HOW TO: Rear mud flaps for the Ollie

[NCeagle]

On 8/17/2018 at 7:06 AM, John E Davies said:

1 x 2 x 1/8" wall, I do not know the radius diameter, I think it is 0.25" but not positive. See the 4th post on that Stone Stomper thread. ...Here is the metal source (local to me, great prices):  https://alcobrametals.com/product/AQ1.00ER

 

This is one of the front flap bars, it is drilled differently from the rear mudflaps:

 

 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-to-stone-stomper-gravel-guard/

 

There is no need to use the radius corners, but I do think that they look classy compared to square ones, and they save your knuckles from scrapes when you are washing the trailer. The 1x2" rectangular shape is way more rigid than a 1x1" square tube, be sure to drill some "failure holes" as shown in that thread, so the bar will fold rearward gracefully if hit hard, instead of transmitting all the impact energy to the subframe. You do not want the subframe to get damaged if you run over a truck tire retread or a scrap of lumber at freeway speeds.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

John, thanks for sharing this years ago.  A gift that keeps on giving since the Elites still don't come with a mud flap option. 🙂  I'm going to tackle this mod soon.  I happen to have enough 1" x 1" x 3/64" scrap steel square tubing for this job but I'm willing to get 1" x 2" aluminum if there's big benefits.  To John and others that have done this mod, is 1" square steel tubing feasible?  Thanks in advance!

[John E Davies]

32 minutes ago, NCeagle said:

 I happen to have enough 1" x 1" x 3/64" scrap steel square tubing for this job but I'm willing to get 1" x 2" aluminum if there's big benefits.  To John and others that have done this mod, is 1" square steel tubing feasible?  Thanks in advance!

Feasible, but undesirable IMHO. Rust, mainly. It will be very hard to keep looking nice. You could get the parts plated after drilling and cutting. I strongly recommend 6061-T6 aluminum. It is very easy to work with and will always look great unless you tow in winter (salt/ mag chloride). Plus it matches the main frame material perfectly. If you don’t have a nearby non-ferrous metals supplier you can order online, for example: https://alcobrametals.com/aluminum/tube-rectangular/6061-t6-rectangular-tube

Thanks for the kind words, they are greatly appreciated. Post some pics when you are done.

FYI, Stone Stomper uses square steel for their front skirt arms, those and the hardware are yellow cad plated, it seems to be quite durable and looks fine. No signs of rust after four years. I ordered extra parts in case the got pranged up or started looking bad, but so far they have not been needed. 

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited March 3, 2021 by John E Davies

[NCeagle]

I did end up using the 1"x1" steel since it's galvanized, I plan on towing in winter / salt, and needed to find something useful for it.  I "galvanized" it again after cutting and drilling.  I'm going to keep a close eye on it and if it starts to rust, I'll take it off and replace it with aluminum.  I used M5-0.8 Socket Head Cap Screws for everything.  I did not use washers on the 2 bolts / screws that attach the bar to the frame.  The screw / bolt head diameters are not much larger than the threaded portion of the bolt so l "hope" that's my "fuse" to protect the frame if there's a solid strike on the bar.

I sure wish OTT had mud flaps standard or as an option.  I already had a few "dings" in the gelcoat from driving it home after delivery that could/would have been prevented with flaps.  😞 

Numerous owners have done this mod, so I'm not adding anything innovative or new here, but I know pictures are worth thousands of words and maybe will help someone thinking of doing this mod, so here they are:

  

[Fargoman]

I finished installing mud flaps on our 2021 LE2 today. The street side mud flap does not clear the basement door, as on JED's trailer, but the door does open fully when the upper part of the flap is bent forward a bit. That's not a big deal, but I do wonder what the difference is between our trailers. The 1"x2" aluminum tubing I used is attached to the forward part of the lateral angle that is part of the sub-frame, and the flap is attached to the front of the aluminum support as in the photos of other installations. I suspect that the lateral angle piece is welded to the sub-frame further to the rear of the trailer, rather than there being a difference in the size of the basement door opening.

