Mudflaps - Not necessarily the answer

[TimM]

I read Nigel's comments in the magazine about fitting mudflaps. Not sure they always have the desired effect. Our old towcar had them and they were low to the ground. They did keep a lot of the muck off the front of the caravan put were prone to being torn off reversing on rough campsites.

The current tow car is a Disco2 with mudflaps again, but to allow for the wheel articulation they are not so close to the ground. The car regularly spatters the front of the caravan although granted it would probably be worse without any mudflaps at all.

When I first saw the Pegasus I did think we would not be able to tow one without some kind of bib to stop it being dented. The material Bailey are now fitting will probably go a bit yellow over time, it seems to on cars. I think its only a mater of time before they put a more resilient material across the front of the caravan. Hopefully they will go back to the one piece locker at the same time. Its impossible to get large objects like waste masters, sun umbrellas or fixed pole windbreaks in the front of the current alutech design.

 

[JTQ]

If you limit yourself to rear mud flaps that dont ground within the articulation of the suspension then they will be next to useless at protecting a van front when towing. The trouble is these days the car industry seems only to offer as an option, cosmetic, style driven rigid plastic "things" that can't survive grounding, thus they terminate way too high.
On my Defenders I made my own and on the Disco 3s I made extensions, but both were flexible and terminated 50mm from the ground with the vehicle self levelled. These survived the test of time and have been "almost" perfect in protecting my aluminium fronted vans from self damage. Clearly they don't stop stones fired from other vehicles. Mine can withstand and clearly have grounded on many occasions.
To achieve effective mud flaps, for protecting a caravan you need, IMO to be proactive.

 

[JohnnyV]

I agree with JTQ - however anything is better than nothing - my Jeep used to throw muck up the entire height of the van, I retro fitted Jeep flaps, and whilst they don't stop it totally (stiff plastic & too short) they do restrict it to below the window line.

 

[MikeJE]

Would wider mudflaps suspended from the bottom of the rear bumper do the job and be far enough back from the rear wheels not to be run over when reversing?

 

[JTQ]

Would wider mudflaps suspended from the bottom of the rear bumper do the job and be far enough back from the rear wheels not to be run over when reversing?

Yes.

 

[MikeJE]

So why don't more people do it?