I agree... Mud will wash off a truck! It is funny to me how many guys will build a big bad diesel truck but won't dare let it get muddy!!!! I will run my DMax project truck through the mud once it is done!!! For Sure!!!! It will be fun!!!
Actually no it doesn't. And the tie-rod ends, steering box and balance never come back either. Neither do the spring eye bushing, axletubes or anything else's ability to be full of grease instead of sediment. Plus, next time you drop the trans or anything else under the truck... a big old chunk of what just washes right off hits you in the head.... about a zillion different times, in about a zillion different places.
Any of the exhaust or trans pan, oilpan, basically anything hot, gets the mud instantly hardened to it, on the spot, no questions asked.
When I look up under your truck 6 years later, I immediately know this truck has had the sh*t beaten out of it and don't buy it from you when you try to sell it. Course there will be 9 guys right behind me to give you top dollar so don't worry. They can fight the loose play and the nonstop replacing of u-joints, balljoints and carrier bearings, plus listen to all the creaks and moans of all the bushings up under the truck full of sediment.
But the moral of the story is that wheeling a truck doesn't just go away with a quick flick of a water hose. The truck will never be as tight as it was before. You either pick to have a clean, reliable truck, or you wheel the piss out of it. If you choose to do both, get ready for loose play, constant issues with ball joint replacements, tire balancing and just generally shortening the service life of everything.
That's not to say it's not worth it to some, or with certain vehicles. But we shouldn't pretend that you can bog the piss out of a truck and not expect to pay the price back on the street. It definitely doesn't just wash right off.
With that said, I'd be more than willing to drink beer and watch others figure this out the hard way. I'm all for it.