Community Forums

OldForester · 06-13-2009, 10:51 PM

I did a search on iRV2 and found conflicting responses on this question, so I thought I would ask other Alpine owners to get our coach-specific responses.

We have been towing a 2002 VW Beetle and a 2006 Toyota 4WD 4Runner for the last 4 years. We always towed them with a Roadmaster Guardian Debris Shield on the front of the coach to protect the front and the headlights.

We are now setting up our new Toyota 4WD Tundra pickup to tow as well and we are tired of carrying the all the extra hardware from Roadmaster for the toads, including the big brackets, the cross bar, and the debris shield. We are using the Roadmaster XL brackets on the Tundra that have small inserts more like the pins on the Blue Ox brackets. These brackets don't have a cross bar nor a mount for the debris shield.

My question to this group is directed to those who don't tow with a debris shield of any kind, and just rely on the mudflaps behind the wheels and the big cross mud flap across the rear. What's been your experience? Do you get many rock dings or have you cracked or broken your headlights?

JWT · 06-13-2009, 11:57 PM

I have towed without any car guards or shields and haven't notice anything out of the ordinary. Never had a broken headlight. I've towed this same car behind my prior m/h a year before the '05 Alpine. My bro-in-law bought the Roadmaster shield to protect his Suzuki Grand Vitara, but he has a Holiday Rambler pusher which has the rear radiator. They seem to throw more debris to the rear.

Ken T. · 06-14-2009, 08:06 AM

I have towed a Jeep Cherokee for 9 years and a Jeep Liberty for 1 year. I have never used a shield and have only had wheel mud flaps on my motorhomes. Never suffered any damage to the front of my Jeeps when towing. My feeling is that if you tow a high clearance vehicle the stuff thrown off by the rear wheels will go under the towed.

Ken Tarkin
2005 34' limited

Jim A · 06-14-2009, 12:24 PM

I have towed a CR-V for over 50K miles, with no damage that I can discern. I used a Guardian tow shield at first, but found it to be a pain in the butt, and have not used it for the past 49K+ miles. I just rely on the mud flap across the back of the coach. No complaints.

The CR-V does have a plastic lower front facia, not painted. That would be the area I expect to see rock dings, so it might not be an apples to apples comparison to your toad.

Jeff and Cheryl · 06-14-2009, 01:05 PM

Like Jim A., I tow a CR-V. I've had no damage. Most of the travel had been on paved roads, though some has been on gravel.

Dave and Jaime · 06-14-2009, 04:40 PM

Like others, I don't use a shield on my CR-V and it has no damage. I did have a 3M invisible bra installed on the CRV when it was new to protect against rocks/chips when it is not being towed. Those invisible bras really do work.

johnwr · 06-15-2009, 07:29 AM

We towed a Liberty behind our Newmar Kountry Aire 5W and used a rock guard like Blue Ox sells that I constructed and had no damage. Then when we got our Alpine last year, with the full width mud guard, I got lazy and didn't use the rock guard with the result that after about 8000 miles we had numerous little fine chips, primarily on the curb side. These show up, for the most part, after waxing because the Liberty is a very dark metalic green. This year I've gone back to using the rock guard and after about 5000 miles I haven't noticed any additional chips. The CRV may have different air flow characteristics than the Liberty, but IMHO, if you've got a dark colored paint, play it safe and use something to protect it.

jerry davis · 06-15-2009, 06:50 PM

We have an 05 36' and tow a RAV4. In 25000+ miles we have had no damage to the RAV. We do not have any type of shield.

Tom and Patty · 06-15-2009, 07:43 PM

We use the Protect-a-Tow. It installs in a minute when Patty helps out. When not in use we roll it up and bungee it under the rear cap.

Our (Fiat)PT sits low and before we used it we had numerous pits, not to mention the small rocks collected on the cowling when we stopped. An added plus is that it keeps rocks from hitting the A/C condenser, air charge cooler, and radiator tubes. All very expensive items to replace.

Here is the link. Protect-a-Tow

SteveS · 06-15-2009, 09:52 PM

I currently tow a Jeep Liberty--20K mi. Experienced broken right turn lens. Nothing other than rear mud flaps on coach.

mythplaced · 06-16-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave and Jaime

......... Those invisible bras really do work......

Yea, they work for me also!

gjstacy · 06-16-2009, 03:15 PM

We tow a 2004 Yukon, and early on in its life, we (uh, John) drove a bit too fast over a dirt/fine gravel road and the whole front of the Yukon is still pitted from that. Could have kicked ourselves (or John).

I suppose if we had traversed that section slowly enough, we might have been okay with just our full rear mud flap.

We're planning a trip to Alaska next year, and will probably get a tow shield if we aren't still towing the Yukon. If we still have the Yukon, it won't really matter!

Tom and Patty · 06-16-2009, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mythplaced

Yea, they work for me also!

HA

Engineer Mike has some new competition. From a newbie at that!!

MAC&ANNE · 06-17-2009, 09:09 AM

We started using the protect-a-tow when we changed TOADs, on recommendation by Tom & Patty! It works great & just makes you feel sooo good & protected!