Issues with GenRight or other aluminum fenders?

Wildman

Wildman

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Okay I tried to look around to see if anyone had posted about this but couldn't find anything. If it has been discussed before I apologize.
I have been searching and researching all the different highline fenders and trying to get past all the marketing BS on vendors web sites to decide which fenders I wanted to go with. I had pretty much decided that I was going to run the GenRight highline aluminum fenders when I started talking to a fellow TJ owner last week.
He is running the Metal Cloak fender now but had installed GenRight aluminum fenders before that. When I asked him why he had switched he told me that he had actually BENT the GenRight fenders. Now this shocked me since I had asked many people before if the aluminum fenders had any issues and if it was worth the weight savings. Up til then I had been told that they were as strong as the steel fenders and yes switching to the aluminum fenders was worth it.

So I don't know if this was a one time thing? Or if it is a issue. I know Blaine uses them on some of his builds and I know where he likes to play so I figured that there wasn't any issues. Has anyone else bent a aluminum fender when hitting rocks or trees with them? The brand doesn't matter just curious if my plans to try and put my TJ on a diet is a misconceived plan. I was looking at replacing all my armor with aluminum to try and drop the weight.

The other fenders I have looked at is the JCR fenders. Does anyone have any experiance with them?
 
Wildman said:
When I asked him why he had switched he told me that he had actually BENT the GenRight fenders.
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Any fender worth having on your Jeep WILL bend if you hit it. If they don't bend they will mess up your tub. It's easier to replace a fender than it is the tub. If you live and wheel only places without dirt/snow/water you can get away with a flareless fender. If you can't get away with no flare, get as small of a flare as you can.

Wildman said:
Now this shocked me since I had asked many people before if the aluminum fenders had any issues and if it was worth the weight savings.
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It is well worth the weight savings. For stability, for HP to weight ratio, and for overall ease of install. Spending a little extra for an aluminum version typically has the best $ for lb ratio.

Wildman said:
Up til then I had been told that they were as strong as the steel fenders and yes switching to the aluminum fenders was worth it.
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MetalCloak's fenders are brutally strong. I hit a deer with one gong 60mph and the deer exploded. When you factor in where the energy went it's probably not worth it.


I am making my rear aluminum fender flares easily removable so when I play in the rocks I can leave them at camp. As far as weight savings go, I am trying to save weight where ever I can. It is more work and it does cost more, but you can't save that weight later unless you rebuy stuff... and at that point it costs more and is more work. I'm excited to get my Jeep on a scale once I'm done. I expect that I'll have lost significant sprung weight in the rear and added 150lbs to the front. Overall I think my Jeep on 37s may end up lighter than it was on 35s due to dropping heavy steel bumpers and winch cable.
 
Yes I agree you want the fender to bend if you hit something hard enough but from what he was describing it was stuff I have done with my Poison Spyder tube fenders and I have not bent them. I've never wheeled in WIs but here in WA the some of the trails that haven't been ruined by the full width axle/44"+ tire guys are pretty tight. And if you follow Forest Service rules you are not allowed to go around trees or other obstacles if you have to go off the trail. So I have some serious rub marks on my fenders. I was just surprised to hear him say he had bent one like he said he had.

After reading your thread on the clearance of the Metal Cloak compared to the GenRight I am back to thinking they are my best bet. But I also don't want to hit a tree which is common here and have a fender bend.
If I slam into something hard enough to cause tub damage then yes I would rather the fender give but that wasn't what he described. I was looking at the Metal Cloak becasue you can take the flares off. Some of the POPO's here in WA get real sticky about fender flare coverage and tires sticking out past them. I've been pulled over before becasue of it and had to sit thru the 20 minute lecture of why it isn't safe and how he could ticket me if he wanted.

I'm not trying to say any of these aftermarket fenders aren't good I just want to make sure I am spending my money well. So I try to over research stuff before I lay down my funds.
 
This maybe isn't the best example but I was messing around in my yard one day and my son had made the comment that if I could get traction I could climb a tree with my Jeep. So we tried it. Watch when I come down and hit the tree with my front fender. There are times when on some of the slick trails you can slide into a rock or tree like this. And maybe I am making something out of nothing. I had just never heard of one of the fenders bending so it got me wondering. The fact that I can't find any threads about it online most likely means it isn't an issue.

