mudflaps, stoneguard, etc.

[herm]

I noticed Montainborn has some heavy-duty mudflaps on the back of his Jeep (looks like same ones you see on semi trailers), and that got me thinking about the issue of protecting the front of the Oliver from 'road rash'.

 

For those that have put significant miles on their Olivers, how big of a problem is this? Are mudflaps necessary to keep the Oliver ding-free? Or, is it simply unavoidable?

[bugeyedriver]

Herm,

 

Maintaining the appearance of our Ollies is important to all of us . . . good question. I think "to FLAP or not to FLAP" depends on your tow vehicle's presence of mud guards and the roads you are likely to encounter. I know Mountainborn and Butchterknife do some serious boondocking in the hinterlands and, as such, are more likely than not to encounter dirt and gravel roads. His Wrangler does not have any mud guards of its own, so adding the semi-trailer like flaps is a good thing for him at times..

 

In my case and experience, I tow with a Tacoma that already has some factory installed mud guards and the 2500 miles of traveling I've put on the Wonder Egg were on paved roads. (Except for about a 5 mile gravel road) So far I am ding free.

 

Next week, Oscar & I shall head out on about a 4000 mile adventure which will predominantly be on paved roads. I'll check along the way and let you know if I see any problems. I'm hopeful that all will go well . . .

[SeaDawg]

Herm, we do spend some time on gravel roads, so Paul got Rock Tamers from Costco (you don't have to be a member to order them online... best price we found... around $180 if I remember correctly). They are removeable, so you can take them off when you aren't towing, or aren't planning to be on gravel. Similar to the Road Wings on Mountainborn's jeep. We have smaller mudflaps permanently mounted on all four wheelwells of the truck, and little mudflaps on the Oliver too.

Sherry

 

edited 8/12 for price correction ... Sherry

[herm]

Thanks for the Rock Tamer recommendation, Sherry. I don't expect to travel on any gravel roads, but you never know where you find yourself sometimes...better safe than sorry, I guess. Also, I never even considered mudflaps for the Oliver..I bet that keeps the undercarriage a little cleaner.

 

The Rock Tamers seem to get very favorable reviews, and I see that Cabela's sells them for about $190 (if anyone else in interested). Assuming they're not too wide for my TV, I'll probably be ordering a set in the near future.

[Kkmain]

Hello everyone, we very much enjoy reading the forum. There sure are a lot of Alpha Dogs out there - I am reaching out for opinions on mud flaps. I have been online studying the many options. I was thinking that I could get only quality mud flaps OR spray the front of our Oliver II with bed liner material. Do I need both? Our tow vehicle is a 2018 2500HD GMC Duramax 4x4. Looking forward to picking up our Oliver II (The Pearl) in January and attending the rally in May.

[John E Davies]

I am reaching out for opinions on mud flaps. I have been online studying the many options. I was thinking that I could get only quality mud flaps OR spray the front of our Oliver II with bed liner material. Do I need both? Our tow vehicle is a 2018 2500HD GMC Duramax 4×4. 

There are three schools of thought about rock damage....

 

Do nothing, maybe add mudflaps on the truck, live with the damage. I suspect most folks in this category live in the East and rarely venture off a hard road.

 

Add mudflaps on the truck and coat the front of the trailer (bounce off any stones). Probably a good tactic if you might get off pavement once in a while, but there are still risks to trailer and to vehicle (ricochets).

 

Isolate all the carnage underneath the trailer: add mudflaps and frame protection on the trailer and a Stone Stomper up front. Works great on the worst surfaces except sticky mud or freezing rain, which will overload the fabric.

 

I am Door Number Three, but I tow on gravel frequently and do not want to worry about a three hour trip on loose ranch roads.

 

How fancy do,you want to get, are you prepared to spend some cash, can you do the fabrication yourself, can you live with a constant minor PITA to stop almost all the damage? If you aren’t really anal like me, then the third option is probably overkill.

 

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

 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-to-rear-mud-flaps-for-the-ollie/

 

I was told by the Stone Stomper owner that other folks here in the USA have ordered them, but I sure haven’t seen a pic or mention of it anywhere. If you go this route you will be a member of a very small club.... After about 6000 miles of use I think the SS is the absolute best protection you can get. I won’t leave home without it.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[KountryKamper]

If your just worried about rock chips and road rash we added automotive paint protection film. We have traveled over 10,000 miles so far with it and have no chips and it has held up great. It applies like window film and I forget it's even on the trailer. We also added mud flaps to our 2500 HD.

 

 

 

https://www.invisiblemask.com/imask/index.php?route=product/category&path=76

 

 

 

 

[SeaDawg]

So, I'm sometimes overwhelmed with nostalgia when a poster resurrects my 10 or 11 year old post. Thank you for that.  Herm and pete and i have camped together many times, since then,  but we all met here....

 

The rock guards have worked pretty well for us, but we don't spend all our time on gravel roads. We have had a few small chips repaired.  Im totally  envious of johm davies stome stompers. Someday,  a US company will import them.

 

In the meantime,  if you do a ton of gravel, at road speed, look at foam guards or vortex, something else in addition  to the rock guards or road wings.

 

Btw. Costco no longer carries our removeable big mud flaps, but you can get them on amazon and other sites.  For a higher price, of course, as my original info is over 10 years old now....

 

Sherry