Rancher Won’t Use Anything But ‘Big Wonderful Wyoming’ Mud Flaps, Can’t Find More

A Sheridan-area rancher is on a quest for classic “Big Wonderful Wyoming” mud flaps and won’t use anything else on the ranch’s flatbeds and big rigs. Pepper Fipps, the cow boss on the Rafter Star Ranch, wants the mud flaps featuring an outline of Wyoming, the iconic Steamboat bucking bronco logo, and “Big Wonderful Wyoming” in bold letters—and he will not stop looking until he finds them.

Fipps had a brief moment of hope Monday after learning that Carquest stores in Lovell and Riverton carry Big Wonderful Wyoming mud flaps. But during a phone call, Lovell store manager Michelle Krauseman said she has some in stock—just not the size he needs. The store has mud flaps in the 12 to 14-inch size range, which might work on a regular pickup. Fipps needs mud flaps roughly 36 inches long by 24 inches wide. Krauseman said she would do her best to track some down. “I will buy eight sets of them,” Fipps told her.

After more digging, Fipps discovered that Globetech Manufacturing in Dayton, Ohio, apparently still makes the mud flaps he wants, in the size he needs, according to time-honored standards. A Globetech representative declined to comment and did not respond to an email. There are cheaper “knock off” versions online, but Fipps is not interested. He wants the real thing. When made right, Big Wonderful Wyoming mud flaps can outlast the trucks they are attached to. “I’ve got a set that are 20 years old now, and I’ve had them on multiple trucks,” he said. Still, the ranch’s supply is running thin. “I’ve got three sets left,” he said.

Big Wonderful Wyoming mud flaps used to grace rigs all over the Cowboy State, but they have become a rare novelty. That may be because newer vehicles have plastic or composite bumpers molded right into the vehicle, making it almost impossible to bolt on classic mud flaps. Fipps misses the days when heavy-duty mud flaps were a common sight. “Those were the cat’s meow,” he said. “Every flatbed that went by had Wyoming or Montana mud flaps on it.”

Mud flaps are required for semi-trucks and heavy-duty flatbeds to prevent rocks from flinging into other drivers’ windshields. For Fipps, insisting on only Big Wonderful Wyoming mud flaps is a matter of honoring the state’s heritage. “It’s pride in Wyoming ranchers and cowboys,” he said. “It was an iconic thing to see on trucks. I grew up with those mud flaps on trucks and semis everywhere. It’s about where we come from and who we are. It’s a pride thing to represent our state.” He added that the mud flaps are pure West, pure Wyoming. “You don’t see South Carolina rigs running around with them. And ‘Vermont’ or ‘New York’ would look funny on a mud flap,” he said.