Broke Wheel Flare!

[Dennis Nord]

Got stuck on the mountain cliff going home this week. I tore loose the flare over the wheel wells (tandem axel) and cracked up the fiberglass some. I don't have fiberglass repair experience so I don't know how to tell if this is something I can do or if I need a new flare from the factory (Big Foot). I got anxious about oncoming car in a corner and got too close to the cliff. Second time. Last time I crunched up the stairs! That was easy to replace. This isn't too bad. Next I may have to find a storage facility, but that's another topic.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Dennis

[Donna D.]

You have three choices, these are probably listed in order of expense.

1. Contact a repair place and have them do the repair (boat shop?)

2. Buy a new one from BigFoot, then put it on yourself or have someone else do it. Have you contacted BigFoot to find out what once will cost? It may not be as expensive as you think. Or, is it possible it's a generic part... lots of stickies trailers have fender flares.

3. Do the repair yourself.

I'd go with #3. What do you have to lose, but a bit of time and a bit of money? You'll gain experience that will provide skill/knowledge that you may need to put to use for more serious repairs in the future.

I'll leave it to the experts to describe the process of repair.

[Cam A]

Fibreglass is relatively simple to repair structurally; however, depending upon the repair, it can take a good eye and a fair bit of sanding to get it back to the factory look. It is usually much cheaper than a new part. I would price the part before I made the decision.

[Coach George Jessup]

Im just guessing.... but a wont a Bigfoot's fender flare be an added on piece of plastic and not FG?

[Dennis Nord]

Im just guessing.... but a wont a Bigfoot's fender flare be an added on piece of plastic and not FG?

The way the flare broke exposed fiberglass mat material. Its not so much broken as a little bit crushed at the front leading edge of the flare. I was very lucky that I only got a shallow scratch on the main body of the trailer. Thanks for the question and the suggestions. Guess I'll look into repairing the fiberglass. Most of it seems fine. It did drage the flare about half off and the screws that hold the flare to the trailer came loose in the front 1/3.

Dennis

[Harry Young]

The flair is a standard size and is available from after market body part dealers, I have seen them on ebay as well under trailer parts and PPL...if you run up against a wall where you are I can send links...they are also made of a cool pliable rubber too.

Harry

[Dennis Nord]

I got excited by an on-coming car and got too close to a cliff. The result is I scraped up the wheel flare that extends over the tandem wheels on the door side of my BigFoot Trailer. Does anyone know if this is a universal unit that fits most tandem wheeled trailers or would it likely be unique to BigFoot. I don't know if it can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced. It is not totally destroyed, but its not pretty!

Thanks for any help you can offer. This cliff is a killer!

Dennis