Hey Husky, MOPAR, Quadratec, and Weathertech! The Mud Flap Challenge is On! (New: WT wins!)

[Gellie]

My install was a little fiddly, definitely somewhat challenging lining up the holes. Probably took me closer to an hour taking my time and also having my 14-y/o son help out. Recommend not worrying about the fastener remover if you don't have one. I used a flathead screwdriver to lift them a little, and then just clipped the head off the plastic clip since you don't need them.

Overall, I really like the fit. They're snug, and the texture/color of the black plastic matches well with the JLUR's factory trim. These should be a factory option, as I have a pretty big gouge in the rear passenger door from a rock.

Next up, Ace rock sliders which should ship in a week or two.

very nice. Thx for the pics

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[Mad Hatter]

Brian, thanks for your photos as the latest Forum installment on the WeatherTech line. The flaps look great on your Rubi!

While I haven't installed yet (due to unpleasant tax work reasons mentioned above), one of the things that bugged me when first looking at the installation picture was the shiny stainless screw and washer on top on each front mud flap. I believe that the plastic overhang will reduce my concerns, but I always have the option used many times over many years on prior mud flaps on other vehicles: A quick 2-second burst from black spray-on undercoating or similar makes that shininess disappear fast! I'll likely do this on all the shiny screws, even though they are stainless steel, as my concern is looks rather than protection from water and salt. Add some road grime, and nobody will know the screws are there! (Those of you who try this, be sure to mask the exterior paint!)

P.S.: A long time ago, "Competition Orange" was in. My 1974 Volvo 142E was bright orange. (Sorry for aging myself!) Stick shift with electrical overdrive, rally shocks, etc. Loved it, and drove it hard. Sold it only since then going into a field sales job with boring but cost-free company car. Nice to see orange is back. My Rubi is Granite Chrystal, as I wanted something low-profile to park at trailheads. But after 18 months of my first Wrangler, if I had to do it again, I'd probably go bright, to Punk'n or similar. I know better now: Just driving a Wrangler makes a statement. Enjoy!

 

[bamchenry]

Brian, thanks for your photos as the latest Forum installment on the WeatherTech line. The flaps look great on your Rubi!

While I haven't installed yet (due to unpleasant tax work reasons mentioned above), one of the things that bugged me when first looking at the installation picture was the shiny stainless screw and washer on top on each front mud flap. I believe that the plastic overhang will reduce my concerns, but I always have the option used many times over many years on prior mud flaps on other vehicles: A quick 2-second burst from black spray-on undercoating or similar makes that shininess disappear fast! I'll likely do this on all the shiny screws, even though they are stainless steel, as my concern is looks rather than protection from water and salt. Add some road grime, and nobody will know the screws are there! (Those of you who try this, be sure to mask the exterior paint!)

P.S.: A long time ago, "Competition Orange" was in. My 1974 Volvo 142E was bright orange. (Sorry for aging myself!) Stick shift with electrical overdrive, rally shocks, etc. Loved it, and drove it hard. Sold it only since then going into a field sales job with boring but cost-free company car. Nice to see orange is back. My Rubi is Granite Chrystal, as I wanted something low-profile to park at trailheads. But after 18 months of my first Wrangler, if I had to do it again, I'd probably go bright, to Punk'n or similar. I know better now: Just driving a Wrangler makes a statement. Enjoy!

Happy to help. True story: my son’s Granite Crystal JL Sport got me to switch from my blue ‘08 VW R32 (which saw many miles as a sales engineer) to the Punk’n JLUR.

I’m also vaguely bothered by the silver screws. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Brian, by coincidence, it was my son's interest in buying a Wrangler that got me interested. He is stationed at Ft. Bragg. He wanted a Wrangler, but none of his area dealers carried manual transmission Wranglers, so I visited a dealer here in Pittsburgh. Test drove, hey, this is kind of fun. Maybe it was the comic book ads from my youth that made me always want a Wrangler, but I started seriously considering buying one for myself. I also shared the thought with my son that if one likes manual transmissions, better get one soon, as they are disappearing fast! Several test drives said "Rubicon!"

