400 Boondock Fenders…Come On

manyman297

So the Boondock package is 3 years old or so and Nucamp still hasn’t redesigned their fenders so you can take the tire off like a normal trailer. You have to jack the trailer up abnormally high in order for the tire to clear the fender and even then there’s a good degree of scraping going on. 

I’d think it’s about time to cough up a few bucks and pull the CAD out and make a new mold. It would even help with aesthetics as the fender’s radius doesn’t even come close to matching the wheel’s radius. 

Just had to rant since I’m currently servicing my brakes and bearings.

Pintoplumber

I’d bet they don’t make their own fenders, but bought from a supplier. That’s probably why the radius doesn’t match.

bergger

I agree with you.  I have not removed a tire yet on ours but it sounds like the easiest way is to take the fender off first.  Which is something you should not have to do IMO.  A better designed fender is the correct thing to do. 

manyman297

Pintoplumber said:

I’d bet they don’t make their own fenders, but bought from a supplier. That’s probably why the radius doesn’t match.

You might be correct. Although the other exterior plastic trim parts are custom pieces along with a lot of other custom pieces throughout the trailer. Just seems like a weird thing to ignore/overlook on their end.

Maple_Geek

I recently had to remove a tire due to a slow leak at the valve (day 1 issue - warranty claim made) and I did not notice any issue with the fender, It may have been a bit tight but it did not prevent me from easily removing/adding the tire. Not sure if things are now different on the 2022 models. I have a 320S Boondock BTW.

FishDoctor

I have a 2017 320S. I found it  easiest to remove the fenders when I recently serviced the brakes (replaced) and bearings (greased and replaced seals).

manyman297

@Maple_Geek

Sorry, I should've clarified that I was just referring to the 400 models of the BD. I think the 320's are fine. 

Dutch061

Really??

Compared to all the other issues with other RV's, this is the biggest concern that you can find? As @Pintoplumber said, it is a certainty that this is a vended part. The cost of modifying a mold for injected parts VS. the low volume that are run and it isn't feasible without adding costs that are better used in other areas. 

I don't know the production volume, but it is not high enough to offset. Further, I suspect that NuCamp committed to a very high number just to be able to keep the costs for them somewhat reasonable. It is far beyond simply modifying a CAD drawing.....


Brad

manyman297

@Dutch061

You haven't been following my "journey" with our 400 then. Good trailer...not great (great company though). And we probably shouldn't compare it to an industry that is the blueprint for failure. 

My point is if they can custom make the other plastic trim pieces then what difference would it make to create a correct fender piece? It's all custom made and they've changed trim pieces from year to year (320 used to have a pointed tail and now it has a rounded one). It may not mean much to you but all of the little things add up.

I like my trailer but imagine if your car required you to remove a fender to change a tire because somebody overlooked making it the correct radius? I guess I'm picky. 

ScottG

I suspect that part of the challenge is that the "Boondock" model is really just a standard T@B body with few different pieces-parts bolted on. Changing the fender may also require retooling the wheel well, and then nuCamp is committed to producing yet a different body. However small the difference may be, I'll bet it translates to big $$$ in the overall scheme.  

falcon1970

I agree with #manyman297.  Although changing a tire is rather easy once you figure out how to angle the tire out from the wheel well we still shouldn't have to do that figuring.
I don't know just what engineering would be involved in more reasonable wheel skirts but it can't be all that hard.

manyman297

@ScottG
You're probably right about that. I just wonder if there's some middle ground radius that would work for both models. First-world problems, I get it. 

@falcon1970
I can't imagine it would be that difficult or as costly as we assume. Sure they've got a set amount of trim pieces manufactured and committed to but they change these trim pieces nearly every other year it seems. And imagine somebody not as familiar with a tire change on these getting a flat, jacking up the trailer and finding out they now need a square bit to remove the fender or risk breaking the fender completely. 

falcon1970

 The actual wheel well opening in the sidewall of the trailer (at least the 2019 TAB400) is about 7 inches wider front to back than the fenders.  I don't think a redesign would be all that tough.  Instead of a round fender a more oval fender would fit nicely.  I put 225 size Goodyears on my trailer instead of the 235 size that came with it.  And still the fenders are narrower in diameter than the tire.  Hence the need to jack the tire higher and finagle the old one out and the new one in.

Denny16

Well, nüCamp has made a Boondock specific fender for the TaB Boondock trailers, it was cut away more at the top and sides, on the some of the 2021/2022 TaB Boondock Trailers.  Here is an 11-month old TaB 320 with different, larger opening fenders:

A rugged looking wheel flair fender with a larger opening.  The owner lists this as a late 2021 TaB320, but it’s looks like it has the newer trim on the 2022 models.  
Cheers

manyman297

Yeah, I really like that fender style. In fact I think they had it on the 400 BD prototype I saw on one of Mandy Lea’s videos. Should’ve kept it. 

Denny16

Yes, I would love to have this fender flair on our TaB400 Boondock.  I asked about them when I ordered the Boondock axle last year, but was told they were not available for the 400 at that time.
 Cheers