Tongue-mounted stone guards...

[SWITAWI]

Some good links there Switani. DIY stone guards is strong here in Oz including the "shade cloth" versions. Do you guys call "shade cloth" shade cloth? :

Shade cloth, sun screen, shade screen, etc. I've wondered why they wouldn't use something more durable, like rip-stop canvas, but I guess the shade cloth is probably cheaper to replace and it is somewhat transparent.

Always nice to see what's going on back there at a glance.

 

[indiedog]

Shade cloth is readily available at the big hardware stores, it's cheap, it's easy to work with and fairly straight forward to replace if needed. Lots of people use zip ties to hold it to the frame. Canvas is more expensive, harder to get, and needs more finesse to make a decent looking job out of it. Shade cloth also seems to have the right amount of "give" in it to absorb the impacts. Canvas is certainly more bouncy and you need to pull it taut to get a decent finish. Air resistance is a factor but not so much.

 

[SWITAWI]

Makes sense. :beer:

 

[Mark Harley]

Mytarps.com carries shade cloth in many colors and will make one to any size.

 

[Mark Harley]

http://www.mytarp.com/shade-fabric.aspx

 

[SWITAWI]

Mytarps.com carries shade cloth in many colors and will make one to any size.

Nice. Thanks, Mark! :beer:

 

[Robert Bills]

Has anyone here tried (or know of someone who has tried) a vinyl wrap on the front of the trailer to protect against paint chips? If so, your/their thoughts and observations?

 

[SWITAWI]

Has anyone here tried (or know of someone who has tried) a vinyl wrap on the front of the trailer to protect against paint chips? If so, your/their thoughts and observations?

I can see a vinyl wrap being somewhat protective, but when I think of the thickness of the vinyls I've seen I think of decoration/advertising more than protection. I would think it would have to be thicker or more dense than what is normally used on vehicles, say like the ClearBra protective films. It's an interesting idea for sure with as many options for color as vinyl provides.

 

[Terex]

I really like the flaps. Don't look like they'd hinder off-road clearance. My VMI Offroad trailer is started to get knicked up and I was think about the triangular, horizontal shade cloth products seen in Australia. Also, my mtn. bike mounts on the front middle of the trailer and I'm worried about that too. The flaps look like an easy solution as long as they aren't too close to the exhaust pipes on my Grand Cherokee diesel. Thanks!

 

[SWITAWI]

I really like the flaps. Don't look like they'd hinder off-road clearance. My VMI Offroad trailer is started to get knicked up and I was think about the triangular, horizontal shade cloth products seen in Australia. Also, my mtn. bike mounts on the front middle of the trailer and I'm worried about that too. The flaps look like an easy solution as long as they aren't too close to the exhaust pipes on my Grand Cherokee diesel. Thanks!

One guy literally cut out an exhaust outlet in his Rock Tamer flap and reinforced/heat-shielded it - http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...portation/309220-hitch-mounted-mud-flaps.html

 

[Box Rocket]

From my experience with my trailer which gets towed 90% of the time on gravel roads, the tongue mounted stone guards are a great idea. I've been meaning to build something for my trailer for a while. Large mudflaps on the tow vehicle are good too, but a lot of the places we end up going have some technical sections and large truck mounted mudflaps could get ripped off pretty easily. I recently repainted my trailer because the front of the trailer had taken a serious beating over the past 8 years. I considered using some kind of vinyl but I just don't think it will hold up. If you're primarily on paved roads then a vinyl protective film would probably be fine but hundreds of miles on a gravel road will destroy a vinyl film.