Back to my son, he needed a new vehicle to drive to some scheduled training in Texas, so his timeline started getting shorter. My dealer had a white, black, and granite crystal trio of Rubicons on the way, per the website. I had my eye on the granite crystal, my son's first choice was white, then black. Then he went to a wedding in New Jersey, saw a bunch of white Wranglers, and then a shiny, week-old black Wrangler in a parking lot. Black became his first choice. The black Rubi by now had arrived at the Pittsburgh dealer, but the white and granite crystal were still en route. Perfect match. First choice black in stock. It was time to buy.

I went out to the dealer on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, 2018. Arrrgghh! There was another couple looking at the black Rubicon that day. I waited three long hours for the couple to make up their mind. I waved a big deposit check around, but the dealer honored first come first serve. The couple took it in the end. My son was crestfallen, and I shared his disappointment.

The Tuesday after Memorial Day I was at a lunch meeting downtown, and I wondered if the black Rubi deal had fallen through. I drove to the dealer to see if I would find the black Rubi of interest still on the lot. No such luck. BUT, on Memorial Day, a transporter had delivered the other two Rubi's, the white and granite crystal! I called my son to give him the good news, well, for him. It seems that his next choice after black was granite crystal. Being a good father, I did what every parent would do: I let him buy the granite crystal Wrangler that I wanted. A week later he was in Pittsburgh to pick up the vehicle, and he happily drove it back to North Carolina.

That left me. I wasn't in a big hurry. Long story short, without my formal commitment the dealer ordered a clone of my son's granite crystal Wrangler. They just knew I would buy it. And they were right!

I should post script the story with the comment that no Wrangler remains stock forever. I've added a winch guard, hood lock, and other items, so that yes, we can tell the two Wranglers apart!

My father-son Wrangler story is kind of fun. I hope you enjoy your own father-son pair of Wranglers!

MH

 

[InvertedLogic]

@bamchenry how flexible are the WT flaps? The look is growing on me. However, I am worried about their flexibility if they get caught up on a rock or something. Do you think they would break off/break your fender, or are they flexible enough that they would bend and come back into place?

 

[Greg H]

I was concerned about that too.

They are stiff but flexible. Not sure how flexible they would be in below freezing temperatures though.

 

[InvertedLogic]

I was concerned about that too.

They are stiff but flexible. Not sure how flexible they would be in below freezing temperatures though.

Nice, that looks promising. At the very least maybe they won't rip off your fenders.

 

[Greg H]

Nice, that looks promising. At the very least maybe they won't rip off your fenders.

If your really concerned about it they are easily removable. Just 2 screws to remove from each of the rears and 4 screes from each of the front. So you could remove all 4 in around 5 minutes.

 

[InvertedLogic]

@bamchenry @Greg H another question. What does the hardware screw into? It looks like the SS hardware replaces clips. Is there a nut behind the fender that they screw into or what? Install instructions aren't up on WT's website yet.

 

[Greg H]

@bamchenry @Greg H another question. What does the hardware screw into? It looks like the SS hardware replaces clips. Is there a nut behind the fender that they screw into or what? Install instructions aren't up on WT's website yet.

There are U clips that slide on over the existing holes in the underside of the fenders behind the inner fender liner. The screws with washers then screw into the U clips. There is no drilling or modification of the fenders or liners required. I attached pictures showing the main steps to install the fronts. Hopefully you can zoom in and see/read them. The rear are easier than the front.

 

[InvertedLogic]

Perfect, thanks!

 

[Mad Hatter]

I will second Gellie's motion that the screws and holes are difficult to line up. One thing I found is that it is possible to reach up from behind and touch the U-clips with one hand while screwing in with the other; lining up and applying pressure from the rear seemed to help.

