[John]

I had rear long flap hanging by chains from rear on our Foretravel, I noticed there was always small rocks in engine area,I was told that big flap caused a suction and rocks were sucked up. Good mud flaps and a rock guard for toad, plastic or screen

[Archived]

Most owners ignore the air flow and do what makes their coach pretty.

I think you have an 8V92 but regardless the Prevost engineers provided limited air flow out the rear doors so it is probable the air drawn through the radiator goes down and escapes out the bottom, or it escapes to an extent through the passenger side engine compartment door.

A full width flap inhibits that air flow, and that has nothing to do with towing or not.

On later models, such as the XLII the engine has a panel along side of it inhibiting air flow down, and the louvers in the rear doors help draw air flow out to the rear into a negative pressure area. In that case a full width flap contributes to the lower pressure behind the coach and is a necessary part of the cooling system.

I think late year 90’s XLs with the Series 60 also relied on air to spill beneather the coach because of limited openings in the rear doors so a mud flap on those models may be pretty, but it also inhibits the flow of air.

Keep in mind I do not know if what I am saying is true or speculation so in this case my advice may be worth less than what you just paid for it.

[George]

Thanks Jon & Art – I appreciate your replies

[Calvin]

Just removed mine, Eugene. Some say remove while others say causes no harm to toad. Have driven 10,000 miles with it, yet have not driven it since removal, but believe the mud flaps behind both the drive and tags will be sufficient. Do not see value in the full width mud flap at the very rear other than cosmetics.

[Chuck & Katrina]

Jeff – thanks for the comment – I believe as soon as I feel like I can get my old ass up off the ground, I’m going to remove mine also!

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2000 Featherlite H3-45

2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Leesburg, FL

[Jerry]

Jeff, if your H3 has a pan or panel between the bottom of the radiator and the engine block, and you have a lot of open venting through the rear of the coach that full width flap is contributing to the low pressure area immediately to the rear of the coach.

That low pressure area pulls air through the radiator to assist with cooling.

If you do not have the area between the bottom of the radiator and the engine blocked then the designer’s intent was to spill air out the bottom of the coach and in that case the full width flap under the bumper is inhibiting air flow and you likely would benefit from its removal.

The amount of air that has to move is enormous and messing with that air flow impacts the ability of the heat from the engine to be rejected. I would guess a big stacker, close to the rear of the bus (short tongue) would have a huge detrimental affect. The good news is unless the coach is in high ambient conditions and is pulling a long steep hill, the cooling system may handle it.

[Ronald]

Back to my Country Coach days, 2000 CC Affinity. During my CC ownership on the CC web site a owner conducted a test on the effects of the full rear mud flap. He used test equipment mounted on bus and toad. Without going into all the details his conclusion was…..

The only thing he could say was the full mud flap was a good piece of advertising for the builder offering no advantage to have it mounted while driving.

I remember him writing if there was ….the entertainer buses industry would have one one every unit.

AL

[Ronald]

I removed the deco flap on our 97 XL40 three or four years ago. Runs cooler without it, especially while climbing. Seems to have no effect on stuff thrown onto the tow car. We have no protection for the tow car and don’t appear to need any. The few dings we have experienced appear to have come from passing cars and trucks as all (the few there are) are on the drivers side. Saved a little leveraged weight as those things are heavy.

Jerry

[glen]

This entire mud flap discussion has to recognize there are some air flow patterns enhanced by full width, under the bumper mud flaps and some are adversely affected. Blanket statements out of context just confuse the issue.

A blanket statement I can make is if a converter or coach manufacturer feels compelled to have their company name 8 feet wide on a mud flap, they should be paying rent to the coach owner.

[Davy]

Now I’m thoroughly confused – guess there’s something to be said for both removing and keeping.

[Art]

I’ve never seen a new shell come out of Prevost with a flap on it.

Later

bv

[David]

Mine has a full mustache type thingamabob across the back and always has. The Green Machine that I have been pulling for 8.5 years is a mess from bouncing around back there for 140,000+ miles.

I suppose air may flow through the mustache type, but that assumption may be completely wrong. It sure does not seem to protect anything. I had never even considered it.

My mud flaps at the wheels do need some attention, for sure.

Davy