Trailer Pipe Fender Scabrication – Pathmaker Speed Shop

Custom Trailer Pipe Fenders

My rusty old fenders decided that they had had enough, finally crumpling, pushing into the sidewalls of two of my brand new trailer tires, (literally first tow) which in turn destroyed the sidewalls of the tires and prompted a trailer fender rebuild.

My rig is fat, real fat. It doesn’t fit between the wheel wells of my trailer. Which means that every time I load my rig I have to drive one tire up and over the fenders. I get to choose the side but I’ve got to pick one. Over the years that has crushed my rusty old fenders. So it was time to cut the old fenders off, grab a few sticks of pipe and bend up a few bars. Then I can drive over the bars which will take the weight a lot better, plus if I’m smart I’ll be able to reuse the old steel from the old fenders because I’m cheap and buying new metal is expensive!

Bending Pipe

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Off to Jon’s house I went to use my trusty old JD2 bender which has been up at Jon’s shop so he can use it for his rig. As always goes when you lend out tools you then shortly need them yourself. So I cut one of the fenders off the trailer and headed up to Jons to bend up the 2 sticks of Schd40 pipe I had picked up from my buddy Alister. Its never really easy bending pipe completely away from what you need the pipe for, but I made it work and got my 4 pieces bent up quickly.
Back at the shop I quickly cleaned up the rust and got the fenders cut and tacked into place with the good old sparkle machine. Looks like they’ll fit just about perfect! I added a small vertical piece of pipe in the middle between the tires, to take a bit of the rigs weight as I drive across the pipes.

Cutting Fenders

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I tossed the old fender steel on top of the new pipes, changing my mind a few times about how I’d make it fit. Eventually I decided on flipping the fenders around, so the nice rounded outside edge can sit nicely on my inside pipe. With the sharp 90* edge that normally holds the inner fender, I took out the bending pliers and bent the flange flat, which laid right on top of the outside pipe. With a few clamps and the trusty old Miller I tacked the old sheet metal on the tubes, bending around the lower section and welding as I went. After that I just fired a quick coat of paint on it, then ripped apart the other side and did it all again in reverse!
Last thing on the list I added the license plate light and license plate bolts. I may plate in the inner fenders but for now I’ll leave it open and see how it goes.