Rear duals extend beyond the side of the coach

[Dallas Baillio]

On many trips with our 2001 BF RSB we encounter rainy, muddy roads.
The rear duals tend to throw mud, dirt, (and road tar) onto the lower panels behind the wheels in spite of the factory installed mud flaps. While this is a maintenance/cleaning problem, on my particular model the door to the propane tank is located on the lower right rear side. The hinge on this door becomes clogged with mud and dirt which prevents it from fully opening. If a high pressure water hose is available when you need to open this door, you can force the mud and dirt out of the hinge. If not, you cannot get the door fully open and cannot have the propane tank refilled. Plus if you partially open the door when the hinge is clogged (for example to shut off the propane when riding a ferry, or going through a tunnel), you sometimes cannot close it completely to re-engage the latch. I've tried extending the mud flaps outward by two inches, but that made no difference. I have now fabricated a full extension of the entire wheel cut out which I will try out on our next trip. My question is this -Do other BF owners have this problem? Is it just a nusiance, or like my propane tank complications, do you consider it serious enough to try do do somethng about it? Do you have a suggestion as to how to construct an extension of the wheel cut out? The ones I made are pretty crude. I recall in a conversation with Kim at BF, he told me that Ford began providing a slightly wider frame with the duals further apart. BF did not retool the fiberglass molds to widen the coach. I do not know if in later models this is still the case. The problem I mention evidently arose when coachs were not widened. And if you sometimes have this problem, just wait until you are on a rural Texas road and run over a patch of road that cattle have just been driven across. Then you will consider it a serious shortcoming!

[Trisha]

While I have never experienced this to the same degree you are, I have had dirt and grime in those hinges on that door. I try to use a highpressure water to blow the dirt out of that hinge (and all hinges) or I use compressed air to blow through them. Otherwise if they don't get like yours, they grind. I don't like that sound.

If you find a solution, I'm sure many would love to hear it. The day that I drove over a mud/dirt road after a herd of cattle, it had been so dry, that all I had to deal with was dust. And yes, that was in Texas also!

Trish

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Has anyone found a workable solution to this yet? Besides dirt in the propane door hinge and dirt getting thrown up on the side of the coach I'd like to add another complication to the list.

Here in Oregon they use a red volcanic cinder on snow and ice in the winter. It's very abrasive. (We seem to lose one windsheild every year.) After this past winter I noticed it is chipping away the surfaces of the fiberglass on the edges of the wheel wells and the fiberglass on the bottom of the rear fenders. In particular, it was wearing away the marker light and pitting the rear awning struts. Last month we spent several weeks "crewing" for a newbie vulcanologist doing field work for her PhD in the Oregon Outback. Each day we'd travel 20-40 miles on the gravel back roads and the coach took a beatin'. After a week I noticed the right rear marker light was about 25% worn away and only the base of the bulb was left.

Unless someone has already found a workable solution my plan is to get some larger anti-sail mud flaps and cut them lower and wider than the factory originals. The length will be determined by running a straight line from the bottom of the rear bumber to the road surface just behind the duallies. The width will be sufficient to protect the sides of the coach. Then cut some flexible rubber flares to meet the extended mud guards and screw them on around the remainder of the wheel wells.

The length will be about ~6 inches lower than the originals. I hope the additional length doesn't cause more problems.

What are your thoughts on the problem/solution?

Mike

[BornFree_n_Now]

Mike:

This was one of the first questions we asked of Kim when we bought our coach. We were told that what is offered as original equipment is all that they have ~~ we thought at that time, and still believe, that the original product, if but an inch wider, and some 4â€

[robert]

I did not increase the size of my "mud flaps" as others have done. My problem was dirt and grime on the side of the coach and on the side door which is located just aft of the rear wheels.

I purchased a set of fender flares and installed them on my BF. It has effectively eliminated all mud and grime from the wheels getting on the side and rear of the coach.

The name is Flexy Flares, made by Pacer Performance Products. (The model number is 52-188 for a pair.) Not all the outlets carry the 52-188 (Set of 2). You can also buy the 51-189 (Set of 4), and then you will have a second set as a spare.

I purchased Stainless Steel Nuts, bolts and washers. I also purchased finishing washers to place on top side (where the bolt head is located) to give a "finished" look. The bolts I purchased are not the standard bolt, but the top is finished in such away that it fits nicely in the finishing washer, with no protruding edges to get caught or to catch grime.

I drilled holes every few inches along the curve of the wheel wheel and also down the length of the mud flap. I then drilled matching holes in the flender flares, or vice versa.

The effect is to extend your flender wheel out about three inches and this will eliminate the problem with grime and dirt especially when it is raining.

There are several models, a standard (and thiner model) and a heavy duty model. You can get the heavy duty model with or without the wire insert. I have the heavy duty model with the wire insert. The advantage of the wire insert is that it stiffens the rubber.

There are several places that sell them. If you go into Google and type in Flexy Flares, you will find several on-line outfits that have them available for sale.

There is a local store where I live that selss nothing but nuts and bolts. By buying the stainless steel I have eliminated the problem of rusting.

After you get done, it will look like it has always been there. The last time I was at the factory I noted that they were putting the fender flares in the smaller model BF's. I do not understand why they have not done so on the larger BF's.

[BornFree_n_Now]

Robert:

Do you have pictures of your installation?

[robert]

I do not have any pictures. My BF is stored inside some 25 miles from where I live, so I am unable to get any pictures soon.