Why all the fuss about splash guards and mud flaps?
I (like many others here) am not happy about the amount of mud and road grime that gets thrown all the way up the side of my JK. It gets on my door, handles, glass, soft top, etc… If this was not my daily driver then it would not be such a hassle but I use my Jeep for every day driving, work, hunting and plenty of off roading. I was tired of grabbing a dirty handle and getting my pants dirty just getting in and out of my Jeep. So, I decided to put on the factory Mopar splash guards and I’m glad I did.
Now, a little background….I installed these about 4 months ago because I wanted to put these through their paces before I commented on them. These are just my observations and your mileage may vary. I wanted to use them off road to see how they would hold up to my type of wheeling.
What is “my type” of wheeling? I suspect it’s about the same as 90% of you guys out there light to moderate. And when I say moderate I mean probably more than most 4x4’s out there could go. I’ve taken my jeep through light mud up to the bottom of my doors and the splash guards made it through unscathed. I took it through thick mud to where I was buried to the frame and stuck…I had to get pulled out (backwards) and the splash guards held tight. I’ve taken it over some pretty uneven terrain and while I’ve scraped them a couple times and even bent the left front one back a little, it popped back into shape with no sign of it ever being bent with the exception of light abrasions on the bottom edge. I was surprised to see how much both the ridged splash guard and fender “flexed” without breaking off or bending.
Now as far as off road driving goes, light to medium is the extent I’d like to push my Jeep. I am pretty certain that if I did any type of aggressive rock crawling or other types of those obstacles then the splash guards would be toast. Then again, if I was pushing my Jeep to that extent, it wouldn’t be my daily driver either….think about it.
As it is, steep hills, uneven terrain, mud, minor rocks and obstacles were no problem at all.
For light to moderate off roading you will be hard pressed to rip them off….however, even if you did, it’s not the end of the world as you would most likely be just replacing the mud flap and perhaps the rear bumper or fender. I’ve got the black fenders so there is no need for paint, just put the new one back on and go. That’s small compared to what most folks break when they off road on difficult terrain, hell ripping off a splash guard would be the least of my worries at that point.
I think the main reluctance folks have to installing mud flaps/splash guards is the “perception” that you give to others Jeepers that you are not the “hard core” off roader you want them to believe you are. To each their own I guess, it doesn’t bother me because I know what my Jeep can and can’t do with them on and that’s just fine with me.
If you don't like the way they look that's one thing, but I’m just tired of reading post after post of how mud flaps and splash guards are for “mall crawlers” and the perception that you will rip them off the second you leave black top or worst of all that you are somehow not a “true Jeeper” if you have them on your jeep. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Jeeps are the most capable mass produced off road vehicle you can buy off the showroom floor and nothing changes that….not even splash guards. If you want to drive around with a filthy Jeep and wear that as a “badge of honor” by all means be my guest, I don’t though, I’d like it too stay as clean as possible when I’m on blacktop. It will get dirty enough off road and make no mistake about it, I go off road often…splash guards and all.
I (like many others here) am not happy about the amount of mud and road grime that gets thrown all the way up the side of my JK. It gets on my door, handles, glass, soft top, etc… If this was not my daily driver then it would not be such a hassle but I use my Jeep for every day driving, work, hunting and plenty of off roading. I was tired of grabbing a dirty handle and getting my pants dirty just getting in and out of my Jeep. So, I decided to put on the factory Mopar splash guards and I’m glad I did.
Now, a little background….I installed these about 4 months ago because I wanted to put these through their paces before I commented on them. These are just my observations and your mileage may vary. I wanted to use them off road to see how they would hold up to my type of wheeling.
What is “my type” of wheeling? I suspect it’s about the same as 90% of you guys out there light to moderate. And when I say moderate I mean probably more than most 4x4’s out there could go. I’ve taken my jeep through light mud up to the bottom of my doors and the splash guards made it through unscathed. I took it through thick mud to where I was buried to the frame and stuck…I had to get pulled out (backwards) and the splash guards held tight. I’ve taken it over some pretty uneven terrain and while I’ve scraped them a couple times and even bent the left front one back a little, it popped back into shape with no sign of it ever being bent with the exception of light abrasions on the bottom edge. I was surprised to see how much both the ridged splash guard and fender “flexed” without breaking off or bending.
Now as far as off road driving goes, light to medium is the extent I’d like to push my Jeep. I am pretty certain that if I did any type of aggressive rock crawling or other types of those obstacles then the splash guards would be toast. Then again, if I was pushing my Jeep to that extent, it wouldn’t be my daily driver either….think about it.
As it is, steep hills, uneven terrain, mud, minor rocks and obstacles were no problem at all.
For light to moderate off roading you will be hard pressed to rip them off….however, even if you did, it’s not the end of the world as you would most likely be just replacing the mud flap and perhaps the rear bumper or fender. I’ve got the black fenders so there is no need for paint, just put the new one back on and go. That’s small compared to what most folks break when they off road on difficult terrain, hell ripping off a splash guard would be the least of my worries at that point.
I think the main reluctance folks have to installing mud flaps/splash guards is the “perception” that you give to others Jeepers that you are not the “hard core” off roader you want them to believe you are. To each their own I guess, it doesn’t bother me because I know what my Jeep can and can’t do with them on and that’s just fine with me.
If you don't like the way they look that's one thing, but I’m just tired of reading post after post of how mud flaps and splash guards are for “mall crawlers” and the perception that you will rip them off the second you leave black top or worst of all that you are somehow not a “true Jeeper” if you have them on your jeep. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Jeeps are the most capable mass produced off road vehicle you can buy off the showroom floor and nothing changes that….not even splash guards. If you want to drive around with a filthy Jeep and wear that as a “badge of honor” by all means be my guest, I don’t though, I’d like it too stay as clean as possible when I’m on blacktop. It will get dirty enough off road and make no mistake about it, I go off road often…splash guards and all.