Forum Discussion

elle8's avatar
elle8
Explorer
Apr 05, 2014

installing a mud flap

evening ,,, going fulltime newbie here ,,,, 21 days away ,,,36 ft winnie vista 2011,,, i will be towing a jeep wrangler . is it necessary to have a mud flap on for protection of toad . and if so which kind is best . i see the full rubber ones and then i see the grass looking kind . i am thinking that the grass is lighter , therefore saving on gas . i trying to be very weight conscious . and are they easy to install or should i have it done .

thank you ,,,rickybobby
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Apr 06, 2014
    What one person said about the grass/solid ones, if they touch the ground they can throw pebbles up even better than the tires can.

    My vote is for the Protect-a-tow... What I use, different name, but identical product, parts are interchangeable they are that identical.
  • tenbear's avatar
    tenbear
    Explorer
    Apr 06, 2014
    I have used a full rubber, full width flap and has worked fine. Just keep it about 4" from the road. I always slow down to about 30 mph, or less, when on a gravel road.
  • Clay_L's avatar
    Clay_L
    Explorer
    Apr 06, 2014
    I used a grass type for ten years and it helps with pebbles a lot.
    Both the grass and solid ones are supposed to be installed so that there is about six inches of road clearance. If they are too close to the road pebbles can be thrown up.
  • 2gypsies1's avatar
    2gypsies1
    Explorer III
    Apr 06, 2014
    We drove to Alaska and folks were removing their stiff flaps because of rocks flying and landing at the base of their windshield. We saw some with a layer of rocks laying there. We don't have a flap of any kind and received no damage to our Jeep.
  • Trackrig's avatar
    Trackrig
    Explorer II
    Apr 06, 2014
    We started towing a 2002 Wrangler behind out DP last year and I can't say that I notice any more rock chips now than it originaly had. A Jeep sits higher than most toads. Because it did need a new headlight, I installed Lexan headlights that wouldn't be broken by a flying rock and they let me install whatever brightness of bulb that I wanted. didn't install any additional mud flaps or rock screens.

    Bill
  • Dutch_12078's avatar
    Dutch_12078
    Explorer II
    Apr 05, 2014
    Full width flaps have been known to kick up road debris in some circumstances, and "grass skirts" can kick up a lot of dust at times. I found that the best solution for keeping our toad cleaner and damage free was installing a "Protect-A-Tow. It even keeps the back of the coach cleaner, and only takes a minute to hook up.

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