TxTwoSome wrote:
Easy enough to add a longer rubber flap. If they do not work as planned we will see. I will probably add thicker rubber to them anyway. This worked great for the dump valves and that was my main objective.
Hi TxTwo,
Good job. Thanks for sharing.
The comment on not being long enough, well it depends on what is trying to be accomplished. Your flaps are below center of the tire. You might need thicker rubber or a brace on the rubber to not have the front flap hit the tire "if" that becomes a problem. Don't know for sure, just passing along.
BUT, what you have will do some good. I added them to mine and the length is similar. I was after to stop all the water flying off the wheel and plastering it all over the underside of the camper waterproof membrane. If a hole ever gets in that membrane, water slings in the holes and then you have water on the inside of the membrane and cannot get out. It goes down hill from there.
On a heavy trucks, like dump trucks etc the large extra heavy flap can do down to appr 3" off the ground. In this case they are trying to keep mud, dirt etc from flying off onto other vehicles on the road. And they also have a lot more wheel well room then on a TT.
When I was researching mine, a guy put them on his fiver and had to take them off as too much water stayed inside the flap area and drenched his slide floor seal with water getting up into the camper. The only thing he could figure out was, he could not get rid of enough water fast enough in a heavy rain. Again, RV's are not setup for flaps on day one. There is not a lot of room in the wheel wells to create the same setup as on a dump truck. In my case, I did not want the flap to go to the 3" from the ground. All I was after was keeping the underbelly dry.
On my setup, my underbelly is now dry all the time. Yes water is still up on the sides of the camper from road splash, but not like it was. I have no issues with water getting in the slide floor seal so what I'm letting fly out is enough to not affect the slide yet keep the underbelly dry. I was concerned making them longer as the front flap may get hung up in the tire being as close as it is. They also do not swing like on a dump truck can. Concern was them getting hit in a pot hole etc and then the flap get bent up and worse it bend up the camper siding. Again, not a lot of room for the flap to swing free. In fact, I have no swing and on purpose.
For what I needed, they are a positive upgrade. A large number of pickup trucks or cars do not go as close to the ground as the dump truck example. They still do better then not having them. Some points to consider if you go longer.
Here are some pics of mine. I have more if needed.
Slide side
Slide out
Front slide side
Hope this helps
John
