Winnebago Mud Flap/Drag

[dmroaming]

I have a 2004 Winnebago Journey. I was backing into an Oregon State Park camping spot last weekend when I discovered that one side of my rear "Winnebago" full width mud/drag flap had come loose on one side. I was able to remove the clip that held the other side up so I could get home without it, but noticed that the construction of this 60 pound mud/drag flap was pretty puny. The heavy rubber has a thin metal piece within it that the entire flap hangs from the frame on and it had worn through. Anybody have this same issue and what did you do to repair it and insure it doesn't come down again. I also motorcycle and the thought of this beefy 60 pound flap dropping off a coach directly into my path (or an automobile for that matter) is serious business. Thanks.

Denny

[skigramp]

There was a "recall" on the mudflap soon after we bought our 2004 Journey. The "fix" was to sandwich each hole in the flap with two fancy "washers".

The washer was a metal strap about 3 inches long ... there was a large hole in the middle ... and two small holes near the ends (one near each end) ... a bolt was installed into each of the small holes to complete the sandwich.

[emiddleb]

Yes, I had the same issue, decided to repair rather than replace. One side the hanger had torn through the rubber/steel, I believe that somehow I had caught it when backing up.

Fix was fairly easy... went to local hardware, purchased a length of steel stock that was about 2" wide with pre-drilled holes about every 3 or 4 inches. I cut 4 lengths about 12 to 18" long, and put two on each side sandwiching the rubber flap, centered on the hanger hole.

Drilled through the rubber on each side at the pre-drilled holes, ran 2-3 bolts through on each side of the hanger hole to tighten up the "sandwich" and was able to rehang the flap at the center old hole. Has lasted 3 year so far with no issue. As I recall, it was necessary to buy heavier/bigger "U" clamps this time to hang the flap, as it was now thicker due to the 4 layers of steel that I sandwiched, but that was a win-win too.

[SVTotem]

Denny,

We have had this happen several times, and judging by the condition of the flap when we first tried to fix it, the PO did also. We finally had to rebuild the support system by placing steel plate on each side of the flap and through bolting the assembly. It is very strong, but the hanging bracket on the MH frame is now the weak point.





If it fails again we will consider removing the whole thing as others have done.

The 3t's product looks interesting, too.

[Wayne M]

My flap has a 1-1/2" angle iron that is pretty sturdy. You can get that angle iron at any metal shop, and even some hardware stores. Eye hook through top on each end, and the flap is attached to the other angle (down) and washer are still used between the flap and angle.

Good luck.

[Mike and Pat]

I had the same problem with mine so I just took it off. I have about 6,000 miles on it with out the mud flap and have had no problems. So I doubt I will spend the money for a new one.

[DKY]

I took the mud flap off after 4000 miles and now have 30000 miles with out it on.My toad stays alot cleaner than before. Alot less problems with backing in camp sites that have curb stops,getting cought or bent when letting your camper down when leveling.

Dwight

[1ciderdog]

I removed mine - it would bind between the undercarriage & the ground when the air suspension was lowered. It folded up and did not look real good. As mentioned above it is quite heavy. I've probably 40,000 miles with out it. There are mud flaps behind the dual wheels that probably reduce much of the road debris being thrown by the tires.

[rvarner]

Originally Posted by Mike and Pat

I had the same problem with mine so I just took it off. I have about 6,000 miles on it with out the mud flap and have had no problems. So I doubt I will spend the money for a new one.

I lost my flap to an "alligator" on I-40 near Williams, AZ. Replaced it with two mudflaps behind the rear wheels for about $40. The wide flap was over $300 so I considered this an "no brainer" for the coach I have. The towed hasn't really suffered either.
Richard

[dmroaming]

Thanks much for all the great feedback. I was a bit worried about throwing highway debris onto my toad without the flap, but it sounds like others have had success with effective mud flaps behind the rear wheels. Thanks!!

Denny

[FIRE UP]

Denny,
As you can see, some folks like'm and some don't. Some have taken them off and some have reinforced the mounting points where the chains/links that attach them to the coach have torn loose. It's a preference thing. Now, as to how much good they do in terms of protection for the rear of the coach, the toad and anything else, well, I'm not engineer on that sort of stuff so, I can't really comment on that.

Many large coach manufacturers do put them on. What is their primary reason for doing so, who knows? We all can surmise it's for debris, mud, gravel etc, but, is that REALLY proven? Mud flaps behind the duals have been used for decades on over the road trucks, dump trucks and any other trucks way prior to the evolution of motor homes and or, diesel pusher motor homes. You know, you (at least I don't) don't see that many of those rather large, super heavy, long mudflaps on the back or under gas coaches do you?

So, for those that like them or think they have a purpose, that's fine. I hope they work for you. Since I'm running just a tad overweight with my coach due to the fact that I'm carrying a large motorcycle on the back on a lift, I had to remove mine due to the mounting system of the lift. That full length mud flap has got to be close to 60-70 lbs. or more. And, we've towed our new '11 CRV for about 7,000 miles now and so far, no damage to it without the long mud flap.

We do have the somewhat damaged (torn) mud flaps behind the duals and I attribute the protection of the toad to them. Again, it's a preference thing. My thought(s) might be that, that long mud flap may, I say MAY, do more harm than good, IN MY OPINION. The reason, it's traveling very close to the ground, on many coaches, and, therefore it's possible the air friction between the bottom of it and the ground maybe kicking up extra dust and debris that will lodge itself either on the back of the coach or, maybe the toad, not sure, just trying to think what it might be doing.

So, based on the fact that, #1, I can't re-load/install mine due to the issues I have and, #2, I'm not sure it really does any good even if I could re-install it. Just some thoughts here.
Scott

[DuraFlap]

Fire Up has the right idea. The first line of defence from rock chips are the mud flaps in the fender wells. They not only protect your toad, but they protect your coach as well. The secret is to make sure they are long and wide enough. The width needs to cover the entire tire, and the length should be 4-6" off the ground when moving down the road. If you have air bags, that means measuring the coach with the air out to make sue the mud flap sits at least 1" off the ground when parked to avoid damage. This will give you the maximum allowable coverage.
The mud flap on the back is just that little bit more protection, and also dresses the coach up a bit. We, of course, have ours as much to advertise our company with.
Several customers have told us how the back mud flap has stopped the alligators in the middle of the road from reaching their toad, so that is an important consideration. One person told us about a piece of lumber that t-boned their mud flap, but did not hit their radiator on the toad.
Coaches with extremely long overhangs tend not to get as many chips in their toad because the rocks thrown up get caught by the back of their coach instead.
Always make sure your back mud flap is no closer than 3-4" to the ground. If it is too close, it can end up throwing rocks at your toad instead of protecting it.