Protective Measures While Towing

[bugeyedriver]

On our trip across the Top of the World Highway, as we headed towards Chicken, AK for a chicken pot pie, we only saw one set of tire tracks heading over the edge.    !#?*!!  (No vehicle was visible in the bottom of the valley)

My Vortex coating added about 40 pounds to the trailer and is still holding up very well.  Tiny flecks of paint can get knocked off by debris, but can be easily fixed with a bit of matching touch up paint.  The fiberglass is well protected. 

 

[ShallowGal]

On 5/28/2022 at 1:42 PM, SeaDawg said:

Looks like shallowgal may have rock tamers, or similar,

Our dear Ollie has pockmarks. On gravel roads, the rock tamers did not work when installed according to directions. We learned, after getting to Alaska, that because of the bouncing on gravel roads the rock tamers were hitting the ground & kicking up gravel. A kind Airstream owner pointed this out & recommended we raise the bottom of the rock tamers. 

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, ShallowGal said:

Our dear Ollie has pockmarks. On gravel roads, the rock tamers did not work when installed according to directions. We learned, after getting to Alaska, that because of the bouncing on gravel roads the rock tamers were hitting the ground & kicking up gravel. A kind Airstream owner pointed this out & recommended we raise the bottom of the rock tamers. 

They should sail out at a about a 45 degree angle to the ground at speed, so the debris will bounce down and not back at the truck (and onto the bumper, tailgate and lights!). This is how the Aussies do it, it is even described that way in their Rock Tamers supplement to the manual. And yes, most unfortunately, rooster tails of gravel happen when the flaps are cut too tall, so they contact the surface over dips. I tried RTs on the trip home from Hohenwald (4000 miles) and decided they were not at all adequate for my needs.

https://www.clearviewaccessories.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/RT_MANUAL.pdf

Why RT USA doesn’t include this info is baffling! it is not like the Aussies have the only gravel in the world. FYI I made my own bumper inserts using the two 3 inch strips I cut off the bottom, that helped significantly!

We just did about 3 miles of of rough double track (roughly “graded” by a tractor), 45 miles of two lane gravel ranch roads, with another 15 tomorrow, near Steens Mountain OR. Lots of dust, lots of washboard, at up to 40 mph (the Ollie rides smoothly at that speed). No stone damage. All the chaos is channeled by the Stone Stomper mesh fabric underneath the tongue and frame, towards the three sets of rubber flaps.

42 psi in the truck and Ollie tires, nothing came loose or broke in either. No blown shacks 😳

John Davies

Spokane WA