Hello;

The truck in m sig is starting to get a little rusty. Sometime in the next year or two I'll be working on it at a friends shop to take care of it.

Once done, I want to protect the truck for the future. I am currently planning to use POR-15 on the underside of the cab and bed, and then bedliner material along the bottom outside up to the character line.

I also am leaning towards putting on fender flares for further protection from stuff flying off the tires.

I hear stories about fender flares causing more rust because they hold water and debris between them and the fender. Anybody experience that? Would mudflaps do the job for me just as well? (cost less$$)

What if I did bedliner spray around the wheel-well lip under where the flares would go?

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

--Matt

 

I wouldn't install fender flares at all myself, but I would especially not install them if you want to keep your truck from rusting out sooner. That is exactly what they are a catch basin for road salt spray. Anytime you drill another hole in your sheet metal and apply road salt spray you will activate the oxidizing process.

 

Thanks for the feedback deere country.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I thought that I had heard about some flares that utilize the factory holes for the wheel well liners, and I might be ok with that.

I just know that all the trucks I see that have nothing (no flares or flaps) are always more rusted out than the ones that do.

Long term, I plan to run a little larger tire too; so I'll have to take tat into account if the flaps will still fit.

Thanks again,

-Matt

 

Take the time and paint over any rust that might be there and you should not have a problem.