Inspecting a 2018 Axis, saw this underneath: normal or pass?

[ElectricZ]

Hi all, found a 2018 Axis that is really well maintained internally from what I can see, but crawling underneath up front there were some components that looked to be completely covered in rust. I'm no expert and intend to hire a professional inspector to check the unit out, but do either of these pictures raise any red flags that should make me abort before bringing the inspector, or is this "meh, it's standard for the E450, go for it!"


Thanks!

[taylorbob1]

My new ‘17 (‘16 E450 stripped chassis) had similar rust when purchased off the dealer’s lot.
Everything on the chassis functions fine in my 4yrs of ownership (knock on wood).

My hunch is that during pre-Covid, the stripped chassis sat on the Thor lot, exposed to the elements for many months prior to house build.

[JamieGeek]

Welcome to the forums.

My 2014 has looked like that for a long time. It is a protective coating of rust.

Works fine

[sportcoupe]

Normal. Brand new chassis get that rust within weeks of being built.

[Sappy2]

Normal rust on cast components. No big deal. Parts like these used to get painted some time back, but Ford (like others) thrifted this out.

[Pete'sMH]

Entirely normal. Probably your everyday driver car looks about the same.

[MLP]

Surface rust not rot. If there were pitting and rot that would be different. There is none in that picture.

[craigd853]

Originally Posted by ElectricZ

Hi all, found a 2018 Axis that is really well maintained internally from what I can see, but crawling underneath up front there were some components that looked to be completely covered in rust. I'm no expert and intend to hire a professional inspector to check the unit out, but do either of these pictures raise any red flags that should make me abort before bringing the inspector, or is this "meh, it's standard for the E450, go for it!"


Thanks!

Hello, not a red flag but at one time during it's life it had sat on a porous area that holds moisture. A lot of folks don't understand that when you park rv's on grass or dirt/gravel that the moisture from the ground condensates on the parts underneath your rv. This is not bad though and nothing to worry about as one other poster said this is a cast product and does this when exposed to moisture.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by craigd853

Hello, not a red flag but at one time during it's life it had sat on a porous area that holds moisture. A lot of folks don't understand that when you park rv's on grass or dirt/gravel that the moisture from the ground condensates on the parts underneath your rv. This is not bad though and nothing to worry about as one other poster said this is a cast product and does this when exposed to moisture.

AND...I'll add to that...if your unit sits on grass or dirt for extended periods it will accelerate tire dry-rot as well. Place brick pavers or gravel patches on the areas where the tires will sit.

[dkoldman]

So did you buy? Any more pictures to share?

FWIW, I had brand new 2019 RV and a Ford Commercial Truck Center could not remove a rusted bolt holding U brackets to the axle frame without fear of running the U bolt brackets. My 2019 RV has 2018 Chassis and it is no telling where it was parked at Ford and at the RV Mfgs.

[txc2936@yahoo.com]

Interesting post.

I have started inspecting the underside of the RV for rust and corrosion. That wheel parts look normal to me, However, I have started applying something similar to Flex Seal black to the underside components starting to rust. This includes welded joints, U bolts, frame parts that start to corrode. I stay away from wheels, shocks, exhaust or engine parts.