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Tow shields
Does anyone out there have any advice or experiences to share regarding the use of shields or other ideas to prevent toads from getting chipped up. My bus is a forty footer with the full flap and I will be towing a GMC crew cab. Blue Ox markets a hard shield that mounts vertically in front of the toad and another that is soft and mounts horizontally between the bus and the toad. Any insight would be appreciated.
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43 Replies
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From the big brew-ha they had on the CC owners web site several years ago. Actually one CC owner ran the coach with and without the full rear mud flap. Here is the short version………
Based on actual temp findings his conclusion was …..the only thing the flap did was advertise the coach manufacture.
Coach actually ran cooler without.
On with your question the road dirt was actually less on the toad windshield without full flap. This then makes a pretty good case to install the shield to protect the toad.
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Ditto,get rid of the advertising flap. Do make sure the wheel flaps and flap betwenn the wheels are all there.
I think the Roadmaster shield is likely the most effective protective device out there. I’ve driven the Alaskan highway which is likely the worse road conditions you’ll find anywhere. They use a gravel and tar slurry mix that is easily picked up by tires. Without any shield on my 2012 Explorer I ended up with a repairable windshield break and some minor paint dings.
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George,
I have run toads 4 wheels down behind our three coaches for 23 years with varying mud flap configurations.
The first had no full width mud flap. It was a 40 footer. The second had a flap but I had to remove it because the way it was mounted caused it to be damaged due to the steep slope transition of my driveway. It was a 45 footer.
My current 45 footer has a full width mud flap under the bumper. It scrapes on the driveway transition but otherwise seems OK so I am leaving it in place.
I am not aware of a single stone chip or front end damage to any of my toads regardless of coach length or mud flap configuration. Every coach has had the mud flaps in between and also directly behind the rear axles.
With the tow bar lengths being what they are and the relative heights of the toad and bus bumpers I cannot envision a way a stone can get kicked up between the toad and the coach to do any damage to the paint or windshield.
Most of the crud that ends up on the toad is the dust that gets sucked up into the low pressure area immediately behind the coach. After a long trip with heavy rain I will find very small stones but I am guessing they get carried with the water spray mostly from passing trucks and buses. I don’t think any shield will prevent that.
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Of course Jon is towing an H2! The stones on the Alaskan highway are so bad that everyone’s toad I checked, to include the ones with the Roadmaster shield, had a pile of stones in the area just below the windshield wipers–no kidding. The good news, other than a need to replace the coach windshileds the coach only suffered a couple small dings in the front.
As for that rear mud flap, it’s height above the road is critical. If it’s too close to the road and you drive down gravel covered roads, which Jon probably doesn’t, the mud flap will create enough turbulance to lift the rocks off the road.
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We have towed a Raider (Misubishi Montero with a Dodge nameplate), a Grand Cherokee, a Ram 1500 and now our H2 Hummer. I am getting a 1950 Ford ready for towing and won’t use a shield on it either.
Flap or no flap, if the road has small loose sand or gravel it is going to get lifted up. We all have seen and heard the crap hitting our windshields when a truck or bus going by us drops onto the shoulder. The grooves they now mill into the shoulder to make a rumble are collection spots for that loose collection of stones and sand and no matter how the flaps are configured that crap is airborne as soon as a vehicle’s tires go over the rumble strips.
But the stuff at the base of the windshield is still going to be there unless the shield arcs back over the windshield. Most if not all of that curves into the low pressure area from the sides although I am sure a lot of debris is pulled under the rear of the bus and then under the toad.
Even though my bus is 4 wheel drive Gil is right. I am not planning on doing any high speed driving on gravel roads. I did a hundred thousand miles or more on the roads in the rust belt in the winter when the roads were covered with road salt granules and tons of sand. In the summer especially in NY state road repairs consisted of spraying tar on the roads and then spreading loose gravel. What didn’t end up cracking my windshield either stuck to the road or ended up in the ditch. The toads never had damage although there were all kinds of stones laying on the hood or base of the windshield.
I know from experience under loose stone or gravel conditions it was passing cars either coming toward us, or those passing us that kick up stones and the trajectory of those tends to chip windshields or ding the toad on the side of the doors or mirrors.
Our most damaged and vulnerable area is the front of the coach and the windshield of the coach.
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Jon,
Is the 1950 Ford a F-1? That would be way cool.
I saw a coach pulling a open trailered Prowler, that too was way cool. Although less practical.
Post a picture when it’s done.
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This is what it is:
3000 pounds of smokin’ hot car capable of a blazing 78 MPH. If I have confidence in its reliability it will be a sometime toad.
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Hold the phone…are you sure that isn’t 1951 taillight trim?
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Jon,
Pretty Cool. When is the paint shop going to add the coach matching graphics.
3,000 pounds–really? That would be a lite-weight for then.
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Joel, It might be. I wanted a 20 foot car, not a museum piece because I want to tow it. There are a couple of other non-standard touches, but generally it is unmolested.
Gil, everybody makes the assumption the old cars were heavy and solid. Actually they were junk compared to what we drive today. They are crude, the frame and body are simple and cheap because things we now take for granted were never on the old cars. The old cars did not have the crash protection we now have. The brakes and suspension are flimsy and inadaquate. But they were simple and if driven in a manner to reflect their level of sophistication they are a fun ride.
When I took a test drive I pulled the old 3 on a tree into first while we were rolling. The salesman did not realize I had double clutched. I thought he was going to have a heart atack. I’m sure he expected the transmission to grind itself to death. The transmission is not much bigger than a large lunch box. The differential and axle are tiny. The driveshaft looks like it is about 2 1/2″ in diameter. Everything is way smaller than I thought it was when we had that car’s twin when we got married.
I’m finally going to get to use a timing light and dwell meter again.
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Joel – 50 or 51, all he can think of is the top 10 songs on Lawrence Welk!
Wow, what a great looking car….
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Back then the top songs were “Theme From a Summer Place” and “Mack the Knife”
Lawrence Welk was perfecting his bubble machine. The real music is going to come from the glass pack on that baby.
You folks do know what a glass pack was don’t you? Curb feelers? Tube radios, AM only? Flathead V8’s? Carbs?
Anybody know where I can get some fuzzy dice?
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Got some baby blue ones in KC….be watching your mail box
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Great info everyone, as always. Especially the fuzzy dice. John have you considered two tone roll and pleated on the inside of that beautiful Ford.
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The interior has been redone and looks very nice. It is some type of fabric that isn’t what was in the car originally, but looks reminiscent of the vintage. For our intended purpose the interior doesn’t require any work.
At one time we had a couple of older cars and those that were of superb quality were great to look at, but we could never enjoy them for fear of getting a scratch in the paint or having an interior that showed wear. This one, if I can get confident in it mechanically is intended to be used and enjoyed.
Right after we got married we were swimming one evening at a beach on Lake Erie between Buffalo and Erie. Being from NJ and really missing the pizza that is unique to the NY/NJ area I suggested we go have some. Being young and dumb, we went home, got a change of clothes and drove all night on secondary roads for 400 miles to Secaucus NJ for pizza. The car was our 1950 Ford (turquoise in color but otherwise just like the black one) and we could afford the trip because there was a gas war going on and gas was $.11 per gallon.
I’m sure we will never take off for a 400 mile trip in this one, but when I get some stuff done and plates on it, I can see us heading to the local Dairy Queen.
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