Trimmed my factory mudflap length by an inch.

I have the OEM Toyota mudflaps. I have no problem with my tires rubbing these flaps, however ever so often, when wheeling a rough trail, the flaps will slightly scrape a rock, cross ditch, or other obstacle as I cross over it. I never ripped off a mudflap on anything, but the sound the scraping flap makes can be alarming/annoying when you don’t know what is scraping.

I like having the flaps to keep some gravel wash off the truck, and the windshields of those behind me, and to generally block off the cavities in the front fenders that otherwise collect dirt etc. I don’t purposely rock-crawl this truck, so the whole “get rid of the flaps entirely” idea doesn’t really apply to me.

I decided to trim the flaps by 1” to just buy myself a little more clearance before they rub the ground when the truck is flexed or crossing over an obstacle. So far I am happy with this small change. Being that fellas will cut their chassis just to go from 32” to 33” tires (1/2” more clearance) we all know how much difference a seemingly small change makes.

These picture are for anyone considering something similar. I took the 1” off using a straight edge and an Olfa knife, with the flaps off the truck. Then I sanded the edge. They cut very easily. You must be somewhat patient so the blade stays on the cut line.

One bonus is with no lower edge, the flaps now don’t cake with mud as easily.

 

When i saw this post, I was expecting to see an ugly mess. That looks quite nice! Good tip for anyone who wants just a bit less mudflap.

 

You can't do that. I'm calling the police

 

I know the scraping sound increasing to cracking sound. Went the ditch 'em for after market route flexible ones. Saves having to trim, trim, and trim some more.

My problem is they don't make the hard rubber ones anymore. Sad panda.

 

Were the hard rubber ones much different from the ones you can still get from Rokblox etc?

 

Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of them ? Being shorter .

 

Good job.

Love trying to 'adjust' rather than just being a 'rip it off' lemming.

 

Interesting. My selective memory from years gone by was that the rubber ones were closer to ninety degree bend. But sunny days were sunnier back then. So maybe they are the same functionally, just don't have them side by side.

 

I might have to do this

 

Yeah, modified mud flaps are illegal here in our state.

 

I suppose it slightly decreases their effectiveness, for sure, no question. However, I only removed 1”, so it’s not a radical change. Also it keeps the portion of the mudflap that guards some of the nooks and crannies of your front wheelwell from collecting debris.

 

Thank you.

 

If you are patient, you can make them look almost factory after the cut. The plastic they are made from is flexible, and cuts very easily without cracking. The main thing is getting the edge straight so they don’t look wonky when you are done.

 

Jeezuz…….what a thing to serve time over.

 

This definitely ranks as one of the most boring mods ever done, so I might as well add more pictures.

 

Looks good