 
I had the option between the GenRight steel and aluminum sets; I went with steel. The weight isn't much higher than stock, the strength is much greater than either stock or aluminum, and when coupled with an aluminum corner there shouldn't be too much chance of tub damage. Shouldn't.
 
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Yep damage is ALWAYS possible. I am good for that. I broke a HP60 twice on 35" tires being stupid.
 
Well I broke the ring gear in my rear HP60. Once was being too throttle happy and bounced it about 4-5 times while getting on the throttle of my V-8. The second time was in Moab trying to climb some ledges. I think that second time was due to a faulty gear setup. I found a shop who was well versed in HP60's that setup my gears the 3rd time and so far so good.

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Damage to the ARB housing

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Cracked ring gear

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Unless you intend to use your fenders as battering rams and don't care about body damage from overly rigid fenders, don't worry that the Genright fenders bent. First, who knows what he did to bend them.

My Poison Spyder fenders are aluminum but they're so strong that when I slid down off a rock and hit the passenger-side fender, it didn't bend. However the tub wrinkled directly behind that fender where it was bolted. The tub wrinkled enough that I had to drill new mounting bolt holes for the hood latch on that side's fender so its hood latch halves would fit together to be latched I would have rather had my PS fender bend than the tub.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Unless you intend to use your fenders as battering rams and don't care about body damage from overly rigid fenders, don't worry that the Genright fenders bent. First, who knows what he did to bend them.

My Poison Spyder fenders are aluminum but they're so strong that when I slid down off a rock and hit the passenger-side fender, it didn't bend. However the tub wrinkled directly behind that fender where it was bolted. I had to drill new mounting bolt holes for the hood latch on that side's fender so its hood latch halves would fit together so I could latch it. I would have rather had my PS fender bend than the tub.
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Jerry,
I agree and hadn't thought about it until I was discussing fenders with this other Jeeper and he told me about bending them. Now I wasn't there and don't know what REALLY happened but he claimed it was a massive hit. So I thought I would ask since I know guys like you are taking some hits on your trails.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Wildman said:
I know Blaine uses them on some of his builds and I know where he likes to play so I figured that there wasn't any issues.
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Blaine recommends aluminum fenders with no flares for the places he wheels.
 
I can't get by with no fenders. As I said above I have 3" flares right now and have been pulled over. I would hate to see what would happen if I went with no flare at all. And it is why I was looking at the GenRight since they are a 4" flare.
 
Wildman said:
I can't get by with no fenders. As I said above I have 3" flares right now and have been pulled over. I would hate to see what would happen if I went with no flare at all. And it is why I was looking at the GenRight since they are a 4" flare.
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I went with the Genright 4" hi-lines. I figure when I'm ready for the big rocks I can afford the Genright 0" hi-lines. You can also look at a "flexy flair" type stick-on extension if you have to worry about inspections or legalities.
 
I tried the rubber flares if you look at the video and the first time I really rubbed against some trees it ripped two of them off. I have seen a few people get very creative with removable flares up here. Because of the rain in WA they are very strict about tire coverage and mud flaps. I made removeable mud flaps because they would get ripped off when back up and get caught between a tire and root or rock.
 
Sundowner said:
Key phrase, there.
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in response to
Wildman said:
I know Blaine uses them on some of his builds and I know where he likes to play so I figured that there wasn't any issues.
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Wildman said:
I tried the rubber flares if you look at the video and the first time I really rubbed against some trees it ripped two of them off. I have seen a few people get very creative with removable flares up here. Because of the rain in WA they are very strict about tire coverage and mud flaps. I made removeable mud flaps because they would get ripped off when back up and get caught between a tire and root or rock.
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I hear you. I'd try some 3M double-stick to get me to the trail head and then take them off.
 
L J said:
in response to
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The comment that Blaine doesn't recommend flare where he wheels.

L J said:
I hear you. I'd try some 3M double-stick to get me to the trail head and then take them off.
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Where I wheel you need flare also to keep some of the mud off you and the inside of your Jeep. But that isn't a bad idea to get more coverage for on the street. How will it hold up to mud, snow, tree bark and dust?
 
Wildman said:
Where I wheel you need flare also to keep some of the mud off you and the inside of your Jeep. But that isn't a bad idea to get more coverage for on the street.
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I don't know how much 4" flares will help with mud and a 12.5" or wider tire. We don't see much mud in the SoCal deserts or mountains.

Wildman said:
How will it hold up to mud, snow, tree bark and dust?
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Mud, snow and dust not a problem. Tree bark a problem.
 
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