Flexible aftermarket Tacoma mud flaps by Rokblokz

I'm not sure what Toyota was thinking with the rigid mud flaps on the 2nd gen Tacoma, but they are clearly unacceptable for off road use. I've owned previous Toyota pickups and 1st gen Tacomas and they have all had flexible mud flaps. I had to immediately correct this design mistake, but found it very difficult to find a flexible alternative.

Rokblokz was the only manufacture I could find that made a custom fit Tacoma flexible flap. Others made flexible generic flaps, or vehicle specific fit non-flexible flaps. The Rokblokz come in OEM size, 3" shorter than OEM, and Oversize. I opted for the short flaps as I think the OEM flaps are too long. At $120 a set I thought the price was reasonable.

Instructions were clean with vehicle specific full size pictures. Comes with all new mounting hardware. Removal of the factory flares and install of the new ones took about an hour at a leisurely pace.

TIP: They recommend loctite at the very end of the install instructions. It would be helpful if they put that at the beginning so I didn't read it after I had completed the install.

All pictures below are of a stock suspension/wheel/tire 2015 Tacoma TRD 4x4 double cab.

Pictures of the oversized OEM mud flaps:




Pictures of the new 3" shorter flaps:



Note the flaps are adjustable in and out of the wheel well to provide better coverage for larger tires. I have mine adjusted all the way in as the stock wheel/tire combo does not stick outside the wheel well.

Comparison of the stock molded flaps vs the new flexible flaps:


Here you can see the flaps overlaid with the mounting holes lined up, so this is the relative position they will be on the truck. As you can see while the rears are shorter, only the fronts appear 3" shorter.


Comparison from the rear:


The flaps are rigid enough to hold their form on the freeway, but flexible enough to flex over encountered obstacles offroad. They are a little stiffer than the flaps on the first gen Tacomas, but they do bend:


If you are interested I got mine direct from here:
http://www.rokblokz.com/toyota-tacoma-regular-05-14.html

The logos on the flaps are stickers that you apply yourself, I elected not to put mine one. The mounting washers shown in the pics on the site are now painted black to blend into the fender better.

I haven't taken them out on the trail yet, but I do not anticipate any problems.

 

Cool, I've been looking at these too

 

I think you will still have the issue of when you are backing up and pinch the flap between the tire and a dirt bank or rock and simply pull it off.

 

First thing I did to my truck.

I didn't catch the loctite either.

I also wasn't sure which way was in or out. Matte or smooth.

I think I ended up putting matte to the tire and smooth out, with the idea that the inside will get blasted my rocks and the outside needed to be smooth to apply the stickers it came with.

Highly recommend the mini ratchet that accepts quick attach screw driver bits.

 

Nope. Rear tires will slide right along the flaps even if pinched as you describe. Not a chance of them getting pulled off. It's a nice kit. The spacers included in the mounting kit to fill the voids from the molded flaps are a big deal.

You can go universal flex flaps which are fine, but then you have to make spacers to fill the voids and find some longer hardware to fit into the OEM mounting points. For $120 RokBlokz is an excellent deal.

If you want more strength use aluminum pop rivets to augment the RokBlokz mounting hardware.

 

you looking to sell your oem ones?

 

Great find. I may replace my rear flaps. I hate how they made the mud flaps out of plastic on the 2nd gens. Stupidest idea ever.

 

Nice find!

 

Nope. Not buying that at all.

I am sure it is a nice kit. But pinch one between tire and dirt bank in reverse and spin a tire and it is coming off.

 

Note that this flap was not installed correctly. The Rokblokz directions specifically state that 2" washers should be installed on the tire side of the flap to avoid the mounts getting pulled through the flap should it become pinched. The above picture does not show any oversized washers to prevent that scenario from occurring (even if it is a generic flap) so this is the predictable outcome.

