by KCStudly » Fri Nov 18, 2016 10:18 am
Fenders of any substantial substance, being cantilevered from their mounting point, tend to fracture and break away from vibration if not mounted securely. On any kind of full size yet light weight fender in a side wall installation (not including those little weenie 12 inch tire type caps that come with the boxed kits) I would like to see several modest size fasteners around the inner lip of the fender, rather than just a few.
Some people want nice sturdy fenders so that they can stand on them to reach roof racks or to access the roof for other reasons (adjusting solar panels comes to mind). This is where I might step up to a frame mounted bracket that absolutely anchors the leading and trailing edges of the fender. These struts can incorporate running lights, too.
Fenders are going to be the widest point on a trailer, so are the most likely contact point to brush off of, or outright clobber something when cutting it too close, or when backing under less than ideal visibility (rain, night, etc.). For an off road build this becomes even more of a concern. This is where you will see heavy steel fenders with robust mountings, full tube fenders and/or running boards that double as rock rails and/or tree fenders, and the like. (For the record, I am a big proponent of Tread Lightly tactics... pack in/pack out... and don't want to see anyone harming trees, but on many established trails the damage has already been done, trees do fall in the woods, and the rubbed on trees have already become part of the trail, so to me, since I can't fix that tree, it is acceptable practice to follow the trail... of course we try to avoid this and the harm it can do to our vehicles, but sometimes the trail is only so wide... just don't go berserk busting every tree you come to.)
My original plan was to just secure my aluminum flat top fenders to the side walls using threaded inserts and six or so 1/4 inch or 5/16 bolts per side, but now I am thinking I might weld simple struts to the bottoms of my main rails that will support the lower edges, eliminate most of the holes in the wall (for better weather resistance) and provide a feature to hide and protect running light wiring outside of the wheel well, leaving the tops of the fenders uncluttered.
KC
My Build:
The Poet Creek Express Hybrid Foamie
Poet Creek Or Bust
Engineering the TLAR way - "That Looks About Right"
TnTTT ORIGINAL 200A LANTERN CLUB = "The 200A Gang"Green Lantern Corpsmen