Inner fenders that actually increase clearance?

[Darel]

Looking for a set of inner fender liners that actually increases wheel travel. I don't care about whether I have plastic factory liner or what, but if I can gain another inch or so of tire tuck, I'll spend the money. Can anyone quantifiably advocate a set if fender liners that ACTUALLY allow more room underneath?

If not, no big deal, I can keep throwing factory plastic ones at the truck off eBay as they get destroyed.

Thanks,
Darel

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[Scott L]

You could run with no liners at all. They’re not necessary for function but do look cleaner imo.

 

[Sikjeep2]

https://motobilt.com/products/jl-jl...8GWamGyMi2SenYwe7_aWxYU4bZL46IbRoCbHYQAvD_BwE


yes, I run these on mine 3.5" lift and 40s

 

[Sweetums]

You could run with no liners at all. They’re not necessary for function but do look cleaner imo.

I don't recommend doing this. The fender liner protects a lot of equipment in the engine bay from being hit by spray and high-pressure water when doing crossings or hitting standing water on the road. They are not just for cosmetics or us diesel owners would have pulled them off ages ago to increase cooling airflow. I've seen water forced into sensors, plugs, alternators, and other connections due to inadequate splash protection; it gets expensive fast, and that's assuming you aren't in the middle of a river 5 hours from pavement and a tow truck.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

I got AAL ones so that I could easily access the side of the engine bay for doing work. I think all brands gain you vertical clearance if you trim off the inner fender where it lines the underside of the stock flare. Removing all of the internals of the stock flare is where people gain the most clearance. Of course the if tires rub the stock inner liner it doesn’t really matter, within reason. You gain some clearance to the inside with the AALs I have. I’m sure most accomplish the exact same thing. In my case, I had to relocate the washer bottle to accommodate the liner, so that gives you some idea of how much more inboard they go. Again, the stock liner is just plastic, so rubbing them isn’t a major issue anyway.

I think with any of them you’re still limited horizontally because at full lock and articulation, with oversized tires, rubbing the frame becomes the main issue.

All that being said in my experience, they’ve been a severe pain in the ass. In the case of the AALs and probably most others, you’re creating a rigid connection between the frame and the body which is a big no no. Mine pop. They rub the frame and cause rust lines. A big sheet of aluminum acts like a speaker, so they rattle or at least stuff hits them and they rattle. You really only hear this when off road when the frame is twisting and you’re moving slow enough to hear them. But it’s still annoying as shit popping and rattling down the trail when the stock truck doesn’t do this. The AALs attach with Dzus fasteners which facilitate “easy” removal (it’s still a pain to get them on and off especially with the tire in place). Easy removal is why I got them in the first place. The problem is that the flexing fatigues the dzus fasteners and they crack.

I’d rather have just had plastic liners that don’t use stupid Christmas trees and are easier to remove. I agree with @Sweetums. Don’t run without liners. There’s wiring harnesses galore behind them. In fact with the AALs, which they clearly didn’t engineer well for the diesel, I had to cut reliefs into the passenger side top near the spring perch because there’s a wiring harness right there and sharp aluminum + wiring is a bad combo. There’s tons of stuff to destroy from rocks, stray branches, etc behind the liners.

 

[GMag]

I have the CavFab ones up front. They clear 40"s at full lock with my Clayton 3.5" lift. Don't have any complaints after about 6Mos and several trails including John Bull.

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