Opinions on Mud Guards/Flaps

What is everyone’s take on these? I have a set of uninstalled OEM guards and for the life of me I can’t decide if I want to put them on or not.

 

I have mine on my 15, I took them off but my Cooper Pro's grab rocks sometimes. They have been known to throw them down the side of the truck, so back on they went. And depending on where you live they are required.

 

If you wheel you might rip them off.

if you pull a trailer/boat, you might want them.

I would probably go aftermarket if I wanted to use mud guards..

 

I have the OEMs installed. I like the look as they flow well with the overall lines of the Tacoma IMO.
They definitely protect the sides from thrown debris and tar etc..

 

People behind you on the interstate will appreciate them.

 

Put them on, your paint will thank you. I can't find a single rock chip down the sides of my 2017.

 

Same here, no chips on my 2018.
They seem to be paving every road in my area since the weather has warmed up. Washed my Tacoma today and no tar on the sides, plenty on my mud guards though.

 

I have some Rekgen flaps, black embossed logo to keep it subtle. I love them, they came packaged unusually well indicating quality stuff from a company that actually gives a crap, they fit perfectly with no missing hardware or any other issues.

Unexpected feature: the mounting holes are slotted so they can be tucked in to be flush with stock wheels and tires or slid outward for bigger stuff. Love em.

You can also abuse the crap out of them, I'm not concerned about hanging them up on something and damaging them. They'll live, lol

 

My take? I don't want them hideous looking things...

 

Function > looks.

 

My 2018 came with them installed from the dealer. Never given them much thought but not taking them off so I guess I’ve decided to leave them on.

 

I put em on tonight guys. I'm very neutral to them. I don't necessarily like them, but I don't dislike them either. That's what made the decision tough. Ultimately, I decided to put them on to protect my brand new truck. If it's protecting the truck, so be it. Another random question. When installing these tonight, I noticed something. The bottom panel of my truck (painted) has a rougher texture than all the paint above it. It runs across the entire bottom panel of the truck. Is this normal? Is that added protection or something?

 

Took my front flap off, the rock dents in my door give nice texture to the truck. /s

 

Canadian Veteran. Very cool man.

 

That’s the orange peel texture, it’s supposed to help with rock chips and what not. I added the rock guards to my 2017 since the job site I drive to every day is a mud pit. Truck is 90% cleaner now

 

When I first saw this, my first inclination was that the paint was already bubbling or screwed up. I thought to myself... there is no way that can be with it running directly even along the entire bottom panel of the truck.

 

When this is the "road" you have to drive on to get to your house...function wins every time! I actually like the look and much appreciate saving the paint on my vehicles.



I've been running mud flaps on all my vehicles since I bought my first 4-wheel drive back in 1976.

 

I got a good deal on some Weathertech ones on ebay. One of the easier things to install and It's made a decent difference on the amount of crap that ends up plastered on the side of my truck.

 

That Subie is cool, the Cadillac of the north. Pro mud flap by the way.

 

Thanks!! The '76 4WD Wagon was Subaru's first move into the 4WD/AWD market. Lynn and I had a '73 Subaru Sedan that we traded on the wagon - my first new vehicle and purchased with my $100/month ROTC stipend. $75/month car payment and still had $25 for gas. We've been driving them pretty much ever since except for a few breaks when we were stationed overseas - the earlier Subarus couldn't run leaded gas and they didn't have unleaded in Europe and North Africa back then. Lynn and I both have Subaru Outbacks for our daily drivers - but the Tacoma will be my daily driver when I retire in a few months.