Rocker panel protection ?s

[BKunic]

It's sort of become obvious to me that I need to do something to give the rocker panels some sort of protection from the kicked up mud, dirt, rocks, etc that you encounter while driving on dirt roads. I'm curious what others have done, and how happy they are with the results. Has it worked? Would you do it differently next time?



I was thinking about the molded mudguards that screw in place, I believe they are by Mopar, but I was wondering how well they worked. I was also wondering if they rubbed the paint off.



I've never gone the running board route as sometimes they can look kind of homely. But since I have a 4x4 the step might come in handy. Anyone have a set of running boards that look good and protect the rocker panels and provide a handy step up. I'll shortly be getting rid of the grab handle when I install gauges on the A pillar, so a step may not be that bad to have. Especially if I give it the 2" leveling kit. Now, running boards with lights, that's an idea...



Finally, I'd kind of like a set of the Cummins mud flaps in the rear (2500 SRW 4x4). Stupid question, but how do they install?



Thanks for the input in advance. I try to avoid re-inventing the wheel, so that's why I'm floating this to the TDR brothers.



And have a great '04,



Bryan

 

[Tony T.]

Husky

I went with the Husky mud/rock guards and they help a lot. I have only one rock chip on the passenger side rear wheel, and that was before I installed the Husky. The Mopars work just as well but are probally a little higher priced coming from the dealership. Also had the chrome/or stainless steel nerf bars installed they are a must if you have a short wife, or girlfriend.

 

[Fireman]

Bryan,



The molded splash guards will rub the paint and they don't stop all of the damage to the rockers. Mopar makes a pretty nice molded running board that along with a mud flap should give decent rocker protection.



Fireman

 

[klenger]

I had the Mopar mounded mud flaps and Westin nerft bars on my 01. I will do the same on the 04. 5. Never had any trouble, but I seldom travel gravel roads, and never go off road. Click on the "sold" link in my sig for pics.

 

[rbattelle]

I currently have no mudflaps or running boards, because I just don't like the way they cut down on ground clearance, and I don't particularly like the way they look. So, I figure when my rocker panels get dinged up bad enough I'll take it to my Line-X dealer and have everything below the groove in the doors coated.

 

[Tony T.]

Originally posted by rbattelle

I currently have no mudflaps or running boards, because I just don't like the way they cut down on ground clearance, and I don't particularly like the way they look. So, I figure when my rocker panels get dinged up bad enough I'll take it to my Line-X dealer and have everything below the groove in the doors coated.

I saw a Ford Powerstroke the other day at the bank parking lot that had a spray in bed liner, and he had them spray over the bed top railing and down the bed to the top groove. The truck was a older model, and the liner (red in color) had faded out. I noticed from a distance the truck looked funny, and as I got closer to it, an seen what he had done. I was not to impressed with it. My Husky guards came with the clear plastic protective coatings to install over the painted area before the guards are installed, The plastic coating is hidden by the Husky guard. So it should not rub the paint off . I will check them periodically. I was like you at first rbattelle I did'nt want the guards on there but I got use to them an they look ok with the nerf bars. JMHO

 

[rbattelle]

Tony,



Indeed there is a great risk with putting Line-X on the rockers... could look really bad and once it's on there you're stuck with it. But there are some others on here who have done it, and it looks fine. Steve St. Laurent, I believe, is one of them (he used permatex). Anyway, that's a ways down the road.

 

[Tony T.]

Originally posted by rbattelle

Tony,



Indeed there is a great risk with putting Line-X on the rockers... could look really bad and once it's on there you're stuck with it. But there are some others on here who have done it, and it looks fine. Steve St. Laurent, I believe, is one of them (he used permatex). Anyway, that's a ways down the road.

I did'nt mean to come on as a insult, or anything like that. Just the PS job I seen looked bad after a while, maybe who ever done it did not know what they were doing. Anyway good luck with your install later on. Oo.

 

[y-knot]

I found that by installing a small mud flap on the front, most gravel,mud And water are taken care of. I also have Westin nerf bars and the front mount seems to nock down what ever the mud flaps didn't.

I would not spray any kind of "bed liner" on the sides of your truck. I have a spray bed liner (Perm-a-Tech) and it is the over the rail type. Good for the bed, but they do fade, and are hard to clean when dirty or muddy. I would try the above mentioned items and see how it does. Don't worry so much about a small little ding or scratch, latter you can always install Stainless Steel rocker panel covers, Northwest customs sell some very nice ones. I also would not run right out a buy a bed liner (spary or drop-in) enjoy your new truck and it's nice bed. Latter you can always have one sprayed in. And if you scratch it up a little, don't worry, when you go to have a spray-in applied, they rough-up the whole bed so the liner sticks.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Yep, I'm one of a number of members here that have had their rocker panels sprayed with bed liner material. I used permatech and it's what I'd recommend because they are the only bed liner company that warranties against fading. I had mine done 3 years ago and it looks exactly like it did the day it was sprayed on and my truck is rarely ever parked inside. Our roads around here are graveled twice a year and my truck seems to be able to pick up every rock that gets within 3 feet of it and pitch it at the body. I used to repair 30-40 rock chips a month on my rocker panels and around my wheel wells. Since I had the rockers and inside the wheel wells sprayed I haven't had to fix a single one. Any time I'm at an event I have at least 5-10 people come up and ask me about it. I wouldn't hesitate for a millisecond to do it again when I get another truck, would be one of the first things I had done. Here's the original thread on it and some pictures - https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5704



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[rbattelle]

Tony, I didn't take what you said as an insult at all.



