fender design/tips

[bfitz]

It seems I've overlooked a lot of details on fender construction and am looking for advice.

My frame has a small inset which will partially house the wheels. When completed, the wheels will be partially inside and partially outisde the wall of the trailer. Very roughly:



Where the dotted line is parallel to the outside of the wheel.

If the wheels were entirely inside the wall, I'd build and trim out a hole shaped identical to the profile. If entirely outside, I'd simply bolt on a fender shaped identical to the profile. Neither has big issues for me.

With a hybrid model, I'm worried about the interface of the outside wall of the body and the portion of the fender that must extend beyond the body. The easy build solution would be to fit a single piece of diamond plate with the correct profile as a partial internal/external fender. Unfortunately, this seems like a highway for water infiltration. I'm left feeling unsure of how to build this to get water out and away from the trailer, instead of pooling and festering in places that you just don't want water. Has anyone dealt with this? Can you cite some threads?

Rumor has it that Gage is good for this kind of advice. I also noticed that he has been craving this kind of discussion (see his recent thread). Anyone wanna start a pool to see how long/if he'll comment. Its 12:22, T-Day.

Thanks!
Brian

p.s. I wonder if it's wise to taunt the old sages around here.

[bfitz]

Still searching...but I cam across a picture that better shows what I am concerned about. In the photo below, what keeps water from getting behind the wall on the top side of the fender?



SHould I simply allow water in, but give it a place to go? How?

Thanks again,
Brian

[BK One]

I have this exact same condition and not sure if I've solved it yet. My sides are woody and I was going to fabricate narrow fenders with 2x, surface mount them, cover the top with aluminum (same as trailer top) and make wood skirts to match the sides.

I'm really concerned with sealing the fenders to the sides properly. Should we consider installing whole fenders that are half in the wheel wells?

I apologize if I have drifted off the original question.

[bfitz]

Don't apologize, please! The question is entirely open, and I hope more people come in with ideas.

An idea I've had is to box in the interior portions with 3/4 ply, seal the heck out of it, and cover with black goo. Then, fit a fender partially into the 'box' and partially out. The thought is to leave a gap between the fenders and walls which will be filled with a rubber gasket. It seems like it would be hard for water to get in, and with a large gap between the fender and wall/box, any water that finds its way in will flow out and dry quickly.

It looks kind of like this is what happened in the photo above.

-Brian

[Ageless]

Most of what I've seen is they lay-up a layer of glass mat then paint over

[RogHodge]

What about this sort of thing? http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-543-tf271232.aspx
Seems that they are designed for the purpose you have in mind. I’m no sure about the install method- seems you have to weld it all the way around- with a good weld water, mud, all variety of flying debris would no longer be an issue.

[BK One]

Brian,

I thought about doing pretty much the exact same thing. I know some people have built withn the same condition. Iwould like to hear what others have done.

Brian

[48Rob]

Brian,

If the fender will be partly inside, partly outside the body, it would be prudent to build a wheel well that is completely waterproof, then install the fender.

To affix the fender, then seal and hope water doesn't get in is a sure fire path to self destruction.

It might be simpler to use preformed (round) metal wheel wells, then use fender flares that attach to the exterior of the trailer to give the appearance of fenders.

Rob

[danlott]

Here is what I am planning on doing for my wheel wells. My wheels will stick out about 2 inches beyond the sidewall of the trailer. The rubber fender flares will stick out about 2.5 inches. You can look in my album for more pictures of what they will look like with the tires.





I will fiberglass the wheel well and then use Pacer universal fender flares. You can get these is widths from about 1.5 inches to 4.5 inches. I will use the 2.5 inch ones. Here is a picture of the fender flares and how they are installed.





Steve Frederick shows a pretty good example of how he handled this issue on his website at http://www.campingclassics.com/lodge5.html. I will be using a lot of his construction techniques. I highly recommend his shop manual.


Dan