Community Forums

tmattmann · 09-15-2017, 09:20 PM

Noticed today after a long drive our large mud guard has been dragging the pavement. It looks properly attached to the frame, so maybe our rear suspension is not as high as it should be. Anyone else had this problem? Other DPs parked near us have mud guard clearing the pavement at least a foot. Ours makes contact with the pavement while parked. Would appreciate any experiences with this.

mdvs · 09-15-2017, 10:14 PM

Do some measurements front and rear with air bags inflated and deflated. It sounds like you have a suspension problem. I have mud flaps and can see about a 4" difference between aired up and down. They touch the ground when the air bags are deflated.

tombottcat · 09-15-2017, 10:17 PM

did you forget to through the switch back after you dumped? ive done that a couple of times,gives a new meaning to low rider

mdvs · 09-16-2017, 06:31 PM

My 2002 Journey automatically inflates the air bags as soon as the emergency brake is off and the transmission is put into drive.
Tmattmann: When you say parked, do you mean jacks down? My bags dump only if I turn on the leveling jacks.

wyatt earp · 09-18-2017, 05:01 PM

We picked up our brand new 2016 Journey 40R in Indiana this past July and drove it home to California. At the second night's stop the camp host noticed my mudflat was dragging on the ground. Apparently it had been dragging for 550 miles. It was dented and four of the six bolts holding it on had tore through the rubber! I had to borrow tools to remove it and stored it in the full-width bay.
It looks to me they just hung it too low at the factory. Thank God it didn't come off on the interstate, could have killed someone.

tmattmann · 09-18-2017, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyatt earp

We picked up our brand new 2016 Journey 40R in Indiana this past July and drove it home to California. At the second night's stop the camp host noticed my mudflat was dragging on the ground. Apparently it had been dragging for 550 miles. It was dented and four of the six bolts holding it on had tore through the rubber! I had to borrow tools to remove it and stored it in the full-width bay.
It looks to me they just hung it too low at the factory. Thank God it didn't come off on the interstate, could have killed someone.

Did you ever approach Winnebago or Freightliner for resolution of this?. We're still on the road. I had to wrestle ours off...It had gone horizontal and was caught up by adjoining parts.

wyatt earp · 09-19-2017, 06:08 PM

We had several major issues come up on the 2200 mile drive home including the mudflap. Had to wait three weeks to get it to a Winnebago service center (most were booked at least a month or more out). It's been there since Aug 8 while Winnebago and the warranty center point fingers at each other as to why everything hasn't been repaired. We've owned the mh since July 19 and other than the six days we drove it home we have not had use of it. Supposed to be finished by the end of this week. We shall see.

Jim_HiTek · 09-19-2017, 08:14 PM

Is the large mud guard as you call it one of those optional guards that goes from side to side of the rear of the RV? And if so, do you also have small mud guards just behind the duals in back? If so, I'd recommend you just leave it off and never bother to replace it. The reason is that those side to side mud guards seem to cause more towed car damage than just the regular mud flaps behind the duals.

I've followed many an RV with and without those solid guards and found that they seem to collect debris and fling it at the following towed. Those full width skirts do the same, only the stones are smaller. The best setup (from expirience on the road following these RVs) is just the standard mud flaps directly behind the rear dual tires.

Just sayin' maybe consider leaving it off entirely.

BVThunder · 09-20-2017, 06:56 AM

We noticed how low the mud flap was on our 40R immediately. When running down the road there is not much clearance and the bottom edge drags when going over dips. Last winter it got bent while back up over a curb into a camp site. It is too heavy for the wife to lift up while backing up over obstacles. Really don't see an easy fix.

wyatt earp · 09-20-2017, 06:03 PM

Yes Jim, we are talking about the full width heavy rubber flap with the Winnebago logo in metal. Weighs a good 40-50 pounds. Have read the stories of a too low flap causing damage to toads as well. Have also heard if it's mounted about 5-6" above the ground it offers some protection.
Thanks for your input.

Trynforpar · 09-23-2017, 08:53 PM

The rear flap on my 2016 Meridian 40R does the same thing. I took it to Winnebago in Iowa for other repairs and they said there was nothing wrong with it. Go figure.

tmattmann · 09-28-2017, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trynforpar

The rear flap on my 2016 Meridian 40R does the same thing. I took it to Winnebago in Iowa for other repairs and they said there was nothing wrong with it. Go figure.

I would visit your nearest Freightliner shop to check the suspension. Our coach was riding with no air suspension in the rear, but just got it back from the shop. It is significantly higher in the back now. Haven't reattached the mudguard yet. I need to see if I can beat it in to shape first.

tmattmann · 05-10-2018, 08:36 PM

Turns our mud guard was still dragging from time to time. I finally modified the mud guard by making it narrower from top to bottom. I removed the metal brackets holding the unit, trimmed the rubber on the top side, moved the metal brackets down as close to the chrome “Winnebago” part as possible. It did provide more clearanc from the pavement. See the before and after photos.