Mud flap question...is legal?

It is always good to carry an extra mudflap with you too, it can double as a floor mat until it is needed. Never seems to fail that someone parks a trailer without them attached.

 

Mo state requirements are a maximum of 8" from the ground to the bottom of the mudflap and must cover the tire tread width.

 

i've never had a problem with AZ. and we haul to tucson a lot. where the 10 is flooded with watchers from phoenix to tucson.

TX is where i got my lvl 3 frtom though. for sailing flaps. so i put boards in back of the trailer. every once in awhile CO does a blitz. and gives me grief abouit the boards. so now i have a beam with reflective tape.

have no idea what happened to the trailer but when i got hired on. it was damaged. missing the ends of the bumper that cover the flaps. on a flat bed

in utah. the flap just has to cover AT LEAST the top half of the tire. meaning to the halfway point of the center of hub.

 

I usually pick-up torn off mudflaps in truckstop parking lots. A hammer, screwdriver to punch holes and zip ties will keep it on most anything. I've seen mudflaps attached to the dot bumper and thought they looked odd but I've also read the rules on them and can't find anything that says they can not be put there. As long as they hang down 1/2 the tire to cut spray and debris I'd say they were fine.

 

Mudflaps arent mandatory...

 

You said it, now ya gotta post a snipet out of the book to prove it.

 

I never said it would pass an inspection just that if you are driving through a scale a quick glance from the dot would see one hanging there and look at the next truck. It will most likely get you someplace where you can get it fixed.

 

So is Texas. Illinois is 12". I hooked to a trailer once...one mudflap was 6" from the ground, the other was 10" from the ground. I told the shop I'd like the short one replaced...they refused, since it was "legal" (shop was in IL). Went to the yard manager, and he said he'd pay the ticket if I got one, but I probably wouldn't get one.

3 days later, I was pulled over in Texas and written a warning ticket for the mudflap being too short. Amazingly enough, when I took the warning ticket back to the yard manager, he didn't recall the conversation we had about the mudflap being too short OR his willingness to pay for a ticket. Good thing it wasn't really a ticket. Moral of the story: If someone at the company says "It's OK...and if it's not, I'll pay the ticket", GET IT IN WRITING OR IT NEVER HAPPENED!!! That and don't pull a trailer you know isn't right.

While there is no federal regulation pertaining to mudflaps, there ARE state laws (which vary) requiring them.

That all depends upon the strength of the zip ties you use. If you use the cheap ones Walmart sells, you're right...not secure. I've got some that have a WLL rating of 250 pounds. You aren't going to tell me that using 4 of those isn't "secure"....that's 1000 pounds of WLL to hold a little flap of rubber. Hell, I could loop 'em together to make a chain out of them and climb up it if I wanted too & they'd hold me. For most situations, though, I've found the 175 pound WLL are the best compromise between cost and strength....but you'd better have something to cut them off if you need them removed, because you aren't going to break 'em with your bare hands.

Of course if you are going to use that argument with the officer on the side of the road, still having the bag the zip ties came in with the WLL printed on the packaging...and a few still in the bag for comparison....will help.