A few suggestions:
Rust protection is kind of a game and a crapshoot. Here in the rust belt, my immed fam has combined owned about 15 cars over the past 30-35 years with each exposed severely to the very, very salty Chicago winters. We had rustproofing on 2 cars and they still rusted. One faster than the cars without. The other, a Mercedes, held out the longest, but we figured being a Mercedes, the rustproofing was kind of moot.
Since the 1990s however, GM went through significant changes to the body panels. More like Mercedes with zinc coatings and such. What I've done has been to wash the car whenever it gets dirty and wax the car a few times a year. I also POR-15 the wheel wells and the under carriage. Works better I find and has less smell than some of the tar they spray all over (at least that's what the did when we got rust proofing). Plus the only cost was my labor.
Additionally, the warranty most places provide require that upkeep on the rustproofing be done or they don't pay for rust that pops up. I find that if you care for the car as suggested (wash, wax and keep the undercarrage clean and painted as the factory GM wax coating melts away), you can get 25 years out of a car and over 100k before rust will eventually get it, by which point it's time for a replacement car/truck anyway. Laugh or not, before I POR-15d the undercarrages, I'd wax the undercarrage. It does help. Cars I did either to, had fewer floorpan issues caused from the outside elements. Of course good floormats keep the moisture away from the inside too and would also be a good investment as well.
Mudflaps, mudflaps, mudflaps. Not sure about the particular year you are looking at how GM config the body, but GM for some reason just LOVES to keep the exposed rear fender painted sheet metal. The tires kick up all kinds of fun stuff and eventually the lower rear quarter takes it really bad. Also the mud flaps added to the rear particularly will also protect the front of the Airstream from rocks that fly off the rear wheels. Being as high, the odds are greater you'll launch a projectile back there. Happened with our Impala SS. Those big tires picked up everything! I custom installed some mudflaps that hung about 1-1.5" from the ground and the small dents in the front that were happening on the Airstream totally stopped. Even when on nasty gravel roads.
If the dealer won't work with ya on the nerf bars, try eBay. Never know, someone might be able to use 'em. Even if it's only a few bucks, a buck in your pocket is always better than one in the dealers.
Have fun. I know what a fun time it is to get a new car/truck. Enjoy and happy Streamin' with your new toy!
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