Mud Flaps on a Slide Camper (lots of pics)

[JohnB]

Hi Fellow Sunliner’s

After using these now for a few moths I can say they work well. Mud Flaps…. Yes mud flaps on a camper.

This was not so much an issue on our prior T2499 as it had a full wheel well that covered a great deal of the tire. However, on this slide camper there is a limited wheel well and close to none. The bottom of the camper vapor barrier was plastered for about 8 feet behind the wheels and the entry steps where too. That never sat well with me as sooner or later under that abuse I would end up with wet insulation.

I have been wanting to do this upgrade for some time and my ladder rack mod earlier this year accelerated the need after one towing in the rain….. Sunline at least put some sheet metal over the tires but it did not go all the way to the frame. I also encased the entire area with flashing and sealed it in. Now I have all metal in the line of fire from wet flying off the wheels.

So here is the mod in pic’s. The 1st thing was finding the mud flaps at a decent price. I was at the RV salvage yards this summer and the opportunity presented it self. $3 bucks each. I could not neat that price. They are slightly under 1/4” thick and just the right size. Now granted they have some advertising on the but I will paint that with black fusion paint later on when I rust proof and paint the TT frame next year.

Here they are. Found then at Bontragers Home | Bontragers Surplus Inc. They had an entire pallet of them. If you want some, call as they ship about any where.



I made a template first.


Then trace and cut




A test fit to make sure it would work like I had planed. Yup it do, great.





Then I needed to add some metal to bolt them to. Each spot was a little different as there was different things to contend with.

The non slide side. This was easier as the front and rear could use the same thing




The slide side front bottom


Slide side top


Slide rear. This was the easiest as I could use an outrigger. You can see the mud drips on the vapor barrier here from no wheel well and no flaps.



Then at each location I added a stiffener so the would not blow in the wind.


The slide front


The slide rear


And the job complete


Non slide side








And you can see here how it covers the area where the steps and ladder rack would be in the line of fire. Not any more.








Thanks for looking

John

[kanyonkitty]

Great job, John But, what is the red wire for that I see laying across the steps ????

[JohnB]

Hi Kitty,

Good to see you up and posting again.

Thanks for the kind words on the mod. The red wire laying on the steps That is not part of the mud flap mod... nor the ladder rack mod....

I took those last few pics a weekend ago while breaking down camp. The red wire is the extension cord that is normally clipped to the camper that runs the red, white and blue awning lights.... I just placed it down on the steps so it would not be hanging in the pic... Can't get much past you

Here is a pic from last weekend. The lights are on the awning. Amazing what a week can do... We had our first heavy killer frost this AM.


Hope the white stuff goes away down your way.

John

[MOKID]

Our 2005 Sunline T1950 had one mud flap on it when we bought it. As you face the tongue it is on the right side. I figured Sunline put it on there to protect the Black and Grey drain pipe. I always thought it looks strange with only one mud flap. I always wondered why they never had one on both sides. We are the second owner but the original owner said that is the way it came.

Your mud flaps look great. Nice job.

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by MOKID

Our 2005 Sunline T1950 had one mud flap on it when we bought it. As you face the tongue it is on the right side. I figured Sunline put it on there to protect the Black and Grey drain pipe. I always thought it looks strange with only one mud flap. I always wondered why they never had one on both sides. We are the second owner but the original owner said that is the way it came.

Your mud flaps look great. Nice job.

Yes, they did put it on some select models to protect that drain pipe. I'm not sure why they only did the one side, maybe simply cost reasons. I believe, if it wasn't in 2007, it was a requirement at some point that CSA equipped units had to have mud flaps on both sides, so that's how the design of them came about.

Nice job on the flaps, John. Now you just need to get some Sunline logos on there instead of the Pace American!

Yes, Kitty, good to see you back up and posting again!!!

[Jim-Bev-2363]

First off, (((kitty))) Good to see you.

John, Great adds as usual. I like the way you made a wheelwell for the entire wheel area and not just mudflaps. More on the metal topper?

I have the flaps and ladder holder on our low-rider. The ladder had to go up between the frame rails for protection. That limited the ladder length to a five footer. Not so bad since the TT is shorter, closer to the ground. Our flaps come closer to the ground so I need to be careful about hitting anything when backing up. I've also thought of putting a flap on the front of the wheels, especially on the sewer connection side. Maybe later.

jim

[Poppy & Nana]

Originally Posted by MOKID

Our 2005 Sunline T1950 had one mud flap on it when we bought it. As you face the tongue it is on the right side. I figured Sunline put it on there to protect the Black and Grey drain pipe. I always thought it looks strange with only one mud flap. I always wondered why they never had one on both sides. We are the second owner but the original owner said that is the way it came.

Your mud flaps look great. Nice job.

When we had our 1950 that was one of the first things we noticed....we bought a 2nd mudflap from Sunline and put it on the opposite side.

We had always thought it was to protect the gas line for the BBQ grill that was right there - never thought of the drain lines since the mudflap was NOT on any other model we looked at.

Just our thoughts!