Realistically any flap can be torn from a truck given the right scenario. However, that does not seem to be an issue for the 1st gen Tacoma's or their pickup predecessor, both of which I have wheeled for years and never lost a flap or had any issues. In my opinion the shorter flexible Rokblokz flaps are the best alternative to the OEM flaps, and closest in design to Toyota's older flaps, for those of us that wish to keep flaps on our trucks.

Already sold the rears, still have the fronts available.

 

Wouldn't the big washers basically make it so that if the flap got pinched and pulled it would then transfer that pull force over to your fender flare and wheel well? I'd rather lose the flap then have an entire fender flare ripped off. Not disagreeing with you on what the instructions may have said, just an observation.

 

The new flaps do not attach to the fender flare like the OEM ones did with 3 plastic clips. The new flaps only utilize the factory bolt mounting locations in the inner wheel well. In the worst case scenario I'm sure minor damage could be done to your inner wheel well, similar to if you ran OEM flaps, though the OEM flaps are also connected to the flare and could damage your flare too. You could forgo the washers and make the new flaps very easy to tear off if you were concerned about it, or of course run no flaps at all.

If you look at the pic of the rear, comparing flaps, after a 2"+ lift the short flaps will ride reasonably high on the tire further reducing the likelihood of that scenario.

This is the same design all Toyota trucks had the preceded to the second gen Tacoma. In the other Toyota forum groups I've been in for the older trucks, I've not heard anyone complain about the flap design or seen regular issues with them being torn off.

 

Yes they can and will in the scenario I described. I had an older 1980 Toyota 4X4 with the rubber flaps. They lasted about 6 months before they were ripped off, washers will not prevent this.

 

Looks like a similar material to plastic Rally Armor mud flaps, only double the cost. Must be the premium to have the holes drilled for you.

 

I installed the short version for oversized tires. Love the rears and had no issues. Fronts flaps were both ripped off the second time I wheeled with them. Just my 2 ha'pennies.

 

Nice field repair. Never had one tear off on my '98 Taco 4WD OEM's, nor the RokBlokz on the 2012, nor the universals on the Tundra. Been pinched quite a few times backing up. I really think that is an unusual situation.

I think a little stronger mounting would help. I see you used the same three mounting points as the RokBlokz, the three OEM nylon nutted mounting points. I mentioned above using aluminum pop rivets to augment those three points, the aluminum washers are a nice addition

$30 Rivet Washer, Alum, 1/8 ID, PK500

http://www.amazon.com/Rivet-Washer-Alum-ID-PK500/dp/B0086AE9FI . The pop rivets strengthen the mounting and also dissipate the load from those three weak mounting points.

Gen1 Tacos had nice strong mounts for the OEM flexflaps, a steel frame the flexflaps mounted to. Not so with Gen2, you have to diddle around with spacers and long screws to mount flexflaps.

"Not a chance" was a poor choice of words because obviously it can happen if you try hard enough. I guess I'm not trying hard enough. . I had a '90 Toy 2WD I put universal flexflaps on in 1991 and all four were still on it in 2004 when I sold it. 196,000 miles and tough offroading for a stock 2WD.

It's not just the predrilled slots, you get the spacers needed and rustproof hardware. You can make spacers yourself and dig through your loose screw box or go to ACE to find the longer screws needed. $120 for four easily mounted flexflaps, that's a great deal.

I agree partly. RokBlokz doesn't have any magic, they're using the three strongest mounting points for the Gen2 Tacoma which are not very strong from the get go. Which is why I recommend augmenting those weak mounting points with aluminum pop rivets and washers.

I disagree that if a flexflap gets pinched between a turning wheel and an obstacle it will likely be torn off. Never happened to me through four Toyota trucks since 1990.

 

The Rokblokz are nothing like the rally armors. Rokblokz are much thicker, stiffer and have a textured appearance. The Rally Armor's are thinner, flappier, and have a smooth texture.

 

either option.... at 100+ dollars for freaking pieces of plastic / rubber is INSANE!

 

$120 is not a big deal. The protection provided is worth it.

Offroading I haven't had problems with flexflaps, apparently Jimmyh and DoorDing have.

 

my thoughts exactly.