Taking off mud flaps

alright guys, to take off my mud flaps, do i just undo the screws and pop those other circular things off with a screw driver?

and if I do take em off, and i do light off roading am i going to notice any major damage, or what?

Thanks

 

yes, all you do is unscrew the bolts and pop the plastic clips with a screwdriver. easy as hell. ive had mine off for a year now and drive on gravel and dirt roads all the time and still no paint chips or damage

 

Push the center of the circular things in and then pop 'em out.

Maybe a few little rock chips here and there but nothing too terrible.

 

so taking them off doesn't add to rock chips, cause i was thinking of taking mine off,but didn't want anymore chips them i have already

 

If you take off the mudflaps and go offroading you are gonna get some chips, but nothing that is horrible looking. I have had mine off for two years and I definitely have a descent amount of chips in the paint. Mostly on the rear fenders. You are gonna notice the chips a lot more on darker colored trucks then say for instance a white truck. I think in another 6 years, my trucks paint near the rear wheels is gonna look horrible, but oh well

 

just do it! flaps = looks terrible

 

i think I'll take the fronts off for now,i don't mind the back ones

 

I trimmed mine.They are there for a reason-like stoppin'shit from slappin' up the side of your truck.I never realized that they affected the looks of the truck since I've always put them on anything I've had that didn't have them.

 

Remove front, keep rear

 

well guys, i didn't even wait for replys on this thread

i already took em off, it was a sinch

pix tomoro


i took all 4 off, but didnt break anything, maybe ill put em back on when i go on offroading trips, and keep em off for city driving

 

It'll probably do more damage keeping them on, and having them torn off on anything bigger than a speed bump. Just take em off... it'll look better anyways.

 

i figure that it makes the truck look so much better having them off that small rock chips wont be able to offset that

plus they were rubbing a lot while i was offroading

 

I am looking to put mudflaps back on my 15. I am tired of it being a dirty mess from running slightly the larger tires (no flaps) on the front. I have the rear on currently and they do make a pretty good difference. I will likely remove them for offroad but normal driving with them off is making me crazy.

 

Hmmmm...it's not about the looks. If you leave them on and drive off-road you stand a damned good chance of getting them caught on something and doing damage to the truck until they rip off.

How do I know that? I found out the hard way the first time I took my 2000 Isuzu Trooper offroad. One of the rear flaps caught as I crawled through a hole in 4 wheel low. As the flap pulled off it removed every damned thing within 10 feet of it. I had bumper skirt, inner fender well and other crap hanging all over the place. I was able to put it all back together and luckily my kids didn't rat me out to my wife.

The Taco is not built the same way as that old Trooper so the damage from ripping the flaps off won't be as extreme...never the less, why find out the hard way. With the composite bed, the chips don't cause rust so except for protecting the paint and keeping the truck looking a bit cleaner, the flaps serve no purpose. Trim them if you want to keep something in place.
You can install chip guard if the paint is a concern.

 

I took off the front and kept the rear, really like the look. Had the back ones off, people behind me on dirt/gravel or in the rain were not happy about that. Haven't noticed any dings that concern me. Personal preference, I like having the 4x4 logo flaps on the rear lol.

 

Depends on where you live and what kind of driving you do. Also lift and tire size.

By default though you will increase the chances of damaging your paint.

 

I've had mine off for a while but yes there are a few more chips with them removed, but it is a truck so I don't mind.

 

The front flaps drag a good amount of air. Ever see them on another truck on the highway? If you decide to keep the front, trim them a good 4-5 inches.

 

I took off the stock plastic ones. They are too stiff and get hung up a lot even in parking lots. I cut new ones from 1/4" rubber, though. More similar to the way Toyota used to do it on the 79-95 trucks and 1st gen Tacoma. Mud flaps are nice to have to keep some of the muck off the truck and not piss off drivers (or cops) behind you.

I don't have anything solid to point to but I also think removing the mud flaps in snow states ends up with more rock chips on and salt getting sprayed on your frame, leading to more rust. But that's just my small sample of 2. My 1991 had mud flaps most of its life and the frame still looked good at 290K and my 2008 frame is hanging in so far.

 

This is what I came up with. About the same coverage as the original OEM rigid plastic but more floppy.

Rear:


Front: