No drive-over fenders.... Quick solutions...?

[Justin V]

"Smoosh betweens"

 

[shady]

My temporary solution that became a permanent one was stacking wood 4x4's on the inside of the fenders. On my trailer 3 of them stacked were the perfect height to be just a tad higher than the fender, then I just cut each one off at an angle to make a decent ramp to drive over. I ran two lengths of 2x4's vertically on each side and screwed it into the 4x4 to hold them together, then ran a couple of bolts through the 4x4 and into the fenders to hold them in place. Having some sort of drive over fenders or ramps is a lot quicker and easier when loading and unloading versus having to remove fenders each time. On my 18' tandem axle trailer the weight distribution works out perfect if I drive the front tires over the fenders and pull the rears right up against the 4x4's.

The only downside to the drive over fender option is if you break something as it could be much harder to get loaded or unloaded. I've broken the steering (sheered all the bolts off the steering arm on the knuckle) and it was kind of a pain to get loaded as you need to be a little more precise to bet on the ramps, but even worse was breaking one front axle and being in 3wd. Got it loaded okay but had issues being backed off the trailer. When reversing you have to pull the front tires over the fenders/ramps and it would spin and slide the rear axle over to the side, finally had to pull it off the trailer with another truck. Overall my recommendation would be to have drive over fenders but also have the option to remove the fenders all together if needed.

I was already kind of thinking about making them removable. After it was mentioned earlier I started thinking about how both had their uses, so I figured if I was going to make a set I'd make them removable drive overs lol.

I've been brain storming an idea for a rigid mount that I could use for my current fenders (general car hauling or when sides are on) OR a set of drive overs that extend into the bed area a bit to get more under the center of my wheels for the play truck. Then I have all 3 options available. Light fenders, drive overs, and removable fenders.

Got lots of good ideas from this thread

 

[MTBLAZER89]

I made mine removeable 9 years ago and never came up with a way to make the re-installable.

 

[tenderfoot]

This thread reminded me of a pic I took for @acm and never sent it. Now I feel like a dbag. This is a uhaul car hauler trailer. Pretty nifty solution. You can always drop by a uhaul dealer to take a closer look.

 

[bigjimmy82]

Went alittle overkill on mine, same idea as desert_k5 had, used 2x6 and added to the factory ends, then 2" DOM and 1/4" diamond tread haha.

 

[shady]

This thread reminded me of a pic I took for @acm and never sent it. Now I feel like a dbag. This is a uhaul car hauler trailer. Pretty nifty solution. You can always drop by a uhaul dealer to take a closer look.
View attachment 275972

That's funny lol... I was thinking earlier that hinged would be cool

 

[76zimmer]

I used to air down and squeeze the tir s between the fenders, by turning the wheel back and forth until the sidewalks pushed in enough to drive through
I built ramps to get up and over the fenders and it works good but it sure gets the front end high while loading. I think removables would be a better choice . It also makes it easier to winch on when needed

 

[shady]

If I squeezed between my fenders they would be mangled.
I put a nearly un noticeable dent in one with the crew and broke welds.

 

[acm]

This thread reminded me of a pic I took for @acm and never sent it. Now I feel like a dbag. This is a uhaul car hauler trailer. Pretty nifty solution. You can always drop by a uhaul dealer to take a closer look.
View attachment 275972

Pretty good timing...Just started rewiring the trailer and was looking into options for getting the fenders out of the way.

 

[folkenheath]

If you have to drive over the fenders it looks as if your trailer is too narrow too.

I agree, most drive over fender trailers are full width so you can utilize the width. I think in a trailer that width, removable fenders are more useful, if you haul a low car you can take them off to get the door open, otherwise you have to climb out the window. My trailer simply uses three metal "Jeep" type hood latches to hold them on (one on each end and one in the middle). You can pop them off in 30 seconds without tools.

 

[imiceman44]

Deck over is better in every way except some don't like the height.
Car truck, no matter everything works...

 

[6.2Blazer]

As mentioned above I think the ultimate option would be to have light weight removable fenders and then a separate ramp that you can attach to drive over the fenders. From my experience the drive over fenders/ramps really needs to be inboard of the fenders other wise most trucks are just running the very outer edge of the tire tread on the ramp...this can make loading a little sketchy if you slip off and puts a lot of side loading on the ramps/fenders. The problem with that is you effectively make the width between the fenders narrow which could cause problems if you haul different vehicles, such as a car that may now not fit between them.