Just wondering if anyone's ripped off their front mudflaps.
I know Bud has

Anyway, in CA it's law to have them on and I like the protection they offer. I had a few ideas and Bob (of Bob_98sr5 infamy) made a suggestion that seems to be structurally sound.

Bob, I hope you don't mind the use of this image!

I couldn't go completely with this suggestion because of some space issues. But it did lead to my current solution.

Anyhow... anyone interested? I made a quick trip to my local Ace Hardwares and had all the necessary parts for less than $5.

I'm currently testing my fix out and it seems pretty solid. A little more driving in the rain and we'll see if it holds.

No pics 'cause Kodak has my digital camera and it's been too dark to take any PDA pics.

 

A little off the subject, but do all trucks have to have front mudflaps? Or is it just trucks that came with them standard?

My truck doesn't have any.

 

I ripped off my mudflaps all the time with my Tacoma. The service manager at the dealer told me they would have covered it under the 3/36 warranty.

But I like the reinforcement idea. I ripped 3 out or 4 flaps off my Taco when I had it. I only recovered one. The other two are out in the desert somewhere.

 

I assume you're going to remove them the next time you go offroading because they'll just get ripped off again, but this time it'll do more damage since they're reinforced. I went and got some cheapo mudflaps from pepboys ($10 for 2, I think) and used industrial strength velcro. Now, I just take them off before I go wheeling.

 

The only reason these bad boys ripped was because of my attempting some rock climbing that I had nowhere near enough clearance for

Can you guys tell me typically what type of activity rips these things out? I wasn't looking so I have no idea how I did it

Steve - I'm hoping that this isn't a temp fix. If it does rip again I'm not so sure it would produce any further damage. The flap would probably be unsalvageable but then I'd be right back where I was before. An acceptable loss

 

they get ripped off because the truck actually rolls over them. so like Robin Hood said, they'll just get ripped off again and probably cause more damage. Mine got ripped off when backing up over an obstacle. the obstacle was high enough to hit the mudflap and push it into the tire while backing up. the mudflap is now pinned between the obstacle and the tire. so the tire basically rolls up the mud flap and tears it right off with the force of the weight of the vehicle.

 

Interesting...
Well we'll see how long these last

 

ewarner,

that's interesting that the flaps do that. good observation.

peter: is there a way where you can secure these w/ a wing nut? so you can easily remove them when you hit the trails?

bob

 

Exactly what ewarnerusa said. I ripped mine off while driving backwards chasing a coyote (dont ask) :pat:

 

Bob, I think a wingnut up front would rub the tire in turns. In the rear it works pretty well.

Steve, does the velcro stuff get clogged with dirt or do you cover the pieces on the truck with tape or something? I used that stuff to hold my CB in place for a long time. I think it would be up to the job.

 

No, I put the hook part on the truck and the fuzzy loop part on the mudflap. That way when I remove the mudflap, the fuzzy one stays clean. The hook part cleans up easily with a hose.

The only problem I found is that the adhesive on the fuzzy side doesn't want to stick to the plastic mudflap. So, I used a bunch of small nuts and screws to fasten it to the mudflap. Rivets would have been better, but I don't have a rivet gun.

 

I was thinking more like that Superlock stuff they sell at Radio Shack. Neither side of that is fuzzy but sand would clog it I think. Electrical tape would fix that.

 

I ripped mine off backing up a curb........on the street.....at my house......:pat:

 

you win!

 

Yeah, I've never used that stuff but it seems like it should work. I bet mud and sand would just wash away with a hose.

 

Only thing I can think of is to keep the current fix and lop off the bottom 80% of the flap (where it is flat and even) and wingnut it back on top of itself.

I'm not sure what kind of stress that would put on the wingnut holes though...