Closing the Gap | Mud Flaps Mod

[Minnesota Oli]

Sharing my modification to bring mudflaps closer to protect everything beyond the wheel well.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Minnesota Oli

[mountainoliver]

Great work!

[SeaDawg]

Nicely done!

[Overland]

Wow, very nice job!

[Landrover]

Nice work well built 👍🏼

[choied]

sweet geezus...nice!

[John E Davies]

Pretty. I can't tell, where is the 'fuse"? If you whack the side into a big fixed boulder while backing into a campsite, where will the bar break or bend? Will the small screws shear? What size did you choose?

Thanks.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited February 11, 2021 by John E Davies

[mustang]

I like your mud flap mod , do you have a pattern or drawing to make bracket? tks ron

[Minnesota Oli]

4 hours ago, John E Davies said:

Pretty. I can't tell, where is the 'fuse"? If you whack the side into a big fixed boulder while backing into a campsite, where will the bar break or bend? Will the small screws shear? What size did you choose?

Thanks.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 I used two 1/4"-20 and there at the end of a 12" long bar, so I,am thinking they should shear.

[Minnesota Oli]

1 hour ago, mustang said:

I like your mud flap mod , do you have a pattern or drawing to make bracket? tks ron

I will try to make up some prints and get them posted.

[Minnesota Oli]

On 2/11/2021 at 7:54 PM, Minnesota Oli said:

I will try to make up some prints and get them posted.

 Here are some prints of the main parts needed to mount flaps. i just want to make a couple of points to maybe help someone making this mod. The first one is to remind people that this is a wonderful custom built trailer and like snowflakes they may look the same but each one is unique in it's self. I strongly recommend that you take the print and build a mock up out of a stiff piece of cardboard or a thin piece of plywood. Then put up in place and check the fit of the mount holes and how it aligns with the fender well. This way you will see if adjustments to the holes need to be made. The part that the rubber flap is bolted to has to align perpendicular to the trailers main frame and be aligned with the trailing edge of the wheel well. This way when the rubber flap is bolted on it will extend a little way up into the wheel well and also match the seam of the trim that goes around the outside of the wheel well. You may have to refer to the pictures included in this post to see what I mean, pictures are truly worth thousand words. I suggest getting the main mount plate held by the mounting bolts of the stabilizer jack, checking position and alignment to the wheel well then hold or clamp 3" x 12"long x 1/2" thick plate up against the trailer frame and aligned with the edge of the mount plate. Now transfer the two 1/4" mounting holes positions to the edge of the 3" x 12" plate. These can now be drilled and tapped.

 On my trailer the curbside stabilizer jack is mounted 1/2" closer to the wheel then the street side that is why there are two sets of prints for that part.

 They are somewhat picky to install, but I think they are the most effective at protecting the trailer. 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Minnesota Oli
fix typos

[choied]

omg!!!

[John E Davies]

Very nice, what a professional work of art! Would you care to share the material used, so some folks won’t just grab some dead soft aluminum? I could guess what you used, but this is your rodeo....

Thank you.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

 

[Minnesota Oli]

Hi John

 This 6061 aluminum, I had little bit of it on hand. It description from the catalog is; This is the most versatile of the heat treatable aluminum alloys. It has most of the good qualities of aluminum, and it offers a wide range of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.

Applications- This grade is used for a wide variety of products and applications from truck bodies and frames to screw machine parts and structural components. 

[Wanderers]

Just ordered an Elite 2 and wondering why this is not offered as an option from the shop after the build? Most people that purchase these units will be pounding many road miles. Our is heading to Canada where the road are terrible. 

I'll be installing flaps for sure and would like to see Oliver add it as a custom install after the factory line.

PerryG

[John E Davies]

Perry, this topic has been around for many years and lots of people have asked your exact question. You need to contact Oliver Sales, if enough people push for an option, very often it becomes available. That is how it works…. I somehow thought that units exported to Canada required them, but I might be mistaken. The design posted here by Minnesota Oli is simply beautiful, but it requires machine tools and very good fabrication skills. You can do your own in an simpler way if you are reasonably handy. Several owners have copied this.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2513-how-to-rear-mud-flaps-for-the-ollie/

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[Wanderers]

Hey John, as others have stated the answer is no for simple mods. Canadians get the same trailer as the USA. Just a bit more paper work needed for entry into Canada. It would be nice if a member with cad programing would provide a file we could then send out to a shop willing to fab it up. I love the above solution with the indent for the frame. 

I'll be bugging the sales guy but I can't even pick different tires

 

 

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, Wanderers said:

I'll be bugging the sales guy but I can't even pick different tires

 

 

If it's any comfort, my wife and I have an Elite II "in the queue", and we get the same answer to our requests.   We have come to accept it as a necessary result of the present economy.  Fortunately, we're happy with the stock LT tires!

 

[Mike and Carol]

2 hours ago, Wanderers said:

I'll be bugging the sales guy but I can't even pick different tires

If they are still using the Cooper tires, I just put a set on my trailer last January and I’m very happy with them after a little over 10K miles.  I’m thinking I’ll use the same tires on my truck.  Mike

[katanapilot]

I'm a huge Michelin fan and when we first started looking at Ollies, the sales brochure stated Michelin tires and Trojan batteries.  When we visited Hohenwald and ordered our Ollie, I was very disappointed to find out the tires were Coopers and the batteries were some Chinese made no-name (BrightWay).

I must admit the Cooper tires have been just fine and it sounds like most folks have had similar results.  The batteries - well that remains to be seen.

The tires were changed because Michelin no longer made the LTX tires in the required size.  The batteries, I can only guess it's because the BrightWay batteries were a lot cheaper.

I'll still only put Michelin tires on my trucks and cars though...

[katanapilot]

On 2/14/2021 at 5:42 PM, Minnesota Oli said:

Hi John

 This 6061 aluminum, I had little bit of it on hand. It description from the catalog is; This is the most versatile of the heat treatable aluminum alloys. It has most of the good qualities of aluminum, and it offers a wide range of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.

Applications- This grade is used for a wide variety of products and applications from truck bodies and frames to screw machine parts and structural components. 

Really nice work.  Did you CNC the aluminum brackets or use a milling machine? I love working with sheet metal almost as much as woodworking, so this would be a great addition for our trip to Alaska next year.

[Minnesota Oli]

 Yes this was done on a knee mill that I retrofitted with a 2 axis cnc kit. Now this is very helpful for making these pieces for this project but since there are only two pieces and the winter is long there is no reason why they could not be fabricated with hand tools similar to making the pieces out of wood. By this I mean drill press, band saw, drum sander, and the like.

 I'm very happy with the outcome of the project. Earlier this year I took Oliver into places that I probably shouldn't have, another words I was a little concerned at the time but afterwards all came out fine.Places like Rabbit Valley, Colorado and Moab, Utah, I'm talking a lot of deep ruts in the roadway and lots of rocks and the mudflaps survived with no issues. They do a great job of protecting the complete under side of the trailer beyond the wheel wells. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LongStride]

Excellent work!  Very impressive.

[Wanderers]

Now if we can only get Oliver to get us Australian style mud flaps for our trailers. good to here the outcome of your trip and no rock rash.

PerryG

[John E Davies]

28 minutes ago, Wanderers said:

Now if we can only get Oliver to get us Australian style mud flaps for our trailers. good to here the outcome of your trip and no rock rash.

Was this what you had in mind?

I love the tow vehicle. Or this?:

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6238-stone-stomper-in-the-muck-stewart-cassiar-hwy-british-columbia/

John Davies

Spokane WA