hideous mud flaps

hey everyone i was wondering how many of you have taken off your stock mudflaps and have not run into any issues such as paint chipping/peeling i live in new england and the roads here get salty and have sand in the winter i was wondering what your input would be saying if i would be safe to take them off without any problems or just leave them on thanks

 

i'd leave them on cause you'll get tons of chipping. If you took them off you might want to Herculine your lower rocker panel. One of my buddies did this and it holds up nice.

 

I drive on gritty mud and sand fairly often and I haven't had any issues with sandblasting or chipping.

Even with my tires extended past the fender wells...

 

I took a dremel and shortened mine...made a great bit of difference! I really like the look of them off, but in the midwest the winter would do a number to my paint methinks without the flaps.

 

If you do not off road much, and like a clean looking truck, leave them on to help keep the salt and road debris off. If you go off road, they will come off on their own at some point, so just take them off. Sell them on e-Bay and buy a new mod for the truck... I sold mine for $175 for the set. Took mine off the day I got home with the new truck... no paint issues thus far

 

ugh still debating i might have that clear vinal that you can put on the front of you car to protect from bugs and rocks installed to cover where the dirt ,salt and sand would hit her the most

 

i took mine off about a year ago... one or two SMALL chips in a year...they could be waxed out but i really dont care...its a truck dings, dints, and scratches are character

 

Not necessarily true. I have none, though I do have nerf bars.

 

tacoma are made to take the beatings..... if you feel the rocker panels they are not smooth, yes they will ding at some point but not as bad as smooth paint. i only removed my front ones though

 

I used a dremel on my front mud flaps and shortened them up around an inch and a half.
If I'm not mistaken the area under the doors has allready been covered from the factory with chip resistant material. If it doesn't hold up, have it Rhino Lined or LineX'ed and have it color matched to your truck.

 

good idea with the rhino

 

took mine off - cut them down 1/2 size, sanded a nice rounded edge on them, using the bottoms as a template - much nicer look now

 

Okay I don't know where you guys drive, what the roads are like, or how many miles you have racked up- but I had my mudflaps on for 25,000 or so miles, and then pulled them off for around 25,000 or so miles (some semi-frequent dirt roads, off-roading, and gravel drives) and the paint seriously got chipped up and scuffed up after they were removed. This was along the lower sides of the truck. The worst area was between the rear wheels and the rear bumper. The paint there looked rough. I got my truck re-painted and the mudflaps, while trimmed up, are staying on!!!! This was just my experience.

 

just cut them. That way you still have protection with out the breakage.

are we still talking mud flaps or condoms?

 

I just cut my front ones. I think it looks a lot better. I trimmed them up because I went out wheeling and I didn't want to rip them off going over rocks and stuff. Just trim them up and you will be good to go!

 

^ + 2, tin snips are the shiz for cutting the flaps. I cut about 3 inches off of the front flaps and it looks great

 

Thats what I did.

 

^^^ Yeah and any file or sand paper works great to smooth it out-

 

I can't speak to the possible damage from having them gone, but I have removed and sold mine off of my 09. I plan on keeping an eye on it and if necessary getting a set of Powerflow mudflaps. Much cheaper and better looking than stock. Downside is that holes would need to be drilled into the fender to mount 'em up.

 

I did a write up from taking my flaps off...using the 3m clear vinyl. It works great, no chips or anything, and have held up great for about 2 months now.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...-rear-mudflaps-protection-mod.html#post827935