I might disagree a bit with Greg H.: The Rears LOOK easier than the front, but I didn't have a U-clip break on the front, like I did on the rear. The U-clips are rather thin metal, and it is obvious when trying to line up the screws and holes and U-clips for the rear flaps, something broke. The upper U-clip, in this case. No U-clip, no anchor for the screw. Installation halted. WeatherTech is sending replacement hardware sets, so at least they are responsive. One interesting observation: In the picture above, Greg's rear flap used the inner hole for the lower attachment point. On mine, the fastener lined up with the outer hole, confirmed by the instructions. The inner hole isn't used. Wonder if Jeep changed designs since introduction.

One mystery, WeatherTech, if you are following this thread: The OEM lower U-clip for the rear flap is robust and a beast to remove. It would have been much better to replace the OEM screw with a longer one and reuse the OEM U-clip. Just sayin'.

Nonetheless, of the two mud flap options out there for the Rubicon with factory rail, I think this one looks much more refined and integrated into the overall design. For those that have commented about the "lip" that extends out from the front fender, that actually matches the width of the factory Rubicon's A/T tires. And the other guy's mudflap extends out as well.

As to flexibility, the flaps are made out of polypropylene. They are somewhat stiff. Maybe rubber would have been more flexible, but WeatherTech is big into injection molding, and rubber molding requires a whole different process and machinery. Maybe TPR, thermoplastic rubber, would be better, as it can be injection molded. Let's let the marketplace decide!

Will advise how fast the replacement hardware kits arrive. We are starting to fight cooler temperatures, and I would hate to install the rear flaps in a snowstorm!

MH

 

[Gellie]

I will second Gellie's motion that the screws and holes are difficult to line up. One thing I found is that it is possible to reach up from behind and touch the U-clips with one hand while screwing in with the other; lining up and applying pressure from the rear seemed to help.

I might disagree a bit with Greg H.: The Rears LOOK easier than the front, but I didn't have a U-clip break on the front, like I did on the rear. The U-clips are rather thin metal, and it is obvious when trying to line up the screws and holes and U-clips for the rear flaps, something broke. The upper U-clip, in this case. No U-clip, no anchor for the screw. Installation halted. WeatherTech is sending replacement hardware sets, so at least they are responsive. One interesting observation: In the picture above, Greg's rear flap used the inner hole for the lower attachment point. On mine, the fastener lined up with the outer hole, confirmed by the instructions. The inner hole isn't used. Wonder if Jeep changed designs since introduction.

One mystery, WeatherTech, if you are following this thread: The OEM lower U-clip for the rear flap is robust and a beast to remove. It would have been much better to replace the OEM screw with a longer one and reuse the OEM U-clip. Just sayin'.

Nonetheless, of the two mud flap options out there for the Rubicon with factory rail, I think this one looks much more refined and integrated into the overall design. For those that have commented about the "lip" that extends out from the front fender, that actually matches the width of the factory Rubicon's A/T tires. And the other guy's mudflap extends out as well.

As to flexibility, the flaps are made out of polypropylene. They are somewhat stiff. Maybe rubber would have been more flexible, but WeatherTech is big into injection molding, and rubber molding requires a whole different process and machinery. Maybe TPR, thermoplastic rubber, would be better, as it can be injection molded. Let's let the marketplace decide!

Will advise how fast the replacement hardware kits arrive. We are starting to fight cooler temperatures, and I would hate to install the rear flaps in a snowstorm!

MH

looks likes it might be a challenge. Mine arrives Thursday. I guess I’ll block out Saturday for the install.

 

[Greg H]

looks likes it might be a challenge. Mine arrives Thursday. I guess I’ll block out Saturday for the install.

It's a pretty easy install. Took me about 30 minutes. Getting the holes to line up to get the screws in is the only challenge. But it's not that hard. I used a jeweler's screwdriver to insert thru the holes and the u clip to line them up before inserting the screws.

 

[bamchenry]

It's a pretty easy install. Took me about 30 minutes. Getting the holes to line up to get the screws in is the only challenge. But it's not that hard. I used a jeweler's screwdriver to insert thru the holes and the u clip to line them up before inserting the screws.

Wish I had thought of that!

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