Project ’Con Artist Part 19

Project Con Artist Part 19 Jeep Front Three Quarter

What is good on the trail is not always good for the street. Case in point: fender flares. Many states have rules pertaining to the coverage fender flares provide over the tires, including states such as Utah and California that require that the entire tire be covered. Wide fenders are great for the street, but they simply get in the way on the trail, catching on trees, dragging against obstacles and smashing against rocks. But what do you do when you have wider axles or higher-offset wheels that push the rubber away from the Jeep?

Up until now, there wasn’t really a way for Jeep owners to have legal complete-coverage flares on the street and minimal coverage on the trail. Jeep owners who run minimal-coverage flares have taken their chances in hopes that the local police don’t care enough to hand out an equipment violation, or that they don’t fling up road debris on their own, or other, vehicles on the road.

A couple of years ago we saw a unique solution to this problem from a new company called TrailMods, who showed us 3D illustrations of a new idea in fender flares. These new flares would feature a stubby flare mounted to the body, while a full-coverage flare would install over the top of them, giving owners the ability to configure their flares for road or trail use, without tools, and in just a matter of minutes. We really liked the idea, so when production began, we immediately requested a set of these made-in-the-U.S. flares for Project ’Con Artist.

With stubby flares, it became apparent that our full width Expedition One Trail Series front bumper wasn’t going to look, or work, right with our new setup. We placed a call to Expedition One and found out that they had just begun production on a new mid-width Core Series front bumper that is 51 inches wide—perfect for our new flare setup.

Once the parts arrived, we took them to Off Road Evolution in Fullerton, California, where the team made quick work of the fitting of our new parts. Read on to see an overview of our installation.

Our first order of business was to remove the factory front flare, exposing the stock mounting bracket. We used this bracket to mount the new TrailMods bracket.
Our first order of business was to remove the factory front flare, exposing the stock moun
Next, we used a cutoff wheel to trim the factory support bracket flush with the TrailMods bracket we just installed.
Next, we used a cutoff wheel to trim the factory support bracket flush with the TrailMods
After drilling and tapping a hole in the support arm according to the installation instructions, we installed the inner fender flare with supplied hardware.
After drilling and tapping a hole in the support arm according to the installation instruc

Moving to the rear, we removed the factory flares and installed Nutserts in the specified locations.
Moving to the rear, we removed the factory flares and installed Nutserts in the specified
With Nutserts in place, we mounted the rear inner fender with supplied hardware, being careful not to overtighten.
With Nutserts in place, we mounted the rear inner fender with supplied hardware, being car
Once the inner flare is mounted, the outer flare can be installed. These rubber straps are mounted on the outer flare and drop into slots on the inner flare, securing on a peg.
Once the inner flare is mounted, the outer flare can be installed. These rubber straps are

Here you can see the slot in the TrailMods’ inner flare for the rubber straps to drop through.
Here you can see the slot in the TrailMods’ inner flare for the rubber straps to drop thro
Installing the outer flare is as easy as dropping the straps through the slot and securing. While your mileage may vary, our TrailMods flares fit harmoniously with our existing AEV corner guards and Poly Performance sliders.
Installing the outer flare is as easy as dropping the straps through the slot and securing
Moving back to the front flares, we removed the factory marker bulb and socket from the stock fenders and installed them into the TrailMods marker.
Moving back to the front flares, we removed the factory marker bulb and socket from the st

Next, we dropped the 3-inch-wider-than-stock front outer flares into place.
In addition to the straps, the front flares are secured with this support handle. For those with extreme uptravel, this handle will need to be trimmed slightly.
In addition to the straps, the front flares are secured with this support handle. For thos
After installing the fenders, we turned our attention to the Expedition One Core Series front bumper. This bumper measures 51 inches wide, making it a narrow mid-width bumper.
After installing the fenders, we turned our attention to the Expedition One Core Series fr

We began the bumper install by removing our old full-width bumper, along with the winch, lights, and sway bar assembly.
We began the bumper install by removing our old full-width bumper, along with the winch, l
We fit the new bumper to the front of ’Con. You can see in this photo how nicely it lines up with the TrailMods’ inner fender flare.
We fit the new bumper to the front of ’Con. You can see in this photo how nicely it lines
In addition to the standard mounting bolts, Expedition One provides two additional bolts for strength. These optional bolts mount in to holes on the top of the framerails that must be drilled and tapped.
In addition to the standard mounting bolts, Expedition One provides two additional bolts f

Expedition One also includes this offset mounting plate for the fairlead, which allows a wider variety of winches to be fitted to the bumper, including our existing Warn winch.
Expedition One also includes this offset mounting plate for the fairlead, which allows a w
The Expedition One Core Series bumper is also designed to fit Expedition One’s Rubi Skid, which we were running on ’Con with the previous bumper.
The Expedition One Core Series bumper is also designed to fit Expedition One’s Rubi Skid,
Here is the finished look of the new bumper. You can see the width (Cruiser mode) and narrowness (Rocker mode) of the new TrailMods flares. Expedition One provides mounting brackets for the factory driving lights. The new mounts angle the factory driving lights slightly outward for improved side-of-the-road visibility. We also had room to run two new 100-watt KC SlimLites and used this opportunity to replace our tired old A-pillar lights with a pair of 130-watt KC SlimLites.
Here is the finished look of the new bumper. You can see the width (Cruiser mode) and narr

SOURCES
KC Hilites P.O. Box 155 Williams AZ 86046 928-635-2486 www.kchilites.com	TrailMods www.trailmods.com
Expedition One 2675 Industrial Drive Suite 101 Ogden UT 84401 801-627-2921 www.exp-one.com	Off Road Evolution 1829 W Commonwealth Avenue Fullerton CA 92833 714-870-5515 www.offroadevolution.com