalling. I used to do that when I would run a bra/nose mask on my vehicles. Also, something I do here in WV (we get killed with salt too) is take WD-40 and spray the undercarriage, nuts, bolts, etc after every wash during the winter. You can pick up a can pretty cheap and it really does help with rust.

 

I got my jk in Nov of 2006 and haven't noticed any rust under my rubi rails. I just wash the jeep after snow storms.

 

You can spray WD-40 (or whatever else you prefer) on them every once in a while to remove any salts present & add some moisture protection. At the pinch seams and where they contact the body, place the straw there & blast away. It'll also make them look nice after you wash the Jeep. Another area to address would be inside the rails. You can remove the end caps to clean and add protectant inside. The plugs will have to be cut off and replaced with a new ones ($1 at hardware store).

There's a product I've used called Boeshield T-9 which is very good. It goes on wet, then dries leaving a film of Paraffin wax. Perfectly safe on plastics, electronic connections, paint, ect. It has some "creeping" charasteristics as well. I've use it in the engine bay and undercarriage.

 

You shouldn't need to worry about the painted body/pinch seam rusting from salt anyway. They look better than that ugly seam, so I say leave them on.

 

I live in Michigan where my Jeep is exposed to salt year round. The paved roads are salted in the winter, and the gravel I live on is sprayed with brine (salt water) for dust control in the summer. I don't wash it much, pointless when it rains/snows enough to keep the roads wet and Jeep dirty about every other day.

For what it is worth, while I have surface rust on some of the frame, the pinch seams behind the Rubi rails looks good still. I have not pulled the caps on the rails to see whats happening inside.

When it rusts out, I will buy a used southern state pavement queen and part this one into a clean body, just like I have other vehicles. A lot easier than washing it every day just for it to be filthy the next.

 

I go to the quarter car wash a few times a week in winter and de salt the jeep. In the spring I scuff up underside of rails and chassis and paint it. My 08 X did not come with any lower rocker accessory from factory. I added a set of Ruby rock rails a few years later, to add lower body protection, especially from rocks and other debris beating on the body/paint. I waxed rockers before install and after I painted underside very well with rustoleum to help protect from rust/rot out. So far so good and they have been through two winters. They will just need touching up each spring if you want to keep them looking new.

 

I'll second Incognito's recommendation of Boeshield. It is especially good for salt environments.

I paddle a folding kayak (Folbot) and my coastal friends all use Boeshield on the aluminum frame of their boats to keep the salt water from freezing up the joints and corroding the surface of the tubing.

It's more expensive than WD-40 but lasts much longer. If you cover all the surfaces necessary, you only have to do it once or twice a year.