Replacement Fenders

[akspanky]

I am trying to find replacement fenders on my 2011 Keystone Cougar 244RLS 5th wheel. Anyone have any suggestions?

[NH_Bulldog]

Are you talking about the plastic fender skirts?

If so, try Trekwood: https://www.trekwood.com/parts-searc...arch-keywords=

[bobbecky]

Go to https://www.icondirect.com/ They have quite a large number of fenders as well as other items for our rigs. I recently had to replace the shroud on one of our A/C units and the shroud is much better than the original Dometic shroud and fit perfectly. You might call them to have them send you a catalog so you can see all the fenders they have, will be under the Keystone section. 1-888-862-4266

[akspanky]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

Are you talking about the plastic fender skirts?

If so, try Trekwood: https://www.trekwood.com/parts-searc...arch-keywords=

Yes thank you i will look them up.

[akspanky]

Thank you for the info

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by akspanky

Thank you for the info

I broke a fender and bought replacements on eBay. Just be careful measuring and replace both so it looks original. Mine look fine.

[gkainz]

I'm searching for the same thing ... I found this source for another option.

https://elkrv.com/collections/laredo...er-skirt-white

[JRTJH]

There is a list of RV parts, supplies and suppliers located on the forum at this link: https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=12986 It's the second thread in the Repairs and Maintenance section of the forum.

While it was posted initially in 2013, the majority of the links are up to date and will take you to that website. Much of that thread is listed by the type of part or service the company provides.

[tallen]

I think I am the only one different. I want to get rid of my plastic fenders and some how dress out the metal that is cut. I hate them plastic hanging down over the tires. Sorry, had a moment there.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by tallen

I think I am the only one different. I want to get rid of my plastic fenders and some how dress out the metal that is cut.

I always assumed the plastic skirts were deliberately installed as (relatively) inexpensive sacrificial components to take the brunt of blowouts, much like the flimsy, unbolted roofs on gunpowder mills.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

Go to https://www.icondirect.com/ They have quite a large number of fenders as well as other items for our rigs.

I believe these are the guys I used for skirts for my last rig about 10 years ago. They offered exact copies, logos and all, and good quality materials. I'm going to be hitting them up for replacements when I get home -- I lost the front half of our driver side skirt somewhere in West Texas, and the remainder departed somewhere in the Florida panhandle. That Keystone plastic cracks easy... our next set is going to have washers on the screws -- or better yet, on the bolts, with nylon lock nuts.

[GlasNav]

When we received our 2021 Covid Build, the majority of the screws holding the fenders around the wheel wells were stripped and the only thing holding the fenders in place was the Clear AlphaSeal.

If your screw holes aren't totally destroyed, recommend installing with large flange rivets along with a backing washer. Once installed, the rivet flanges can be painted to match the fender color.

[JRTJH]

Rivets and screws without nylocks put too much pressure on the plastic fender skirt and WILL cause cracks to form which will lead to your attachment points being destroyed. That will cause the skirts to start moving, creating larger cracks and WILL lead to fender skirt failure.... I have NEVER found a way to tighten the plastic tight enough to hold a nut on a bolt, even with a lock washer and not have that "loose enough to protect the plastic with its uneven curved surface. Holding the fender skirt on the trailer with screws or with bolts and nuts WILL lead to failure and eventual replacement....

How to avoid that????

Start with 1/8" stainless steel bolts, put a rubber washer on the bolt, push it though the fender skirt and the trailer flange. Slip another rubber washer on the bolt (behind the flange) and then follow with a nylock nut. Tighten that JUST ENOUGH TO PARTIALLY COMPRESS THE RUBBER WASHERS and then leave it alone !!!!! Do not overtighten.

On some of the attachment holes, you can't get to the back of the hole. On those you'll need to use self tapping screws. Put TWO rubber washers (one under the screw head and one behind the plastic fender), fill the hole with silicone caulk, tighten it just enough to partially compress the rubber washers. Monitor those attachments to make sure the self tapping screws stay secure for the first several tows. If they back out, you'll need to address using "more than the silicone" to secure the screws. But usually that isn't needed.

The "key to success" is not to "screw them on tighter". That will start a sequence that assures destruction. You need to secure the plastic without stressing the plastic. That's where the rubber washers come into play. My plastic fender skirts have been in place for 11 years, tow5ed well over 50K miles and all three parts (1 piece on curb side and 2 pieces on road side) are still secure, no cracks at the attachment bolts/screws and the rubber washers are still "slightly compressed" both behind the bolts with nylocks and behind the self tapping screws with silicone in the holes.....

[GlasNav]

Good information, I'll now inspect the connection points from time to time in way of the rivets. My concern is if I were to drill out the rivets that may cause undue stress and possibly make things worse. Presently 15,000 miles on the rivets and cracking isn't evident.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

put a rubber washer on the bolt, push it though the fender skirt and the trailer flange. Slip another rubber washer on the bolt (behind the flange) and then follow with a nylock nut.

Put TWO rubber washers (one under the screw head and one behind the plastic fender), fill the hole with silicone caulk

I want to make sure I understand what you advise, since I'll be doing this later on this month. For blind screws, you put a rubber washer over and under the flange, but for nylocked bolts the inner rubber washer goes inside the nut -- not inside the flange? My sense of symmetry is unnerved.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by LHaven

I want to make sure I understand what you advise, since I'll be doing this later on this month. For blind screws, you put a rubber washer over and under the flange, but for nylocked bolts the inner rubber washer goes inside the nut -- not inside the flange? My sense of symmetry is unnerved.

Yes, for self tapping screws, located in places where I can't access the back of the assembly, I "isolate the fender skirt with rubber washers front and back of the plastic fender. For bolts with nylock nuts, I isolate the plastic fender in front and the fender/metal J-wrap as a "two ply assembly" with the rubber washer behind both. Why? IMO, the rubber washer behind both the plastic fender AND the J-wrap helps to cushion the two parts which will "vibrate as one unit while towing rather than act as two separate pieces, both vibrating separately if the rubber was between the plastic fender and the J-wrap.....

It's sort of like having two moving pieces that you're trying to stabilize/cushion. If you have a space between them, they'll move against each other, but if you have them together, the movement is in front of and behind the unit. On the sidewall with self tapping screws, there's no "two piece union" because the sidewall is larger and moves differently than the J-wrap "hanging below the sidewall" as the J-wrap "billows in the wind" during towing.