Mopar Mud Flaps - Think Again

[RJS]

I really liked the Mopar mud flaps when I installed them about a month ago. I saw the cavity they had but hoped they would drain through the slot designed into the bottom.

Well today I had the truck in the pole barn after driving around in the rain we've had for the last couple of days and found both front guards full to the top with water. Thought I'd just clear out the slot and let the water drain with a small screwdriver. No luck, all I got was a few drops and some mud. Decided that was enough and drilled a 3/4 inch hole near the bottom and the water drained out but the mud didn't move. There was more than an inch of soil in the bottom on the cavity and so I just cut about a 1 X 4 Inch slot in the backside of the flap and scraped out the soil/mud/schmutz out into a plastic container.

As an aside, the truck has never been off road or even on dirt roads. This is all from driving on pavement.

I didn't take any pictures of the mud flaps but here is the plastic container full of the contents of both cavities from the front. the first is all and the second is with the water poured out.

Needless to say, I just ordered a set of Husky mud flaps.

 

[Chippy]

Yah their garbage I drilled larger drain holes in the bottom and it still gets plugged up and in winter you just get permanent mud popsicles in there.

 

[gHiDoRa]

Wow, good thing i went with Weathertech.

 

[Goatmann]

Screw the husky mud flaps the fit is poor at best. Get the WeatherTech brand!

 

[Trooper4]

Bought some 1/8" HDPE (high density plastic) 12 x 12 sheets, and will trim to fit, and mount to the inside of the fender liner and mud flap. Should cure most if not all of the problem.

 

[Ranger482]

Wow, that is alarming and can only imagine the rust and corrosion it will promote, particularly when salt/glycol gets in there.
I have the weathertechs so not familiar with why the Mopar brand causes this. Is there a gap between the mudflap and frame or does it trap it in the fender well?

 

[Biga]

Not sure what they were thinking when they designed those or who did but it is a terrible design.

 

[ramhead]

Yeah....I posted about all this in another thread.....The pockets over time build up a solid "cake" of dirt, mud, road salt, etc. no matter having or drilling drain holes in them. I knew from experience from my old Ram that I had put them on.

I went with the Husky mud flaps which I liked better than the WT profile and they are great. They also come with 3M paint protection film to apply & protect the fenderwell edge so there is no scuffing over time from the mud flap plastic edges (another problem with the Mopar flaps).

 

[buckeyeboy]

Thanks for sharing your problem on this forum with the rest of us, have seen similar warnings to look out for.
I just ordered these this morning, hope I did OK, pretty good reviews and about 40% less than weathertech and Husky. I almos t got the husky's (love the floormats) till I found these for 50 bucks.

Amazon.com: Tecoom Mud Flaps Splash Guards for 2019 Ram 1500 w/o OEM Fender Flares Front and Rear Black Set of 4 ABS Molded: Automotive

Buy Tecoom Mud Flaps Splash Guards for 2019 Ram 1500 w/o OEM Fender Flares Front and Rear Black Set of 4 ABS Molded: Automotive - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[RSConsulting]

Hmmmm.

Was going to ditch the weathertechs, I think these look at lot cleaner and nicer installed.

But if there's an issue with them collecting dirt - nah.

Can someone post a PICTURE of where the issue lies?

Rick

 

[Amazing93]

The Husky are great. I have front and back. Fit is perfect and the profile looks real nice. You confirmed exactly what I thought would happen with the Mopar flaps.

 

[RJS]

Hmmmm.

Was going to ditch the weathertechs, I think these look at lot cleaner and nicer installed.

But if there's an issue with them collecting dirt - nah.

Can someone post a PICTURE of where the issue lies?

Rick

While not the best picture of them, here's the rear one. Looking closely, that while looking great, they form a hollow shell with a small slit in the bottom for drainage. Just perfect for catching anything that drops down off the liner. The fronts are even worse as they are a larger shell.

I really liked them as they really look like they were designed for the truck with the "spats" overlapping the fender flare. The problem I can see is them frozen full of schmutz on a zero degree day take an impact and get driven off the truck with damage to the body. I suspect there would be a large build up of snow and slush created by them also.

I'll take a couple of better pictures when I pull them off tomorrow and add the Husky ones.

 

[SpeedyV]

The Husky are great. I have front and back. Fit is perfect and the profile looks real nice. You confirmed exactly what I thought would happen with the Mopar flaps.

I wasn’t a fan of the curved bottom edge of the Husky flaps, so I went with the WTs.

And I agree on the Mopar flaps...unfortunate case of form over function.

 

[RJS]

The Husky flaps arrived early the PM so I installed the rear ones.

The first picture is the Mopar Flap. You can see the small slot that is meant to drain them and the larger hole is the one I cut to get the mud out. The perspective isn't all that good as the flaps are probably 5" deep from the lowest cut out to the bottom of the flap. They can hold a lot of stuff.

The second picture is the Husky rear flap. They fit very well but I still wish the Mopars ones were better designed as I really like how the look and fit on the truck.

