Towed Car Protection Shield

[pierrebernier]

I wish to purchase a protection shield to protect my toad from debris from my coach. I have a Roadmaster tow bar, so I have been looking at the Roadmaster shield products (although I am open to other suggested products). Roadmaster offers two different shields:

1 - The Guardian is a vertical wall attaching on the tow bar that blocks the front of the car. This product has been available for quite a while.

2 - The Defender = a new product = a blanket that covers the tow bar horizontally from the coach to the car.

I don't want the "bra" type of protection (vinyl jacket attaching on the car) because it takes longer to install and because the friction of the bra on the car scratch the car.

I would greatly appreciate any comments/suggestions pertaining to items 1 or 2 or any other product you would recommend.

Thanks.

Pierre

[moonwink]

We used a Protect-A-Tow between the motorhome and the HHR on the way down to Florida and want to become to booster for it. It provides great protection for the towed vehicle, is quick (about a minute or two) to install and remove, is very light and rolls up into a small bag when not in use. The mud flap/skirt on the back of a motorhome will pickup rocks and debris and propel them at the towed. Unless you protect your towed vehicle with a full bra (takes two people and several minutes to install - the vehicle must be cleaned first or the grime will be rubbed into the paint) or a dam in front of the towed (heavy and bulky) your towed vehicle will show signs of damage from road debris.

Protect-A-Tow is a commercial member of FMCA based in Canada.

Protect-A-Tow

Blue-Ox sells a similar product - actually, it looks like an exact copy.

Download a PDF copy of the installation manual for the "Underskirt"

[pierrebernier]

Thanks very much for your reply Moonwink.

Other than the fact that it attaches on the coach and car instead than on the tow bar, I like this product more than the Roadmaster because it is mounted lower which will serve to protect bumper fog lights.

Pierre

[Xplorer]

I do not use a mud/rock guard on the MH, or a vehicle shield.....Towning the Liberty, must be high enough, and the chassis, I have not any any dings towing the Jeep 7k+ miles so far....

When deciding whether to use a shield, I did a search on another forum,,,and others with the Liberty indicated they had the same experience....others may differ,,,,,,,,,,so far so good....

[pierrebernier]

I do not use a mud/rock guard on the MH, or a vehicle shield.....Towning the Liberty, must be high enough, and the chassis, I have not any any dings towing the Jeep 7k+ miles so far....

When deciding whether to use a shield, I did a search on another forum,,,and others with the Liberty indicated they had the same experience....others may differ,,,,,,,,,,so far so good....

Unfortunately, that won't work for me. We toad our (new) 2009 CRV for 3000 miles last Fall and came back with rock chips and a broken fog light: my wife (its her car) was not impressed!!!

[rrbusiness@earthlink.net]

We have had and used a Guardian Shield for several years without issue. The shield has a hidden benefit that Roadmaster doesn't tout. In the early days we did not have the "Stowaway" for it. As a result we oft times stored it under the coach when parked. We can attest that the Guardian Shield will survive driving a 16 ton coach over it and still function (and look) great. We have over 100K of towing and don't leave anywhere without the Guardian in place.

Jim & Vivian Randall

GB Traders, LLC

rrbusiness@earthlink.net

[maddog348]

rrbusiness ~~ What is "stowaway" of which you speak?? Have used the "Guardian" shield for several year and the only complaint we have with it is WHAT TO DO WITH IT WHEN NOT ON TOAD?? Dogs don't like sharing the backseat with it. TIA, Kate

[pierrebernier]

rrbusiness ~~ What is "stowaway" of which you speak?? Have used the "Guardian" shield for several year and the only complaint we have with it is WHAT TO DO WITH IT WHEN NOT ON TOAD?? Dogs don't like sharing the backseat with it. TIA, Kate

The "stowaway" referred to by rrbusiness is a bracket that attaches to your motorhome hitch that holds the Guardian behind you motorhome when parked (you cannot drive with it there). You will see it on the Roadmaster website should you be interested.

[maddog348]

ThankYou

[cb5300]

I wish to purchase a protection shield to protect my toad from debris from my coach. I have a Roadmaster tow bar, so I have been looking at the Roadmaster shield products (although I am open to other suggested products). Roadmaster offers two different shields:

1 - The Guardian is a vertical wall attaching on the tow bar that blocks the front of the car. This product has been available for quite a while.

