Trailer fender question

Id calculate the forces on the fender if the tire blows and sheds its skin, and build accordingly.

Gunner

Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

I just bought two fenders and two skirts for my trailer. The fenders are just formed C shaped things, and the skirts 1/4 moon flat pieces that fit into the formed C's. I tacked the skirts to the fenders.

When I put them onto the frame of the trailer, they do not align. When viewed from behind, the wheel is farther out than the center of the fender. In order to make it align, I would have to fabricate a bracket, and do much more than just bolting them on. The edge of the tire sticks out about 1 " past the outside of the fender.

Other than looks, does this make a difference? The tire will obviously sling a little stuff that the fender won't stop. If I bolt the fender directly to the channel frame, as shown in the picture, it would vibrate less than if I make extension bracketing, and added weight. One fender has a work table over it, and can be totally supported by a bolt down from that. The other will have to be braced, and that bracing is in a space I need for an O2 bottle, which is behind the leads in the picture. So, I'd have to use heavier angle or flat bar to beef up that fender that would be flexing out there 24/7.

Photo @

What would you do?

Steve

I think I'd make brackets and mount them so that they cover the wheel as I believe that most State Motor Vehicle laws have a regulation that the fender must cover the wheel, or must p[event the tire from throwing mud, or some such think. Might be easier, somewhere down the line, when you get stopped for the blown tail light bulb, if the Cop doesn't have yet another transgression to document.

And too, it looks dorky if the wheels and fenders don't line up :-)

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Ouch!!!!

Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

Make a spacer with appropiately sized square tubing follwing the profile between the fender and the frame. The way it is now, at best, rain and mud will roostertail 15' above and behind you at speed.

I had to do my trailer fenders this way.

Good luck, John

From someone with a Jeep and tires that push the limits, you need to space it out properly. Most places have laws that say the fender must cover the tread completely. Covering the sidewall is good for highways in the rain and muddy job sites. You would be surprised at how much mud gets thrown from even a small water puddle. I also don't like the edge of the fender aimed at the center of the tread, I've sliced up a tire after someone bent the fender slightly.

But most of all, your picture makes it look funny.

A chuck of 2" square tube with a gusset would be a good start.

SteveB wrote:

On Tue, 6 May 2008 06:35:50 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, "johnnytorch" quickly quoth:

Yeah, what he said, Steve. Bend the tubing to the same diameter as the fender, weld them together, and weld them onto the trailer.

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How about returning the fenders and getting wider ones? Or slice the thing down the middle and add 3 inches of material. Is that fender sitting high enough up to be out of the way if the trailer were fully loaded and hit a big bump?

Pete Stanaitis

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SteveB wrote:

I agree with the others, it does *not* look good as is. There is one possible way out that has not been brought up: can you find rims with a different offset? Wheels for front wheel drive cars have much less offset.

I don't think so. Just weld spacer blocks to the frame, made of the same material as the trailer itself -- channel or whatever. They will be so much more substantial than the fenders it'll be as though the fenders were fastened directly to the frame.

I used a couple of stress spreader plates inside my fenders to stiffen them and to eliminate high stress points that would fatigue with vibration. They don't need to be very large to be effective. I think I welded them to the fenders.

Weld square tubing stubs perpendicular to the frame, set the fender on the top of the stubs and weld in place. With the stubs supporting the weight of the fender, you might not even need any other bracing.

I have seen Jeeps and other vehicles that have deep dish rims and stick out so far, it looks like they are using a section of log for a tire. Those can't be legal. And they look SOOOOOOO juvenile.

But I am going to extend it out and do it right.

Don't want to look "dorky".

Steve

Ditto, except: weld an upright axle c/l and perpenducular from there to = support middle of fender.

3 points.

The rule if thumb I usually use is the distance from the axle to the frame.This is the maximum travel of the axle. This height plus a half inch or so above the tread of the tire is plenty.

I think the standard widths for fenders are 10-3/4' and 12". Trying to remember.

Save the current pics and take some new ones of the altered fender / support. Show them side by side or at least on the same page. I expect a few of us would like to complement you on the improvement. :-)

What is it - two or three bolts ? Make thick washers. Maybe stack of such.

Cover the tire - the person behind you might not write down your plate number for their insurance man.....

Martin

Mart> I just bought two fenders and two skirts for my trailer. The fenders are

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The other real fab way :

Rip down the centers of the fenders and stitch in a 6" flat that matches. So each side is a quarter round and the top is a flat. Beef up the bracket for the higher weight.

Martin

Mart> I just bought two fenders and two skirts for my trailer. The fenders are

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Today, I made spacers and put the fenders out. They look super, and the extra bracing makes them more stiff. Tomorrow, the lights, then DMV.

WooHoo.

Steve