I don't have fenders on my jeep my grandfather is a sheriff and says it's illegal he pulls ppl over all the time for it. I have tons of friends that took the fenders off there jeep and have never gotten pulled over. Is it really that big of a deal? has anyone had this happen. I don't want fenders on my jeep.

 

Fenders or flares? It all depends on your state laws.

 

This

 

Actually, DOT is federal law and all road legal passenger vehicles beyond a certain year (1940s or 50s, I think) must have fenders front and rear. Fenders are there to contain a dislodged wheel and prevent rocks and road debris from being thrown in the air and through the windshield of the cars behind you so while I'm sure YOU don't want fenders, all the poor people behind you will appreciate it

 

Slightly incorrect, as I'm sure there are certain exceptions but I do not know them all... A street legal sand rain/buggy for instance.

 

And I'm not sure the DOT is Federal.

Its WI dept of transportation, KS dept of transportation, etc.

The EPA sets the federal emissions laws, i *think*.

 

DOT is state.

 

Thought so.

 

It varies from state to state. I don't have them on my Baja bug.

 

you must have adequate wheel coverage to effectively reduce road spray.

road spray being rain or stones.

so if your tires stick out past the body of the vehicle, you must have some sort of mud flap or fender flare.

if the tires stick out past the fender flares, you must add mud flaps.

it seems that it's up to the officer whether or not he wants to challenge that law.

 

In many states the tires cannot stick out past the fenders. So depending on your state you may be considered doing this.

 

As everyone has been saying it really depends on your state/town you get the idea. Im not talking about the actual "law", what im referring to is if your cops actually pull people over for it, a ton of people in my State run without fender flares and don't get into trouble.
I actually see a stock Ram with ridiculous wheel spacers almost every day, and he never gets pulled over for it. I use them for the purpose of what some people have said, to stop debris from flying behind me. Before I bought my Flares, I remember making fountains of water with my tires behind me in huge puddles in parking lots.
I would personally ask people you know that have lifted vehicles with oversized tires, see what they say, again it all depends if the cops around you are picky about that stuff or not

 

Sorry fellas, the U.S. Department of Transportation (often referred to as The Dee Oh Tee) is federal and is responsible for setting federal standards for vehicle regulations and safety. This is not to be confused with local D.O.T.s who are responsible for road and railway maintenance and construction.

http://www.dot.gov/


Took this just this afternoon. See my XJ in the reflection.

It truly depends on how it's enforced. Not all laws are enforced, I think we know that, but that doesn't mean that they aren't laws.

 

Also (allsierra123), I believe that Baja Bugs are classified as kit cars and thus are governed by a completely different set of rules when compared to mass-produced passenger cars.

 

In Petersen 4 wheel and off road they did a set of articles on lift laws by region. I believe they also addressed fender needs in the articles.

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/sch/02/...les/index.html