Thread: camper trailer stone guard

The staps stretch even more than a full lock turn. By that I mean that you can back up into the near "Jack-knife" position and the outside elastic cords become quite tight but they cope.

The outer elastic cords are quite long and thus have a good range of stretch. The inner side sags and may touch the ground (just) in extreme turns but this does not cause any problems.

I need to update my advice about my stoneguard.

I have recently returned from a trip involving the main tracks around Marree an Lake Eyre etc. Lots of dirt road work at about 80-90km/h. Some stones managed to avoid my guard. There is a path for stones from the outer edges of the rear tyres that misses the mudflaps, passes to the side of the rear bumper bar as it passes forward on the side of the car. The stones go over the bar at the front of the stoneguard. The end result after hundreds of km is some minor stone damage (chipped paint) to the upper outer areas of the front of the camper which I had not suffered before on slower off road tracks.

I will add some protective rubber sheeting to the at risk area of the camper to protect it. An alternative would be bigger/wider mudflaps but I don't like that idea.

I'll keep thinking......

Originally Posted by Graeme

Can anyone comment on the pros and cons of the full-width low mudflaps as stone guards? ........... I suspect this style will increase fuel consumption noticibly.

I would be interested in any real life comments on a full width mudflap. I have just made a much more substantial one than the one pictured in this thread. Zero cost as made from an old piece of 50m sq tubing with a saddle welded to straddle the reece hitch tongue and a width of old conveyor belt for the flap. It fits and can be removed in seconds. Not sure of the best hight for the flap so its 60mm from the ground to start but can easily trim if needed. Have not considered if it will effect fuel consumption.

I initially made some HD full-width mudflaps that just touched the ground at access height, so about 50mm at normal height. Rocks still flew quite high behind the centre of the vehicle (not coming from the sides) at 80 kph and I could feel the extra drag through the throttle even without anything in tow. It is possible that the rubber sheeting wasn't heavy enough but it was the same thickness that gets used for truck mudflaps. The mudflaps were removed after 1 test.

Originally Posted by Fred Nerk

....Some stones managed to avoid my guard. There is a path for stones from the outer edges of the rear tyres that misses the mudflaps, passes to the side of the rear bumper bar as it passes forward on the side of the car. The stones go over the bar at the front of the stoneguard.

I've found the same shortcoming but with mud being splattered the full height along the edges of the van, even at crawl speeds. I tried mudflap extensions for a while so will either refit them for next outing or fit a horizontal panel between the top of the mudflaps and the bar.

I have finished my mods, Downward facing mesh stone guards and secondary full width mudflap that attaches to the Reece hitch tongue on the car. I have not been out with it yet but looks the part at least.

That looks like a professional job. Nice craftmanship. Now to get the stones to cooperate.

Originally Posted by wayneg

I would be interested in any real life comments on a full width mudflap. I have just made a much more substantial one than the one pictured in this thread. Zero cost as made from an old piece of 50m sq tubing with a saddle welded to straddle the reece hitch tongue and a width of old conveyor belt for the flap. It fits and can be removed in seconds. Not sure of the best hight for the flap so its 60mm from the ground to start but can easily trim if needed. Have not considered if it will effect fuel consumption.

I've read somewhere of a person who suffered rear diff failure due overheating. The reason given was that the full width mudflap reduced airflow over the diff allowing it to overheat. Now I found this difficult to believe, but I'm no mechanical expert, and maybe there is something in it on some vehicles.
Just for your interest...

Coop