2 - The Defender = a new product = a blanket that covers the tow bar horizontally from the coach to the car.

I don't want the "bra" type of protection (vinyl jacket attaching on the car) because it takes longer to install and because the friction of the bra on the car scratch the car.

I would greatly appreciate any comments/suggestions pertaining to items 1 or 2 or any other product you would recommend.

Thanks.

Pierre

I use both of these products, and have used them since 2007. I have a Monaco Signature and tow a 2007 Ford Explorer...Everything works like a charm..In 35K towing mile I've had 0 problems or damage with my toad..Easy to install and only adds a couple of minutes to your hookup time.

[hoper20]

We use the Protect-A-Tow. It is easy to install and cheaper than the car mounted. I talked to 2 other owners of a car mounted and they had rock dings on the rear of the coach. Indicated that they thought the rocks bounced off the shield.

[pierrebernier]

We use the Protect-A-Tow. It is easy to install and cheaper than the car mounted. I talked to 2 other owners of a car mounted and they had rock dings on the rear of the coach. Indicated that they thought the rocks bounced off the shield.

Thanks very much for your reply. At this point, unless someone convince me otherwise, I intend to go for the Protect-A-Tow for 3 reasons:

1 - more coverage because it has no gaps between the Coach and the shield and between the shield and the tow. I was concerned about rock still making their way onto the tow with the Roadmaster product.

2 - I have a motorcycle lift to which I can attach my tow: it makes it longer and Protect-A-Tow offer an extention shield that will still make the full lenght. I will have to do some costomization, but it's OK.

3 - price (not the most important in this case, but still.

I will attend the Albuquerque FMCA convention in 2 weeks first, and will then make the purchase.

[wwelty@cnetco.com]

I purchased a protect-a-tow to go to Alaska. To the manufacturer's credit they were concerned about the exhaust heat from our 2008 Tiffin Phaeton exhaust temperature. The Phaeton discharges the exhaust directly to the rear of the coach. The manufacturer and I exchanged pictures and correspondence and I ended up purchasing the product. The discharge (in spite of a downward pointing deflector) eventually melted the fabric. I used bungee cords and other solutions to keep the fabric away as far as I could but was unsuccessful. Not only did it melt the fabric but it also heated the PVC spreader to the point it sagged unbelieveably. The product seemed like it would work but it did not. I took a chance knowing that the manufacturer was very honest regarding the exhaust heat potentially causing problems. You should look at your exhaust discharge point and make that decision after talking with the manufacturer. I still had rocks fly up on the car when traveling so I really don't think it would have been satisfactory for me even without the heat issue. If you stay on paved roads and never encounter gravel construction then you may be happy. The unit is easy to install for sure and stores easily. It gets pretty dirty so be sure and wear gloves. Good luck.

[danorske]

I use both of these products, and have used them since 2007. I have a Monaco Signature and tow a 2007 Ford Explorer...Everything works like a charm..In 35K towing mile I've had 0 problems or damage with my toad..Easy to install and only adds a couple of minutes to your hookup time.

You use both of these together at the same time? my oh my,

Ron

[barrys129]

I have towed my Mazda B4000 pickup 38,000 miles with nothing more than the full width flap on my motor home. I've towed it from west coast to east, over all types of road surface, with no sign of rock chips or dings. It does get dusty when towing on unpaved roads, but I expect any shield would allow dust to accumulate as well.

[ljlaursen]

I have used the tow shield offered by Blue-Ox that hangs between the MH and toad. I works but it got very dirty and the only way to handle it was with gloves. I found it to much trouble and went back to a vertical shield similar to the Roadmaster, that I make myself. I have a bracket installed on the rear of the MH and just move the shield from the toad to the MH. This set-up works and makes for quick disconnects and hook-ups.

[johndavidson]

LjLaursen----Can you take a photo of your tow shield setup and share it with us.

[jfischer]

I've been using the Tow Defender for about a year now and it works pretty well. It rolls up neatly on the back of the coach when not in use and is easly to hook up when ready to travel.

