Bushwacker Pocket Style Flares

We ordered and recently took delivery of one of the last 2011 RAM Trucks before the model year change. After picking up the truck from the dealer, we immediately installed a 2.5-inch leveling kit from Hellbent Steel and stuck a set of 20 x 9 Method Racing wheels and 325/60 20R Hankook Dynapro AT/M tires. Now that the truck looks the way it should, we need to protect the paint from tire spray and rocks that get picked up by the tires. The truck came with a nice set of flares on it, but they aren't wide enough to cover the 13-inch wide tires we're running. So we picked up a set of Bushwacker Pocket Style flares that are a perfect fit for our application. They are wide enough to cover the tires, protect the paint and keep the road grime off of body. They're made from a plastic that Bushwacker calls Duraflex 2000 and are guaranteed with a lifetime warranty from cracking, chalking or warping.

We wanted to match the flares to the truck's paint, so we had them sprayed with quality PPG 2 stage paint in order to get a perfect match.

Installation was a piece of cake. We simply removed the screws on the bottom side of the factory-installed flares and carefully peeled them away from the side of the body where they were held snug with two-sided adhesive tape. The pocket-style flares mounted to the underside of the fenders using the same holes and did not require any adhesive to keep the flares flush to the side of the body.

The new flares came with rubber molding that adhered to the inside edge of the flares to prevent scratching the body and provide a tight seal.
 
The pocket bolts with the flares are a high-quality stainless steel that simply bolt to the pockets on the flares. The hardware was just the right length, so they don't touch the body of the truck. Plus no drilling is required-that's always nice.

Installation took about two hours, as we took our time, making sure everything was installed perfectly.

The stock flare didn't provide enough coverage for our larger wheels and tires. The pocket flare is a perfect fit for our wheel and tire combination. The stock fender flare was simple to remove, revealing the flat fender edge. The flares have a rubber channel with a beveled edge which will seal the flare to the body that you must apply to the inside edge of the flares. The pocket hardware simply bolts to the flare and doesn't make contact with the truck body.

Sources:

Bushwacker, Inc.
6710 N. Catlin Avenue
Portland, OR 97203
800-234-8920
www.bushwacker.com