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

I believe, if it wasn't in 2007, it was a requirement at some point that CSA equipped units had to have mud flaps on both sides, so that's how the design of them came about.

Nice job on the flaps, John. Now you just need to get some Sunline logos on there instead of the Pace American!

Jon, 2 good points.

The CSA requirement, interesting. I wonder why? Any idea on how to know what are all the CSA requirements? If Canada has deemed them to be needs then there must be something to them that here in the states is missing. I now Canada has many thing that are higher standard then here state side. Like Pressure vessels. We have to have all ASME certified vessel but a vessel going into Canada needs even more certification.

Oh, the logos on the flaps. H'mm Good idea! Maybe I can get a few thin scrapes of stainless sheet metal from work and bond a printed Sunline logo covered in the clear decal protector tape like I did over the rest of the decals on the camper. Maybe a SOC logo! Just think, someone seeing our rig going down the road can identify us by the down spouts on the gutters and SOC logos on the mud flaps. . As "we" have been counting all the T310SR's Sunline ever made that even further lowers the odds that one of them may be us towing down the highway....

Thanks

John

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Jim-Bev-2363

I like the way you made a wheelwell for the entire wheel area and not just mudflaps. More on the metal topper?

jim

Jim,

Sunline provided the large galvanized sheet metal top to the wheel well. This is a slide camper thing, the smaller campers have more of a wheel well as the tires are above the floor. On the larger slide campers the floor goes over the top of the tire. In 2005 models and newer Sunline did away with the sheet metal and went to a form of hard plastic up there. I'm assuming cost reduction is what drove this.

Here is what was standard. At least in 2004 and some of the years before then.

This is the non slide side. They formed the metal up the side of the camper which is good they just never sealed it. So I did when I had to fix that one fender.


The slide side looks like this and the non slide too for that matter. Look at the black vapor barrier between the edge of the sheet metal and the I beam frame. I'm at least glad Sunline took this extra step to give me what they did. Many campers have nothing above the wheels but vapor barrier. Including very high end brands like the SunnyBrook Titan high end camper when they still made it and Komfort. And still to this day a lot of the mid level to low lever campers still have nothing. Jayco and Skyline do put a piece of flashing metal over this entire area to the frame. They just stop front to back at the ends of the wheels like most everyone else and mud and water flys up and down the camper front to back.


That exposed black vapor barrier was my concern. I took roof flashing and created a strip of metal the entire length of the well and past the flaps. I took down the edge of the Sunline wheel well, shoved as much in that side as I could and then slide it in over the top of the I beam frame. Then I caulked everything closed before and after I put the Sunline well back up in there. So the caulk sealed the joint between the old and new metal. I didn't take many pics, almost none of the flashing adder. Must of been in a hurry.... I'll get some next time I'm under there. You can see it here with a bunch of white caulk on the strip.


My goal was that any water flying around in that area is not beating on the vapor barrier trying to get behind it. Since I plan on keeping this camper at this point for many years to come, I need to watch and look out for the longevity of the system. I'm about done now with any more frame or under the frame mod's so next year it will be scrape the frame for rust, treat and paint. A task all in itself. I have a spare tire holder mod to do yet up front. My spare is in the front cargo hole and it eats up a lot of space. It will go directly under the camper in the same location buried up in the center of the frame. Have to go to the junk yards and pick up a spare tire cable hoist.

Yes I saw your flaps on your camper. I'm sure they help.

Thanks

John

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Jon, 2 good points.

The CSA requirement, interesting. I wonder why? Any idea on how to know what are all the CSA requirements? If Canada has deemed them to be needs then there must be something to them that here in the states is missing. I now Canada has many thing that are higher standard then here state side. Like Pressure vessels. We have to have all ASME certified vessel but a vessel going into Canada needs even more certification.

Oh, the logos on the flaps. H'mm Good idea! Maybe I can get a few thin scrapes of stainless sheet metal from work and bond a printed Sunline logo covered in the clear decal protector tape like I did over the rest of the decals on the camper. Maybe a SOC logo! Just think, someone seeing our rig going down the road can identify us by the down spouts on the gutters and SOC logos on the mud flaps. . As "we" have been counting all the T310SR's Sunline ever made that even further lowers the odds that one of them may be us towing down the highway....

Thanks

John

I'm not sure where one would figure out all the requirements. I'd guess they are like RVIA standards here, kinda follows UL but has specific details that you don't learn until you buy the manual and/or membership.

"U.S. manufacturers do not have to comply with CSA Standards in order to sell units in Canada. However, members of the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association (CRVA: Welcome to the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association) are required to build their units to CSA Standards. Their plants are inspected by CSA to ensure the Standards are being complied with. Units produced by CRVA members will have a CRVA Seal and a CSA Seal displayed on the unit. The Dual Seals are your guarantee that the unit has been produced to the highest standards.

Catherine Fleming
Executive Assistant
Go RVing Canada"

Here's a link to more details. Sunlines did have dual seals on the CSA units.

About the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association and CRVA Membership

I really like the idea for SS on the mudflaps! I think that would look awesome!