Just Wondering ...

[berginaperzina]

I am just wondering what do you use to protect your towed vehicle from flying debris?

We tow a 2009 Saturn Vue and so far they do not make a bra for it, so I am wondering if there is something else that really works for protection? Or, does it really matter? is there that much debris that hits it?

We have been motorhoming for many years, but this is the first time we are going to tow a vehicle.

[wolfe10]

Some protection is afforded by the coach rear skirt or mud flap.

Then, I am aware of basically two types of toad protectors closer to the toad. They can be used together or individually:

Rockshields and Skirts : Rockshield and Skirts

Look forward to other's ideas on how they protect their toads.

Brett Wolfe

[tbutler]

We have a full width mudflap at the rear of the coach as well as a mudflap behind each rear dual tire pair. In addition, we have the Roadmaster Guardian in the link that Brett mentioned above.

When we went to Alaska, we added a tow car cover from Coastline Cover Company, http://www.coastlinecover.com/ based near Los Angeles, CA. We went to the factory and they made a cover for our car and coach, custom on the spot. They have hook-ups for power and water available at the factory. At the time, they were offering to make the covers in custom colors. I don't know if they still do that. Anyway, they used our custom job to make a pattern for others who have our vehicle so they can enlarge their offerings. They didn't charge any more for the custom job than for the standard cover they sell.

Given all this protection for our toad, we still find bits of gravel on the roof if we go over 20 MPH in a construction area with gravel (chip seal kinds of sites). We also get sand and grit in the sweep pads of the side windows. When you roll the window down after traveling, you will hear scratching and see the result of this. You can try to wash out the window sweep pads but can't get everything out. This sand and grit will be found when traveling any road, interstate or gravel, coastal or inland.

We have had no major damage to our toad while in tow behind the motor home but there will be minor damage to paint and windows on an ongoing basis. We figure we'll keep the toad until the wheels fall off!

[Guest Wayne77590]

I tow a 2007 Saturn Vue and my only protection is the full length mudguard on the rear of the coach. In 10,000 miles of towing I have not had any problems with debris, other than a lot of dust, and if it is raining - dust with water. I purchased on of the Car Dusters at Wally World. The last time I used it my wife thought I had washed the car. I also use that duster on the back of the coach that also picks up dust. Makes it look shinny.

In my last journey, I lost the foot pad on the front leveler somewhere on the NY Thruway. The mudguard rail got mangled and I'm thinking it protected the TOAD from some damage by the foot pad.

[berginaperzina]

Thanks. We were glad to hear from someone with a Vue. We have a really good mudguard on the RV and we have a large car duster (have not ever used it, but we will now).

[kalynzoo]

I have a Coastline Cover on the Saturn Vue. It covers the grill, hood, and windshield. When I called Coastline, they only needed the model of the car, as they maintain a large collection of patterns from which to work. I'm pleased with the quality, ease of use, and customer support. Sadly, it only comes in black.