Mud Flaps

Growing up in Superior, I had lots of time to watch cars and trucks on the streets of Superior. One feature which deserves comment would be a common device call “mud flaps.”

Many highways in the area were unpaved and had gravel surfaces. County roads were also gravel and when there was heavy rain or snow, the vehicles would wear into the surfaces and mud would result. The rotation of the vehicle’s tires would throw mud backward coating the windshield and front of following vehicles.

Most trucks then and today have mud flaps which catch the mud and prevent mud throwing. The early mud flaps were made of stiff rubber and mounted in the rear wheel wells. Some car manufacturers came out with metal mud flaps which were chrome and contributed to the design of the car.

Modern mud flaps have become an advertising bonanza. You can see them with truck stop names or truck dealerships or other companies like seed corn dealers of grain elevators.

Editor Blauvelt has his own story about making mud flaps for a truck he once owned which I will let him tell.

Editor’s note: It’s a short story. When I operated the west Third Street car wash, I had an old dump truck that needed mud flaps to comply with state law. Since the truck was seldom used, I didn’t want to spend a lot. I made the flaps out of discarded bright yellow shag carpenting. The trucs inspector laughed but approved the flaps.