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Topic: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc (Read 11 times) previous topic - next topic
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Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Yahoo Message Number: 102613
Well, we decided that our Highlander was heavier than desired for towing so we bit the bullet and purchased a new Honda Fit that will be towed behind our 2006 Mid Bath. Since it is a new car, we would like to protect the hood from stones and other debris kicked up from the rear of the LD while towing.
 We are considering several possibilities for protecting the Toad. First is a Nose Mask that is custom made for the Fit that fits snugly on the front of the car. The second option would be a Rock Shield that looks like a short wall placed just in front of the front bumper of the Toad. The third option is a screen placed under the tow bars to prevent stones, etc. from bouncing up onto the hood of the toad. Each of these options seem to have advantages and disadvantages.
 We are leaning toward using the Nose Mask but have some concern that if find dust or dirt works its way under the mask, we will have scrapes worse than dings from rocks.
 Do any of you use any of these products? Or do you have other suggestions? Is rock damage really an issue?

Thanks for your input!

Kathy

2006 Red Mid Bath
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102614
Our 1997 Foretravel has a "mud flap" that extends the full width of the RV. It's located a bit forward of the hitch. We never had stones, etc, get to our Honda Element while it was being towed.
 The big advantage of this approach is that we do not need to do a thing to protect our Honda when we hook it up to tow. I'll have to look into adding one like it to our new to us 1997 LD.

best, paul
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102619
"we would like to protect the hood from stones and other debris kicked up from the rear of the LD while towing. We are considering several possibilities... First is a Nose Mask... The second option would be a Rock Shield... The third option is a screen placed under the tow bars."
 I'm with Paul on this one: I believe the best and simplest solution is a good full-width mudflap. When I set up my Fit for towing, RV technician Mike Sylvester recommended the UltraGuard mudflap. I bought it for $90 (including shipping) from an online dealer, picked up a couple of 4' angle irons from the  local hardware store, and mounted it to the frame rails at the rear of the coach.
 The UltraGuard is made of 3/8" thick reinforced rubber. It's eight feet wide and weighs 30 pounds--seriously heavy duty! This has got to be better than individual mudflaps, or those stupid grass-skirt things. (With respect to the latter, I figure if you can throw a rock through your mudflap, then it isn't doing you any good.) This thing looks as if you'd have trouble penetrating it with a .44 magnum. ;-)
 I've driven about 500 miles since installing the UltraGuard, and have yest to see a chip on my Fit's front end. I like that fact that once installed, I don't have to think about it. It's MUCH less cumbersome than one of those hard plastic vertical mount-on-the-hitch rock shields. (And by the way, a friend of mine who has one of those drove over some newly paved road and discovered that while the shield protected her toad, it bounced sticky asphalt back onto her LD's's rear end!)
 Ditto the flexible horizontally hitch-mounted shields. In both cases, you have this big, awkward thing that you have to deal with when you're not towing. By contrast the UltraGuard just sits there, always attached and always ready. There's no need to put it on and take it off, as with a "bra" (which I personally think look silly anyway). You don't have to think about it or do anything with it... it just works. UltraGuard gets my vote. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102620
You are right that a Nose Mask will allow grit and grime to collect under it which will scratch the paint (I bought an Acura Legend once that had one).
I have also heard stories of the 'full width mud flaps' kicking up rocks.  I would suppose that a lot would depend upon the roads that you drive.  I chose the 'screen' method for our Toyota RAV-4 which has never received a chip from towing.  I elected to build my own screen, rather than buying a commercial version, from a couple of uprights which fit into brackets connected to the base plate on the Toyota, which support a 6' piece of corrugated fiberboard roofing material from Home Depot for a total cost of about $15.  It works for me, YMMV!!

Glen w/SOB 31' w/slide

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102622
Quote
We are considering several possibilities for protecting the Toad.
Kathy,
For about 3 years I used a "hula skirt" on the back of my LD to protect our Honda CR-V.  During that time I had no chips on the car and thought it was doing a good job.  Then last December I towed it for over 250 miles on snow covered highways where many sections were sanded for traction.
At the end of that trip, the radiator was full of small stones and gravel.
That taught me that there won't be much debris thrown up on dry paved highways but if you are driving on something loose like gravel a lot of things get thrown back.
 I considered the long heavy strip like Andy uses but have read several reports of them throwing rocks up if they happen to drag on the ground.
That may not happen very often but some of the roads I travel on could present this situation.
 My current solution is the screen placed under the tow bar.  It takes me a whole minute to attach or remove it.  It folds easily and fits into a small bag but I usually just throw it into the back of the car.  I will probably need some more winter towing to really test it but for now I will take it over any of the other methods I have seen.  You can read all about it and even buy it at  http://protectatow.tripod.com/ .  The only thing not clear on this site it that it is shipped from Canada.

As usual, your mileage may vary.

Monti

Monument, CO
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102623
"I considered the long heavy strip like Andy uses but have read several reports of them throwing rocks up if they happen to drag on the ground."
 That shouldn't happen if you install it properly, with 4" between the bottom of the flap and the ground. UltraGuard's instructions make a point of this, and I followed them to the letter.
 However, in my travels I have seen several coaches with flaps or skirts that were either within a hair of the ground or actually dragging, and you're right--that's a recipe for trouble.
 But with a properly installed UltraGuard, with 4" of ground clearance, you'd have to be traveling some mighty rough terrain for it to touch the ground.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102625
We've towed our CR-V for quite a few years and have never had any damage to the vehicle as it was happily pulled along behind our MB.