I added plugs to the exposed ends of the aluminum supports to give a more finished appearance. I bought them on Amazon (where else?).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CNCCR7S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[John E Davies]

That is a neat and tidy job, did you add some drain holes underneath the support bars? One reason I left mine open was so water couldn’t pool inside and I could inspect them easily.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Fargoman]

Hi John. I did not drill drain holes in the bottom of the support bars. The plugs are only in the outer exposed ends, so any water that gets into the bars should drain or evaporate from the open inner ends under the trailer.

Thanks again for the inspiration to make this modification.

[Fritz]

John (or others that have done this mod): did you run the rectangular 6061 tubing across the entire trailer, or did you use a separate piece for each side?  Seems like two pieces about 30 inches in length should do the job...

Did you drill the "breakaway" holes on the front side of the bar (where they would tear if the mudflap were hit from the front) or on the rear side of the bar (where they would pinch if the mudflats were hit from the front), or both?

Thanks again for your initial write-up, and to all the others that have contributed...

[John E Davies]

Refer to the thread mentioned at the start of Page 1, there are lots of pics and dimensions. Go about 1/3 of the way down this page:  .. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2504-how-to-stone-stomper-gravel-guard/

The bars should be short and separated, so if one does get crunched it will simply fold up along the drilled weak point and be easier to remove than a nearly 8 foot long piece. Way cheaper too.. The current price of this material starts at $6 per foot, decreasing a little with a longer piece.  …  plus shipping, if you don’t have a local supplier. … https://alcobrametals.com/product/1-x-2x-1-8-wall-radius-corner/

Thanks for the thanks!

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Fritz]

Got it -- thanks again!  

For others, and for the sake of mudflap-thread completeness, the relevant pic (I think) from John's Stone Stomper thread is attached below.  Well-reasoned and thorough, as always.

[Frank C]

Finally got around to doing my mud flap project.  I used 1” square single slot aluminum T slot rail and 1/4”-20 T slot nuts (from McMaster Carr) with 1/4”-20 stainless screws & washers.  A 2’ long section of T slot rail on each side of the trailer, with 12” wide mud flaps (from Husky, very nice quality thick molded mud flaps) cut to the Oliver trailer hull profile.   The T slot rails come with a hard anodized finish so no issue with galvanic corrosion when mounted in contact with the steel subframe.  The T slot nuts hide a lot of the mounting hardware for a clean appearance.  And the street side flap needed the upper corner cut away to allow the basement door to open fully.  Thanks to John and others for the inspiration for this project. 
 

[Katjo]

18 minutes ago, Frank C said:

Finally got around to doing my mud flap project.  I used 1” square single slot T slot rail and 1/4”-20 T slot nuts from McMaster Carr) with 1/4”-20 stainless screws & washers.  A 2’ long section of T slot rail on each side of the trailer, with 12” wide mud flaps (from Husky, very nice quality thick molded mud flaps) cut to the Oliver trailer hull profile.   The T slot rails come with a hard anodized finish so no issue with galvanic corrosion when mounted in contact with the steel subframe.  And the T slot nuts hide a lot of the mounting hardware for a clean appearance.  And the street side flap needed the upper corner cut away to allow the basement door to open fully.  Thanks to John for the inspiration for this project. 
 

Nice job!!👍🏼

[Galway Girl]

The length of the screws are important.  Can you recall how long the screws were that you used and which stainless formula?

 

[Frank C]

1 hour ago, Galway Girl said:

The length of the screws are important.  Can you recall how long the screws were that you used and which stainless formula?

 

If you’re asking about my installation, the screws just came from Lowe’s as “stainless”, no mention of what grade or type of stainless.  And I don’t recall the length, probably 1/2” or 5/8”.  The Husky mud flaps are pretty thick, plus the thickness of large diameter stainless flat washers and lock washers (and I used LocTite as well on the threads.  I didn’t want the mud flaps coming loose! 🙂).  But you are correct, the right length is important to prevent the screw from bottoming out in the aluminum T slot extrusion before it actually clamps down on the mud flap or the frame cross rail.  

[Galway Girl]

Thanks for the info.  I ended up needing 3/4" bolts 1/4 x 20 along with the shoulder and lock washers.

Project completed in about 4 hours thanks to all the previous excellent write ups.

They fit perfectly just behind the red Andersen tubs we use for the stabilizers.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Galway Girl
Added PIX