Rock guard for towing

What do folks here use to protect their tow vehicle - a rock guard attached to the RV or to the toad?  As always, thanks in advance!   

I have a 2552 and tow a smart car. The vortex developed behind the PC was beating the crap out of my toad. I use a Blue ox tow bar and installed the kar guard to shield the car. At first I thought it was going to be a pain every time I had to hook up but after a few times I found it only took me a couple of minutes at most. Are there better options? Could be, but until I see one that works as well I’ll stick with the kar guard. I’m betting other brands of bars have similar guards. Just an option, I’ll bet there are a couple others out there.

Timely post. 

Today I got a Stowmaster tow bar, FREE  and am getting the proper base plates for our 2000 Nissan Frontier toad (~$400).

The Frontier is in exceptional shape for a truck that age, and I was worrying about tow damage.

Anyone have a full width 'mud flap' on their coach? that was my preferred option. The link below might be a bit tall, they have a 16" version.

http://www.campingworld.com/smart-solutions-ultra-guard-rock-tow-guard-for-motorhomes-20-x-94?cvsfa=2734&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=3133333030&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0LWYzYDe2QIVBlYNCh093QxDEAQYAyABEgJ_uvD_BwE



 

We have the 2552 towing a Subaru Forester. No rock guard, no extra flaps, no dinks in the Subaru. That said, we don't take the rig down that many gravel roads at speed, mostly slow crawling through campgrounds. Our back country touring is done in the Subaru. I think the flaps block it or the overhang gets the hits... which reminds me that I need to check the tank insulation to make sure that isn't being torn up.

The reverse problem is rare but worth mentioning.

A Jeep Wrangler with aggressive tires, because the front fenders have a forward-facing gap, rocks can get thrown from the Wrangler front tires forward at the PC.  Someone with a PC-2350 Sprinter had two rear windows shatter in separate incidents.

Ron, I never would have thought of that happening! 

The vortex created behind our unit is enough that it pulls the panels on the front of the car and raises the wipers if I go over 55. Could be more than one variable involved . I.E. distance of tow vehicle to rear of pc, type of flaps on pc?  No idea but in our case adding the Kar guard solved the issue with out any measurable change in mileage. I haven’t tried the bike rack along with the guard yet but I think (hope) it all works together.

Towed a new Veloster on a dolly behind my 3100 for 2 years and had no problem with stones or rocks. No extra guards or mud flaps were used. Most rvers don’t take special precautions and seem to do ok but extra guards certainly should help.

Dyna, every unit must be unique one way or another.  My first road trip I had more chips than I could count (all highway) but  mine is towed four down.

We use the RoadMaster screen that fills the space between car and coach.   The problem is that if the attachment at the hitch is forward as it should be, the support bar hits the ladder.  If you raise the ladder, it hits the bracket and intimately knocks off the bracket. 

If you attach the screen back as far as possible and raise the ladder, it misses the ladder bracket but opens a 4 or 5 inch gap that makes me nervous.  The coach was not built with mud flaps.

I have used a Roadmaster Guardian Rock guard for the past 7 years.  At times it is a pain in the neck to store when not in use, but it has protected my vehicle completely.
Syd

I wonder how that plastic hair hanging across the entire rear bumper performs.

We have the PC-supplied mudflaps which perform great for rock protection.  The only issue I have with them is related to the use of leveling blocks.  The large mudflaps hang down nice and far, but so much that while backing up on the blocks, the tires end up driving onto the mud flaps.  I hook one mudflap on the tail pipe, but the other, Irene has to hold it up while I back onto the blocks.  I really need to come up with a method to hang them up just prior to backing up on the blocks.  I was thinking of adding a hook on the frame and drill a small hole in the right place for that flap to quickly hook it up and out of the way.

I suppose I could drive forward up on the blocks, but I am stuck in my head backing onto them.....an age-related glitch with me. 

Read this in Family Motor Coaching mag:

Use of a shield mounted in front of the vehicle grille could restrict airflow and damage the transmission.

Damage the transmission on what; The tow vehicle isn’t running?  I just came back from a road trip to Death Valley and hit rain. Watching rain go with the air flow behind your rv in the rear camera really shows how it hits your toad. In my case adding the Kar guard was a huge plus.