Brush Shield

[Third Thor]

Anyone ever installed some type of protective shield (mud flaps or other) on the Omni or Magnitude to protect the tow vehicle? If so, what did you choose and how is it working for you. Our tow vehicle gets so dirty and banged up. On our old Winnebago we had a brush type shield that I call a hula skirt on the back. That seemed to work OK.

[ohmsmcgee]

I was just looking these up this morning, as my trailer and whatever I'm hauling usually gets covered.

I'm looking at the "Smart Solutions, Ultra Guard" they come in a few different sizes but its solid rubber not the brush style. I just need to measure and see which size would fit best. They are $120 on Amazon.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Third Thor

Anyone ever installed some type of protective shield (mud flaps or other) on the Omni or Magnitude to protect the tow vehicle? If so, what did you choose and how is it working for you. Our tow vehicle gets so dirty and banged up. On our old Winnebago we had a brush type shield that I call a hula skirt on the back. That seemed to work OK.

But they are known for kicking up rocks onto the TOAD.
Dirt is what it is - a by-product of the TOAD in the draft stream of the MH. It's not just on the outside either - lift the hood and take a look at the sand and dirt in the engine compartment. Not sure you can ever eliminate that issue.

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

But they are known for kicking up rocks onto the TOAD.
Dirt is what it is - a by-product of the TOAD in the draft stream of the MH. It's not just on the outside either - lift the hood and take a look at the sand and dirt in the engine compartment. Not sure you can ever eliminate that issue.

Got that right! We towed our car on a recent 4500 mile trip that included about 25 miles of dirt road in Montana. The next time I looked under the hood of the car I was stunned by how dirty/dusty it was under there. Had to go buy some “engine Brite” and wash my engine. Not a big deal but a surprise nonetheless. When I bought my class A I extended the mud flaps behind the rear wheels about two inches. Never had any issues with damage to my towed.

[Lt Keefer]

Just did a trip from Central Texas to Missoula, back thru South Dakota, then down to Kansas before heading home. Took my new dinghy, a 2021 Kia Soul, and after 4200 miles of all kinds of roads, not a single ding or chip from being towed. I do not think a shield is necessary.

[jabrabu]

I use the Protect-a-Tow.

https://protectatow.tripod.com/


The toad still gets dirty, but the Protect-a-Tow shield protects it from rock chips.


You do have to attach it to the toad and to the RV. I installed a couple of eye bolts under the toad's front bumper cover to attach it to, and zip tied D-rings to the RV's rear bumper.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

Just did a trip from Central Texas to Missoula, back thru South Dakota, then down to Kansas before heading home. Took my new dinghy, a 2021 Kia Soul, and after 4200 miles of all kinds of roads, not a single ding or chip from being towed. I do not think a shield is necessary.

Totally agree. 5 months and 7000 miles and not a chip on the Jeep.

Only damage to the WK2 was a RV Park employee running into it with a golf cart. It’s in the shop now being repaired on the park’s dime.

[happy]

Set your Toad's climate control to recirculate and less dust will enter the Toad.
We live on dirt and gravel and try to drive to pavement before we hook up to travel.

[MJC62]

Last trip we hit a section of U.S. 16 & I 90 in Wyoming that were being chip/sealed. Even crawling through the construction zones, we could hear the gravel being sprayed up under the ACE. We were glad we had our Roadmaster Tow Defender between MH and Cherokee. In the overall scheme of things, the $400 for the Tow Defender is cheap peace of mind for us.

[williamprunty]

One of the first things I did was put a solid ultra guard on the rear my super c to protect my wrangler.

[Ottosails]

Originally Posted by happy

Set your Toad's climate control to recirculate and less dust will enter the Toad.
We live on dirt and gravel and try to drive to pavement before we hook up to travel.

Great tip Happy - Hadn’t thought of going to recirculate… I currently don’t run any mud flaps or other protection.

[widdershins]

Originally Posted by Ottosails

Great tip Happy - Hadn’t thought of going to recirculate… I currently don’t run any mud flaps or other protection.

indeed, didn't think about that either.. I might try it

that said, our JK spends much of it's time in the dusty desert.. about the most interior cleaning it gets is a blast of high pressure air on occasion ;-)

[10scDust]

We use a Kar-Kaddy too and thought about the debris shield. On our class C, this is what I did for a rear underneath mudflap (full width), with only a gap at the trailer hitch, within a foot from the rear bumper.
Went to ebay and bought a remnant piece of conveyor belt, in a width suitable for a height on the RV determined from measuring so it would not continually drag on the ground.
I bolted up drop hangers, made from flat stock steel (1" x 1/4") to bolt everything together. I used stainless steel bolts, washers, and chrome acorns for decorative.
You need full length pieces to pinch the belt along the top (both sides), and bolt through the drop down hangars. You also need one full length at the bottom (on forward side) to weight it and hold it from curling, etc (this is where the acorns were used).

Just an idea. It works and has been in use 2 years now. Of course, you need to figure where to drill holes to attach, and get under there to do it.