I say risk the rock chips. Every time I've ever used flares it tears the paint up under them, even tried some 3m sponge tape and the flares ate through it.

 

 

no, what is needed is narrower wheels with more + offset

 

You don't need fender flairs if you don't care about your paint. Otherwise I'd get them. Some of the painted ones look really REALLY nice, and would not take away from the clean look of the truck.

 

I never cared for the looks when the tires extend past the truck sides. It would look a million times better with flares, imo.

 

 

You mean it slings mud and grit all over the side of the truck. And then while you're sleeping in your tent, a Burro walks by and decides to use your truck as a dust/dirt bath and rubs all your paint off. (happened)

Doesn't look clean at all to me. I'd run the Bushwacker Extend a fender flares to clean it up. I'm not a fan of the fake bolts on the pocket flares. Replace the 3M tape as needed every once in a while, as mentioned above, it won't last forever. You have to pull the fenders to clean in there sometimes anyways.

My 2008 ate it's paint with just 295/70r17 Cooper STT's on OEM 17's. And it was white, black doesn't stand a snowballs chance in chicago.

 

I am struggling with the same thing myself. I'm going 35x12.5x20. I bought some black textured fender flares off Amazon and started color matching. If I don't care for the look, I may just go without. These trucks just don't seem to have enough contour on the sides for me. Seems so straight up and down. That wheel setup with an all black truck looks really good.

 

 

If you cant make a decision ill gladly dispose of those rims for you Don't want your paint gettin messed up right?

 

Get the flairs, otherwise your paint will get chewed up pretty badly. Even with the chance that the flairs will wear through the paint it's still better than having chips all down the side where you'll see them. Bushwhacker flares have a rubber gasket that is supposed to minimize paint damage along the edge of the flare. I put the OEM flares on my '13 which use 3M tape to secure the top of the flare, I took them off last year to see what it looked like underneath and there was zero damage anywhere.