Fenders on tandem truck with lowboy?

So I'm cheap. Just starting off with that, before anyone suggests $3,000 fenders or anything.

I would like to mount some fenders on my Western star, I don't drive it a lot in really nasty weather, but if we get out in the mud or in a quarry when its wet, it makes a huge mess out of the crane, the trailer and the back of the truck.

So my question is, what's everyone's preference. Full Stainless, aluminum, or poly? The full length ones that cover both tandems, or individual ones over each wheel?

My experience with aluminum is that it cracks over time with vibration. That and if you get the trailer onto it a little its really easy to bend up.

I've got a buddy with the individual wheel poly and he really likes them. It's a lot of brackets to mount. I've seen them kind of chewed up by a trailer too. I would think the tandem poly's would be kind of flimsy, but I've never been around them.

I don't want the super low/ low riders or anything, just something to keep a rock from taking out the mirrors on the truck. Am I going to end up destroying anything that isn't poly when I'm really cranking around on a jobsite in a bad spot?

Tandem Poly, remember room for chains.

I like the poly fenders in the top pic. I've installed a few sets for the Hayhaulers around here and they hold up really good. For the most part if they get twisted up it's not more than a gouge in the plastic... Usually.

I like the poly ones. No matter what you have there. Its gonna get hit by the trailer at some point. You can hit the poly ones a few time and they still look fine. If you smash it down in to a tire. You can still drive. Jus smokes a bit. The stain less. Or the aluminum one hit and they look like junk. A smash ya gotta take um off to drive home.
Ps. You only smash um early in the mornings when it is raining.

I must type really slow.

I like the look of the ones on top . We have a few trucks with high doller individual stainless ones they look nice but i hate them being the truck mechanic.

The only ones I've had were the poly on a hook-lift truck. They took a beating and stayed looking good.

I prefer mine on the gooseneck. Just make them easy to pull for sharper than 90° maneuvering.

Cheap stainless fenders will crack in under a year. One thing I don't like about all the poly full fenders I've seen is they are molded in 2 pieces and are bolted together. Downside of double fenders is twice as many brackets to buy/mount.

May not be the prettiest for a highway or city truck, but certainly durable and almost indestructible.
Plus, cheap as chips if you make them yourself from 2nd hand conveyor belting and trampoline springs.

They're the best of the lot.

Queenslander said:

May not be the prettiest for a highway or city truck, but certainly durable and almost indestructible.
Plus, cheap as chips if you make them yourself from 2nd hand conveyor belting and trampoline springs.
View attachment 191494

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Conveyor belts this way --> https://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/used-conveyor-belt-used-conveyor-belting

I have ran the poly ones like your first pic for quite a few years. lots of gravel road and vibration. They stand up well. plus they have a little flexibility if you do rub them a little. Have them on two trucks.

Queenslander, that was my thought too. I'd think you could use three of the spring type mud flap brackets. Elevator bolts work good for this application with belting.
Mike

Conveyor belting if you're on a real cheap budget or poly if the only choice is of the three.

I used to have the poly on 12 trucks, always kept a couple of extra sets of brackets in stock. When things went bad it would rip them off and we would replace the brackets.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm probably going to go poly or the belting. I won't be doing the fenders on the trailer, I spin short too often for that. (but I will admit the chrome ones look nice- but I do live in the real world and know they probably won't last)

Queenslander said:

trampoline springs.

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I'm assuming the springs go to a bracket on the front and then a bracket (like a mudflap or quarter fender pipe?) on the rear to hold the belting tight? Would have to be a pretty stout bracket forward and rear to hold it with much tension. Just punch holes in the belting for the spring ends, or put a metal bracket bolted to the belting? And then use a couple all thread to pull it tight to hook up the springs? Or just springs on one end and tensioner bolts on the other?

On the brackets thing for poly's. The brackets end up costing more than the fenders, but steel and time isn't free either. Just buy the brackets or build something to work?

Hallback said:

poly if the only choice is of the three.

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Is there another option I haven't looked at? Aside from the steel oilfield type full diamond plate fender. Those don't last either and end up getting torn up. Of course they are pulling trailers up over them in all kinds of conditions also.

Thanks again everyone for your time. I appreciate it.

Steel type oilfield fenders? I've built a couple sets of big steel fenders for cranes, and it ends up being $700 or so in bent steel and then mounting them. I guess I hadn't really considered that, but that seems pretty heavy duty for my use.

These babies are welded on, I don't think it would be much fun to pull hubs and do brakes with that mess above your head.

Why not poly fenders on the gooseneck, pinned and hinged, and only over the rear drive? Then poly on the tractor over the front drive. That would allow for up to 120° of turn, and full turn when swung up.

I've got rigid aluminum on my Aspen 55 ton, but, the tractor is a long wheelbase (244" I think).

We install this poly type fender on most of the trucks we sell. Tough fender, can be replaced as just a half fender and not too bad to remove for servicing. The front and rear bracket just clamp on the lip of the frame rail. Middle bracket gets bolted to the frame.