[ambyn]

One alternative to the types of tow shields that we have found very good is from Coastline Cover Co. (http://www.coastlinecover.com/tow.htm)

They make covers that are specific to a vehicle that install on the car and cover from under the front bumper to the top of the windshield. There is no chance that a stone kicked up by a vehicle in the lane to the right or the left of your vehicle can damage the hood or the windshield. Also regardless of the weather the car windshield, hood, and headlights are clean when you get to your destination.

These covers cost about the same as the Guardian. They rollup for storage in a supplied bag. We used one on a Saturn for 7 years and decided to purchase on for our toad 94 Camry recently. We found that the new covers have an improved mechanism for securing the covers around the front doors.

Give them a look before you buy the units that mount to the towing equipment.

Regards -- Amby N

Edited March 7, 2010 by wolfe10

[kinrookie@aol.com]

I had to throw in my two cents as well. I have used Protect-a-Tow for over 5 years now and have been extremely happy with it on pavement and gravel roads. It's simple and effective and works as advertised which is much more than I can say for the other products we had tried before Protect-a-Tow. My diesel exhaust exits out the rear side so it's not a problem but beware if you exhaust directly out the back of the coach, that may conflict with using Protect-a-Tow. If you're looking at buying the solid shield that mounts on the tow bar...check ebay first, at one time there was a few of them for sale for a lot less than retail.

[FunbeamChuck]

Thanks to this blog, I purchased a "Protect A Tow" (PAT), installed it and went to AK. I have an '09 Monaco Monarch and tow an '03 Mazda Miata using a Roadmaster Falcon2 hitch assy. The PAT shield is easy to attach/stow and it keeps alot of dust/dirt off the back of the MH and the towed. I did talk with manufacturer as I had to purchase a second Protect A Tow because I have an extension on my hitch and needed the longer shield. He wouldn't do a refund/exchange for the shorter one, but it sold quickly (at a loss) at a rally in Perry. After the trip to AK, I am having to repaint the Miata. The PAT is trapezoidal in shape and isn't wide enough at the towed to cover from the fog lights out due to the fastners on the towed are inboard to the sides of the fenders. Also the PAT shield doesn't protect the rear view mirrors. I guess I should have put cotton socks or something else on them but didn't. Bottom line, with a new paint job, and after more research, I think I'll go with the Guardian.

[dickiebob]

I have the Roadmaster Guardian Rock Guard and Stow-a-Way used with a Roadmaster Falcon 5250 Towbar and Roadmaster's auxillary braking system on a 2001 CRV since it was new. Towed 63000 miles behind two motorhomes.

Only rock pits on the hood are from regular driving and car has the original windshield. I have noticed a little sanding of the underneath front plastic and the stainless suspension bar across under the car front end since the rock guard doesn't cover below the front bumper area. I am more than satisfied with these products and really appreciate the Stow-a-Way for storage when not towing. Has provisions to install a padlock whether towing or not to prevent theft of the Rock Guard. Believe these items are some of the best things I have purchased.

I have replaced the nylon and tyvek washers in the towbar twice since 2001 with free replacements from Roadmaster. Recently ordered the six washers again in anticipation of replacing the old, and since Roadmaster does not sell the Falcon 5250 anymore, I paid $ 5.12 for the washers. I believe they still use the same washers on the Falcon 2 towbar. These washers wear down and flatten out and makes the swivel areas get a little sloppy, or at least a little more loose than I prefer.

[desertdeals69]

What works for me, and I am a cheapskate, is two camper sleeping mats from Walmart for about $7 each and 5 or 6 bungee cords 6 foot long. I cut out for the tow brackets and air brake hose and light wires. Secure the mat with one mat on the bottom and the other mat tucked in above providing as much vertical coverage as needed. The bungee cords hook the bumper going across to the other side of the bumper. The ones higher up hook on each side of the fender. I have a Silverado and have towed it over 90,000 miles without one mark from debris. Total investment $20 and it goes on and off in about 5 minutes, rolls up and stores in a small space.

[sasmit8]

Thanks for all the information on the Protect-A-Tow.

Just ordered one Will let you know how it works

[JOMKHM]

Apparently Coastlinecover is out of business.