Bushwacker fender flares or not???
 

Hey guys, I have heard some horror stories of the Bushwacker fender flares rubbing the paint off of the outside of the fender well over a period of time. My new truck don't have a scratch on it. Its a 2005 Dodge 2500 QC long bed. Nothing crazy on tire size, only 285/70/17's. Do you think I should put them on or not? Is there anything I can do if I do decide to put them on to keep this from happening? Any thoughts?

Thanks

jason:humm:

if you like how they look i say get em i have a friend whos had them on his 95 1500 for 4yrs i think & he aint had any problems,they have a film that your suppose to put on under flares that help stops rubbing & scraching

You can also get some two-sided 3M tape and STICK them down so they won't vibrate. Easy to use a heat gun to get the tape loose. Win-win that way. The rubber gasket is stuck with 3M tape to the fender flare, then just add it to the other side of the rubber gasket. Give it a little heat and press it some, they won't budge, not collect dirt underneath, and not rub the paint.

That is how I did mine, after 5 years, they are still solid.




NP

That sounds like a great plan. I will look for some of that tape at the local auto parts store. Thanks

i got the cutout version with some spacers for a wider stance. cant wait to install.

looks like this will end up my problems with my fender. i will be working on that this weekend. i just hope i could find that 3m tape you are all talking about.lol :rocking: thanks man for the idea. :rocking:

I wouldn't do it if you live anywhere that they put salt and sand on the roads, my truck had the chrome accents put on at the dealership and five years later was rusty as hell. Should have fixed it right away but waited to long and just spent $5500 on paint in total after paying for body parts at a wrecker (front doors, fenders and box) that i had to take of myself in the snow and slush this spring

Vinyl chip guard between fender and flare

Let me tell you another way.
There are also 3M protective clear plastic coatings to be put on like graphics.
They protect the paint from grit and scratches real good. Seen them in africa first. They peeled of the "armour coating" and the paint below was unscratched. They use it on high dollar performance cars, grocery getters and offroaders.

Since it is 3M, I guess it will not be cheap- but it is a different way than the Bushwacker fenders.

I have them on my 08 and installed as per manufacturers directions, and they have rubbed to bare metal on all 4 fenders. Now my truck actually works and gets dirty, but I wanted to remove them at one point, and without a full repaint, not possible, so they are still on LOL