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A while back I ordered some Vittoria Adventure Trail 700 x 38c tyres, and when I mounted them on the bike there was loads of space around the front tyre, but clearance was not as generous around the rear tyre. There's ample clearance around the sides, but only about 2mm between the top of the tread and the mudguard boss on the seat stay bridge. I took the tyres off before taking the bike out in order to refit the 28c and guards, but am wanting to fit wider rubber for more comfort and mixed surface rides.
My frame is a steel 2014 Charge Plug, and while the boss is obviously made of some fairly substantial metal, the rest of the bridge might not be. I don't really want to take the paint off the frame as it's a hard colour to match, and I don't want it to rust.
Am I right in thinking the clearance is a bit too tight? I've got some Vittoria Voyager Hypers I can fit, which are a couple of mm smaller, but they're not officially tubeless and are slick vs the file tread of the Adventure Trails. I know I could fit them and see how I get on, but if they obviously won't fit I'd rather sell them on with no wear, and save damaging the paint on the bike.
2mm is OK if riding in dry conditions / sand but once it gets wet / muddy you'll find a bit of mud build-up - depends a lot on your local riding conditions i.e. claggy clay a lot worse than lighter, sandy soild.
Yeah 2mm is fine in the dry. In the slop of winter you might find the clag collecting.  I'd see how it goes, you've got a few months before the mud prevails again (unless you live in Scotland!). I wouldn't worry too much about losing a bit of paint on a steel frame either.
Awesome, thank you guys. It's more sand than clay so hopefully it'll be OK. I'll fit them over the weekend and see how I get on with them.