ok so the state of new jersey says i need fender flares inorder to pass inspection. So i am thinking of gettin the bushwacker pocket styles flares.
Few questions for those who have them
Can you paint them with line-x?
Do they have to be off the truck to get painted?
How much of a pain are they to install?
I do a good amount of off roading in mudd and sand, do i have to worry about them gettin ripped off?
thanks yall

 

-you can paint them with line x
-it would be easier to do off the truck...dont know of a shop that would do it on the truck but you would have to ask
-probably fairly easy to install....pressure tape and clips/tabs to lock into place
-will not be ripped off unless you get stuck on a tree etc and rip them off....sand and mud wont take them off.

 

- yes
- i would just get them done before you install them
- it's pretty time consuming to get them on because you have to drill i think 64 holes in them to put the little accent bolts on and put the rubber trim on but the holes are already indented so its not hard. also don't use the three plastic rivets on the front ones, i've had two front flares fall off because the rivets pulled out so i replaced them with bolts and lock nuts.
-if your tires scrub badly then maybe, if your tires knock one loose and it hits the tire it will rip it off, i had one get ripped off on the highway but that was due to three years of mudding and whatnot then one of the rivets pulled out. other than that they are pretty tough.

 

Did you find a place to get an inspection ?


- you can get them linex'ed

- it would be alot easier and cheaper if they were off the truck when you have them painted. The body shop would prolly take them off anyway since you need to put a rubber seal on the edges so the flare doesnt scratch the paint.

- If you have an extra set of hands the install isnt that bad. i installed mine by myself and it took mayb 2 hours, but it was a pain.

- Unless your tires rub i wouldnt be too concerned with them coming off, however i was a bit disappointed with the hardware kit they send you with the flares. Each flare is basically held on with 4-5 small screws.

 

oh yeah and the edge of the flares will rub the paint completely off over time so be prepared to keep them for a while

 

Install is a pain in the AAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

By myself, started at dawn, got dark, only got the front 2 on.....i waited till the next weekend, i put the back two on because i honestly did not want to go through it again.

 

o damn ok
no they say i need these to get inspected
ok here the real issue i have the aftermarket bumper
and the silver shroud underneath the light is where the flares end i dont have that
if i cut it there with the mounting bracket will it work?
thanks yall

 

from your pic, it looks like you'll be just fine. there are like 5 screws that go into it and i think you'll be good with just 4....I would be kind of skeptical about cutting a brand new product...but you gotta do what you gotta do

 

your prolly gunna have to cut/trim the front flares to get them to fit with that bumper. I dont think you'll have a problem with 4 screws holding them on, you can always drill a few more to safe

 

I dont understand why people cant get them on very easy. I have done 3 sets now and they have been easy each time. Start at the top then work your way down. And if you want to ensure they dont go anywhere instead of using the clips just screw directly into the crap plastic, especially on the bottom.

 

Mav, you're in the same boat I am. After I built my bumper I couldn't remount my bushwacker fender flares. I trimmed them to match up with the corners of the front bumper but it didn't look right at all so I took them off and I have yet to figure something out. I even saw a pic of a gunmetal gray f150 with a similar bumper on the net. He trimmed the bushwackers to make them fit and I didn't like how his turned out either. I think I'm going to go with the ATS fender flares. The reason is because they would work perfectly with our style bumpers. Here is a pic of what they look like, taken from mytightride.com:

They are a smoother design and aren't as rugged as the bushwackers but I think they'll look better. Plus the part of the fender flare that sits on the stock bumper is its own piece. It's not useable with our style bumpers so just discard it and mount the larger piece that runs along the wheel well. No trimming needed. As far as installing the bushwackers, I did it myself in a couple hours. I thought it was pretty easy. But ditch the crappy clips they give you. I used 5 small sheet metal screws on each fender flare. I took black touch up paint to make the stainless screws blend in with the black fender flares. You could barely see them.

 

Here is an idea of what they look like Line X'd with extra on them. This is on an 09' but it gives you a good idea of the LineX vs. painted route.

 

thanks guys ill give a look into the ats fender flares and see if that is easier
damn they look good linex
ill definaltely be doin that
thanks yall

 

Maybe you could hold off till July to get your truck inspected? NJ is actually going to get rid of state inspection.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/sta...g-like-history


Or maybe you could throw on diffrent wheels just to get the inspection, and they put back your high offset wheels after you pass?

 

Yup, i guess that means no high rise inspection

Mav - how far do your tires stick out, i have a set of stock flares you could borrow if they only stick out abit