 

[ramhead]

Thanks for sharing your problem on this forum with the rest of us, have seen similar warnings to look out for.
I just ordered these this morning, hope I did OK, pretty good reviews and about 40% less than weathertech and Husky. I almos t got the husky's (love the floormats) till I found these for 50 bucks.

Amazon.com: Tecoom Mud Flaps Splash Guards for 2019 Ram 1500 w/o OEM Fender Flares Front and Rear Black Set of 4 ABS Molded: Automotive

Buy Tecoom Mud Flaps Splash Guards for 2019 Ram 1500 w/o OEM Fender Flares Front and Rear Black Set of 4 ABS Molded: Automotive - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Got my Huskys (ALL 4) for $33 ...You have to wait for a "used" warehouse deal via Amazon....these are usually returns (open box but not installed) and if you see the description "Like New" that's what you get. Mine were still in plastic bags with sealed hardware, etc. Just looked like the boxes had been opened and resealed (after a return, etc).

 

[Amazing93]

Got my Huskys (ALL 4) for $33 ...You have to wait for a "used" warehouse deal via Amazon....these are usually returns (open box but not installed) and if you see the description "Like New" that's what you get. Mine were still in plastic bags with sealed hardware, etc. Just looked like the boxes had been opened and resealed (after a return, etc).

That's exactly what I did too! Gotta love those warehouse deals.

 

[RSConsulting]

That's bizarre. Why would you designed a hollow mudflap?

While not the best picture of them, here's the rear one. Looking closely, that while looking great, they form a hollow shell with a small slit in the bottom for drainage. Just perfect for catching anything that drops down off the liner. The fronts are even worse as they are a larger shell.

I really liked them as they really look like they were designed for the truck with the "spats" overlapping the fender flare. The problem I can see is them frozen full of schmutz on a zero degree day take an impact and get driven off the truck with damage to the body. I suspect there would be a large build up of snow and slush created by them also.

I'll take a couple of better pictures when I pull them off tomorrow and add the Husky ones.

View attachment 39124

Bizarre - why would you design a hollow mudflap, with a catch-pocket to catch, well, MUD? From the looks of your photo, it doesn't fit flush to the bottom of the inner wheel well also - which means slinging crap off the wheels, onto the back/underside of the truck.

Pretty appearances aside - mudflaps are supposed to keep spray/debris down low - off the fenders and underside - and also (in the case of tractor trailers) to keep crap coming off the tires (road spray etc.) off the vehicle behind you's windshield.

Fail on both counts for the Mopar.

Thanks for the pic.

Rick

 

[ramhead]

While not the best picture of them, here's the rear one. Looking closely, that while looking great, they form a hollow shell with a small slit in the bottom for drainage. Just perfect for catching anything that drops down off the liner. The fronts are even worse as they are a larger shell.

I really liked them as they really look like they were designed for the truck with the "spats" overlapping the fender flare. The problem I can see is them frozen full of schmutz on a zero degree day take an impact and get driven off the truck with damage to the body. I suspect there would be a large build up of snow and slush created by them also.

I'll take a couple of better pictures when I pull them off tomorrow and add the Husky ones.

View attachment 39124

How long have they been on?? You may be in for a surprise when you take them off....if you didn't put PPF under the plastic that covers the fender flare edge you may find some scuffing/abrasion of the paint or, more likely, the clearcoat.

https://images.app.goo.gl/ks78sS1Dw8xowbS8A

 

[RJS]

How long have they been on?? You may be in for a surprise when you take them off....if you didn't put PPF under the plastic that covers the fender flare edge you may find some scuffing/abrasion of the paint or, more likely, the clearcoat.

https://images.app.goo.gl/ks78sS1Dw8xowbS8A

You've made an excellent point. My Mopar ones were on about two months and when I removed the reap flaps there was no rubbing a bit of polishing didn't remove mostly a faint line at the top of the spat area. I removed the front ones today and and found a bit more at the bottom of the fender flare than on the rear. I could just feel it with my nail so instead of polishing it out I just touched it with a bit of clear coat from the OEM touchup paint I bought from Mopar. The top was again polished out.

Some further thoughts.

I didn't use the PPF originally as my Laramie has the flares so I wasn't concerned about rust and figured I run the Mopar ones until I traded in the truck in 8 years or so. The Mopar ones didn't come with any film.

I did use it on the Husky ones I just installed and made sure to use the extra screw that's included on the inner edge. I just can't see the 3M tape included holding in the environment.

My biggest worry about removing the old Mopar ones was the long piece of 3M tape they had to hold the upper part to the fender flare. I didn't want to pull any paint off the flares so I gently pull on the first couple of flares and got my fishing line between the flare and the flap and just cut the flare away. I noticed that about 90% of the tape was strongly adhered to the flap so on the front ones I just slowly pulled out from the bottom as I felt the tape give and on the last one all the tape came off with the flap.

I used WD-40 to clean all the tape residue and cleaned that up with denatured alcohol.

 

[Seanbeck1]

I just added these Husky mud flaps. What do you guys think? I like that they have no contact with the body of the truck. I added factory Mopar mud flaps on my 4th Gen Ram and when I removed them they had wore all the paint away to bare metal.