Steves truck looks pretty good with the permatex. Looks like it might be a little thinner than the Line-X. However, if Permatex is cheaper I'd do it that way.



The idea isn't for aesthetic purposes, but more for practicality. It's just my nature to choose function before aesthetics almost every time. In other words, if it's ugly but it works well, I'll still do it.



Y-knot, I am one of those who got a spray-in liner within 1 week of owning my truck. To me, putting scratches in the bed would have been far too painful to watch. :{

 

[Driver72]

I've done them all: Rhino, nerfs w/flaps, running boards. Just bought a '04 CTD and full length Luverne Step Boards with Luverne splash guards front and rear are the answer for me.



Nerfs look great and work well in the summer. Winter time they built up with road slush and then freeze to solid ice. They will not prevent the rockers from rocks. PUTCO makes the best.



Rhino works great but after a couple of years it started to look crappy, probably due to the constant winter salt abuse. Can't speak to the others (line-X, Permatex, etc). Rhino is my choice because in this area he is the only installer who cares about quality work.



The molded Mopar flaps are not long enough to do an effective job.



Stainless eyebrow liners (wheel well liners) look great but do little to keep road spray of the truck sides. May look at some Bushwackers on this truck. Saw a loggers truck from Idaho with the Bushwackers installed. Looked good, but the truck was new and time will tell how they hold up, i. e. paint rubbing off, fading etc.



Bottom line, this probably doesn't help you decide because it always boils down to what you think looks good and the wallet.



Mark

 

[artie]

I put running boards that are full length but then I had the 3M paint protection film put on the rocker panels as well as the front of the hood and the tips of the front fenders and also the painted cover on the front bumper. So far with several trips on dirt roads at my second house I don't see a thing damage and the dirt and grime cleans off real easy.

 

[DBoyd]

Just my 2 cents here, the 99 3500 I have has had the Rhino lining applied from the bottom of the body up to the first body groove. It was colored to match the body and the only problem is that over the years and the south TX heat, the stuff has started to peel off or get loose around the edges. I took it to the Rhino dealer and they wanted $300 to patch it up and recoat. And the color has started to kinda fade or go "off". (Bright Red) This truck was a hot shot rig and has in excess of 100K mi. so that may have something to do with it.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Rhino lining is well known to have fading problems. I had a black rhino liner that in an S-10 that was under a shell with double 5% limo tint (you absolutely could not see through the windows - they might as well have been painted black) and it faded noticeably after 2 years. I have a black Permatech liner in my bed that's been in there for 4 years now and looks brand new in addition to the rockers. I loved the Rhino in my S truck other than the fading. When I got this truck I researched the different companies a lot and found that permatech was the only company that guaranteed against fading as I said above - and my experience on this truck has shown that theirs works. Also, Permatech is setup to color match better than the other companies. JMHO



The absolute most important thing when getting a spray in bedliner especially in an application such as rocker panels it to pick the right company to do it. Check out their work on other trucks - that was done a while ago, not just last week. Prep and application is EVERYTHING!

 

[Tony T.]

Tuff Liner

I also might add I would not recommend the TUFF Liner either. I had a 2000 Chevy 4x4, that I purchased second hand from original owner that had the TUFF Liner installed in the bed an over the top railing, truck was purchased at exactly two years old, and liner had faded bad with a few tear places in the bed liner itself. The truck was white, and having the top railing sprayed, when it rained it would leave black streaks running down the side of the bed. Steve: I must comment you on your truck it is sharp looking. Normally I'm not a green colored guy but have always liked that dark colored green (emerald green, forest green, or what ever you call it).

 

[BKunic]

Thanks everyone for the input. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do, but I'll work on it. I was thinking about the nerf bars, but it doesn't sound like they give much protection. The point about the running boards losing you some ground clearance is a good one and something I hadn't thought of.



For what's it worth, I had a Rhino Liner applied to my daily driver, a 97 Dakota when it was new. Also had it applied to my 04 CTD. On the Dakota, it has been on for about 6. 5 years, and while thre has been some fade, there really hasn't been much. It is black in color and is still pretty dark black. The liner on the CTD is also black, but is surprisingly not much darker than on the Dakota. And bear in mind that as a bed liner, the sun is always beating sraight down on it. Who knows, maybe I got the one good Rhino Liner out there. Who knows, just thought I'd mention it.



Adios,



Bryan

 

[DPelletier]

To each thier own, and in all fairness useage and where you live also play a big part. I install mudflaps immediately (within 2 days) of buying a new truck. Any rubbing etc. from the mudflaps is extremely minor compared to the damage from not having them. My '01 used the Husky moulded mudflaps and Betterbuilt SS nerf bars. Looked good and provided the wife and daughter with a step in, but rockers still suffered major damage from winter driving. New truck has Husky moulded flaps front and rear and black plastic running boards. The front flaps are too short to really protect by themselves, but the rear ones (dually) are decent. Running boards are the only way to ensure complete protection of the factory paint job.

Dave

 

[XcumminsX]

anyone know if any mudflaps will work with the bushwacker fender flares? i dont want the running board because no matter what they all look like crap IMHO. .

 

[David Muench]

My Husky mudflaps were terribly inadequate for the BFG 315's, and my truck is all chipped up now. I put the Bushwacker extend-a-fenders on along with Cummins mudflaps from cummins.com, and that seems to work great. The mudflaps could be a little longer, but they work well enough to make me happy. Any mudflap should work with the bushwackers as long as they are flat and not molded. I was able to mount my flaps entirely to the flares with stainless steel screws so I didn't have to drill the body.