How to Install Mud Flaps on a Pickup Truck

Mud flaps cut down on the amount of spray created by your truck's tires as you drive it through mud. Installing mud flaps on a pickup truck involves a few steps you must follow carefully. Simply connecting the mud flaps willy-nilly will result in their appearance looking askew, and they could catch enough moisture in a location that will allow corrosion on the truck body nearby.

• 1

  Park the truck in a work space location with a level surface and no incline.

• 2

  Hold the first mud flap up to a rear fender, left or right, so that the edge of mud flap aligns with the shape of the rear wheel fender on which you are working. Keep the mud flap in place for a moment, and measure the distance from the bottom edge of the mud flap to the ground using a measuring tape. Write down the measurement.

• 3

  Keep the mud flap top in place by hand, and use a drill with a Phillips screwdriver bit to penetrate the mud flap and the metal of the truck body behind it with a self-tapping screw. Push a bit to force the bit through if necessary.

• 4

  Let the first screw keep the mud flap on the truck while drilling in the second screw to secure it. Keep the flap level as you first planned; adjust if necessary to level it out. Drill in the second self-tapping screw. Move to the bottom of the mud flap before it extends past the truck body. Screw in two more screws on either side of the flap to stabilize it.

• 5

  Relocate yourself to the opposite rear wheel, and repeat steps 1 through 4 to install the second rear mud flap. Use the measurement first jotted down to position the second mud flap correction before installing the self-tapping screws.