Gravel roads, mudflap delete... Regrets?

Purely aesthetic based opinion, but I like them on the rear only. I took off the fronts and drive plenty of gravel roads. No noticeable damage to the paint. No regrets.

 

I trimmed the stock fronts soon after I hot the truck

 

3M makes a tape that sticks on for just this thing. We used it on aircraft landing in Semi Prepared Runway Operations, to save the landing gear doors, axles and bogies. We only replaced it once it was beat up enough to warrant it. Im actually looking at doing my rockers with it next summer for this reason.

 

I have removed my front flaps for more clearance with tires, you will definitely throw up rocks, and get little nicks in the paint. They are small nicks and you need to be looking to see them, but if you want to keep your paint perfect you'll want the flaps to stay on.

 

Got any links or a specific name for this product. I'm interested.

 

Look harder Marshall. Or talk to anyone who rides a motorcycle. Even on perfectly smooth and clean highways, if you are chugging along in traffic there is a constant pelting of debris behind any vehicle. Most of it is small enough to never be noticed, but it only takes 1 stray pebble to get kicked back and right into your windshield or headlight to leave an expensive crack.

Car and SUV tires that have really fine grained tread tend to pick up and hold small pebbles, or they get kicked up into the rockers or rear quarter panels which are much lower to the ground and they don't bounce up high or far. Car drivers also tend to swerve around road debris because of lower ground clearance and risk to their tires.

But on a Silverado with an 8" lift and chunky mudder tires, any strawberry sized rock they run over is gonna get kicked out behind. Seems like lifted brotruck drivers basically roll over anything they see on the road too so it's coming back at you; I've never seen one swerve around something.

 

I do a lot of hunting and travel a lot of gravel roads. I installed some aftermarket, heavy duty but flexible mud flaps. I also put some vinyl wrap along the bottom 15 inches of my truck for extra protection.

 

Work in the bush, stock mudflaps and rock guard painted on the rocker panels.

 

My 2WD didn't have front flaps and I couldn't get them OE as no fender flares.

I got a set of Plasticolor universals and used the holes already in the wells to attach. They're plenty flexible and won't break. Had them almost 10 years and they're not shiny anymore but no loss of function.

 

Cut mine down years ago. Still need them for protection for paint.