Anne Johnson

Lovely La Verne, CA
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102628
Quote
I'm with Paul on this one: I believe the best and simplest solution is a good full-width mudflap. When I set up my Fit for towing, RV technician Mike Sylvester recommended the UltraGuard mudflap. I bought it for $90 (including shipping) from an online dealer, picked up a couple of 4' angle irons from the  local hardware store, and mounted it to the frame rails at the rear of the coach.
Andy, We picked up our 30IB April 15.  We need to put a rock guard on and like the sound of yours.  Do you have any pictures of how you mounted it with the angle iron?  If not, Steve is curious why you used 4" angle iron and just where you installed it.  We had a rock guard on our Bounder, but the Lazy Daze is much different, partly because it is much lower to the ground.  Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Connie
Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102632
Kathy, like Paul, I use a full-width mud flap.  So far, it works well.  I have no apparent chips, cracks or dings in my Toyota Yaris after 6000 miles.
Ken
'08 MB
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102633
We have a '99 RB and have been towing a CRV since '02. about 40.000 miles worth. I had a nose cover on it, cover until I discovered it was wearing the paint under the edge. Since then, I have not used anything.
I have not had any dings or damage to the CRV, and we are not always on paved roads.
I have several rock chips to the front end of the LD and one cracked windshield. Go figure.

Chris Hunter
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102635
"Do you have any pictures of how you mounted it with the angle iron?"
 I just created an album in our website's Photos are called "UltraGuard mudflap" with a couple of pictures that should help clarify things.
 "Steve is curious why you used 4" angle iron and just where you installed it."
 I should have been more specific in my earlier post. I used 2" angle iron in 4' long pieces. Ideally you'd use a single 7' or 8' long piece, and indeed you can buy one from UltraGuard with holes pre-drilled.
 But I was too cheap to pay for that--and pay for shipping it!--so I went to the local hardware store. What they had was angle iron in 4' lengths, so I bought two, overlapped them about 2", and bolted them together to make an almost-8' piece.
 Then I drilled about a dozen holes in the angle iron and the UltraGuard flap, and bolted them together with the supplied hardware. The UltraGuard hardware uses Nylock nuts, so it can't come loose; I used red (permanent) Loctite on the hardware that I supplied.
 Finally, I drilled a hole in each main frame rail, and mounted the angle iron plus UltraGuard to the frame rails, just forward of the holding tank. That was the only location where I was able to maintain the 4" ground clearance called for in the instructions. (UltraGuard is sold in two heights. I bought the taller one, but if you bought the shorter one, you might be able to mount it to the bumper instead.)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102637
Quote
We are considering several possibilities for protecting the Toad.
Kathy,
 For about 3 years I used a "hula skirt" on the back of my LD to protect our Honda CR-V.  During that time I had no chips on the car and thought it was doing a good job.  Then last December I towed it for over 250 miles on snow covered highways where many sections were sanded for traction.
At the end of that trip, the radiator was full of small stones and gravel.
That taught me that there won't be much debris thrown up on dry paved highways but if you are driving on something loose like gravel a lot of things get thrown back.
 I considered the long heavy strip like Andy uses but have read several reports of them throwing rocks up if they happen to drag on the ground.
That may not happen very often but some of the roads I travel on could present this situation.
 My current solution is the screen placed under the tow bar.  It takes me a whole minute to attach or remove it.  It folds easily and fits into a small bag but I usually just throw it into the back of the car.  I will probably need some more winter towing to really test it but for now I will take it over any of the other methods I have seen.  You can read all about it and even buy it at  http://protectatow.tripod.com/ .  The only thing not clear on this site it that it is shipped from Canada.

As usual, your mileage may vary.

Monti Monument, CO
I, too, use the Protect-A-Tow and have found it very protective, easy to install, easy to remove and cheaper than a solid on-the-LD/toad device.. If you'd like photos of it installed on my car, please email me.

Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102639
"UltraGuard is sold in two heights. I bought the taller one, but if you bought the shorter one, you might be able to mount it to the bumper instead."

Andy
 I have seen bumper-mounted Ultraguards drag on the road when the rear wheels drop into a deep dip. If on a gravel or dirty road, this kicks up stones, which then hit the toad.
Mounting the Ultraguard as close to the rear axle as possible would seen to be the best choice.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102642
Me too. It came with my towbar and baseplate purchase, and so far has protected my jeep very well. And we do lots of off road camping to go jeeping. Like Chris, I find it easy to put on and take off, although I did add a couple bungies to the standard install.

As always, YMMV,

Lee
2000 TK
2014 Can-Am Spyder RT
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102644
"Mounting the UltraGuard as close to the rear axle as possible would seen to be the best choice."

Good point, Larry! I'm glad that's what I did. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102645
Quote
We have a '99 RB and have been towing a CRV since '02. about 40.000 miles worth. I had a nose cover on it, cover until I discovered it was wearing the paint under the edge. Since then, I have not used anything.
Thanks to all of you for your input on protecting your toad. It seems that any one of several methods may work fine; based on the input received, we are now leaning toward the "Protect a Tow" or Roadmaster's Tow Defender screen. But will give this more thought before making the investment.
 One thing for sure is that we will NOT try the Nose Mask (Bra)! Personally, I liked the idea from a simplicity perspective, but I suspected that it would ultimately cause scratches in the paint. Your input confirms this.
 I'm sure towing will become simple and second nature eventually, but getting started sure is complicated!

Kathy
 
Re: Protecting a Toad from stones, etc
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 102723
Adding another Protect-A-Tow vote.  We've had ours for 5 years now and towed our CR-V somewhere around 35K miles.  We wouldn't be without it.

Michelle