Bushwacker Fender Flares

The Bushwacker fender flares were ordered across the internet.  They arrived in perfect order.  All of the installation hardware was present and the directions were fairly straight forward.  I began at the driver's front fender by deviating slightly from the "cut-out" instructions.  I decided to leave a little more metal then the directions specified so the front fender would have less of a "Chopped-up" appearance. The first picture is of the front fender all prepped, ready to begin the trimming.  I had painted the stock coils, shocks, and front sway bar, but they are stock.  At this point, the only lift in the front was a 2" plastic coil spacer.  My motto was to keep the truck low, yet have sufficient clearance for full-articulation.

The second picture shows the initial stages of trimming.  I used a Craftsman dremel tool with a fiber cutting wheel which was far superior for good cut control than my Milwaukee Sawsall which was used for the long straight cuts.  The directions call for the front cut to be made flush with the bottom of the side turn marker.  I elected to trim lower, you can judge the results in the pictures below.

The next photo shows both the front and rear cuts complete.  Once finished, I used touch-up paint and painstakingly applied it to all cut surfaces to try and decrease corrosion down the road.  I applied a total of two coats.  In this picture, you can see the front bumper corner reinstalled, and you can now see why I chose to make the front-most cut a little lower so it extends out of sight.

This next photo shows the holes cut to mount the fender-flare.  Having done all the work without assistance, I found it helpful to use masking tape to hold the fender-flare in place while I drilled the holes with my Milwaukee 18V cordless drill, using the flare as a guide.

These last photos show the Bushwacker front fender-flare installed, both before and after tire installation to check for adequate clearance.  While the tires proved to have enough room for near-full articulation and turn capability, I later felt that a little more room was needed and installed a Rubicon Express lift kit.

Installation of Rear Fender Flares

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