Rock guard for towed

[somewhereinusa]

Question for you who tow a vehicle.  My "new" towed is over 30 years old. Needless to say the windshield would be a might hard to come by.  Do you use some sort of rock guard? My old jeep was a piece of crap that already had a cracked windshield, so I didn't care. I did get a stone chip while towing, but can't honestly say it came from me. I've read varying reports of good and bad on the various guards and contraptions that people use. I honestly can't see how a rock could get to the windshield from my own tires. I have 9 feet of overhang and there are mud flaps behind the wheels anyway. The mudflaps aren't quite as wide as the tires on the outside, but that is much wider than a little 'ole VW truck.To get to the windshield a rock would have to travel somewhat low for 9 feet then abruptly rise to even get to the windshield. What are your thoughts?

[chessie4905]

   For one thing, look into full glass coverage, especially if you only have a few vehicles. Make a padded windshield protector from bubble wrap that has the foil on one side. I've seen it at Lowes and Home Depot.

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Guy's,

Probably the best protection made by Roadmaster.

[gumpy]

I've put over 70K miles on my bus, with probably 95% of it towing a vehicle. I have never had an issue with chipped or cracked windshields on the toad.
This includes a trip to Alaska which has a reputation of killing windshields and headlights. On that trip, I found one tiny stone on my toad wiper blade. It was
probably kicked up by a passing vehicle. You're more likely to have the toad get hit by something someone else kicks up as they pass you than you are to have
it get hit by something you kick up. 

The bigger issue is having all the leaking oil being blown up on the toad!!  BTDT, more than once! 

[Jriddle]

The bigger issue is having all the leaking oil being blown up on the toad!!  BTDT, more than once! 

BTDT too
I made it a point to fix as many leaks as possible and put the drain tube catch bottles on. My next step is to change the motor from my parts Bus. The oil really isn't too much fun to get off the car or bus.

John

[RJ]

The oil really isn't too much fun to get off car or bus.

FYI - Blue Dawn dishwashing liquid works wonders.

FWIW & HTH. . .

 

[bobofthenorth]

All we ever used was a piece of carpet runner cut to fit across the grill and a piece of fabric cut to cover the windshield.  I think Craig is right - you are unlikely to kick up a rock to hit the windshield.  You very much WILL take out any low hanging fog lights and possibly a headlight if you don't have the grill guard - BTDT.  It doesn't take much though.  We laid a piece of carpet runner across the grill, cut a couple of holes so it hangs off the pegs that support the outside edges of the hood and another hole to accommodate the latch mechanism.  Hook the carpet on the pegs and latch, slam the hood and stretch a bungie strap across the bottom to hold it all in place.  The fabric across the windshield makes a big difference when you run in snotty weather - at least with it when you take it off you can see out of the windshield while you are unhooking the towed. 

[Scott & Heather]

Been fulltiming over 3 years. Driven all over the place. Had issues with rocks oil splatter etc. Not fun. Finally, found what I honestly believe is the most effective solution to this issue. I made one myself out of shade cloth and it worked unbelievably well. I ended up tearing it on accident so I would highly recommend you just buy one...but here it is:
http://protectatow.tripod.com/


Trust me. It works. For the first time since owning our bus, our toad was clean. If you use a hard shield, you will bounce the rocks back into the rear of your coach and destroy the paint on the engine doors.

[B_K]

I saw one the other day using "the northerners frost free trick"! He had cardboard held down the wipers! (must have turned off the ignition or pulled the fuse mid-stroke as they were in the straight up position!)
  BK 

[PP]

In all the years of towing vehicles I've never had a rock kicked up by my own rig and hit the toad. Oil and road grime is another matter. And the smell of diesel fumes in the towed linger for quite a while. A piece of cardboard under the wipers on the windshield does help with the grime so you can see while you're unhooking the toad. And it really really really helps if you remove it before you unhook. Lately, the wife has taken to putting a beach towel under the wipers. She says it makes the move feel more festive. I was sure it would be gone by our first stop, but it's been hanging in there and I have to admit, it does feel more festive than a piece of brown cardboard. After hooking up the toad, I have to set the ignition to free the wheel so I turn on the wipers until they're straight up and then click off the ACC to keep them there.
Will

[qayqayt]

I used a sheet of lexan, much stronger than plexiglass.  I drilled holes and attached I-bolts then attached the lexan to the car with bungee cords.  The only problem was that even with the lexan tight to the car bumper, there was still enough movement to scuff the edges of the bumper.  So we gave up on the project.  However, if you don't care if the towed car gets a few minor scuffs and scratches, it's way cheaper than buying the $800 tow guard that we eventually went for.