Roadtech
Georgia
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Joined: 10/09/2005
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Is a rock guard such as a Roadmaster Guardian worth the trouble? How many of you tow a dinghy without any type of guard? Have you ever had a problem not using them?
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deereone
NE
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Joined: 12/20/2005
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No guard and we have towed 11 years with no damages or dings. I would be interested in hearing if the Guards help keep the dirt and grime off the toad when being towed.
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Monaco Montclair
Virginia
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Joined: 08/01/2008
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Can not say much for keeping the grime off, but they sure do keep rocks from going through the ac condenser, and the rad. Happy-camping
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Dutch_12078
Great Sacandaga Lake, NY
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Joined: 10/07/2008
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After paying several hundred dollars to have the front paint chips repaired on our previous toad, we installed a Protect-A-Tow and haven't had any further problems. It also helps keep the back of our coach cleaner.
Dutch
1995 Coachmen Catalina 322QBXL
F53 chassis, 460 V8, TST TPMS
Quadra Bigfoot EZE Levelers
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate
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Joy
Henderson KY 42420
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Joined: 08/10/2001
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Ditto Protect-A-Tow.
See ya' down the road!
Don-SCPO USN Ret.Corpsman
Joy-Ret.Off.Mgr.
Maggie-Chihuahua
Chrissie-Chihuahua
Lucy-Jack/Rat
'06 42' Allegro Bus DP
'06 Saturn Vue
LIFE ISN'T ABOUT HOW TO SURVIVE THE STORM BUT HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.
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down home
south
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Joined: 06/01/2008
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Yes. Looking, at all the damage from rocks, dirt etc, on the rock guard and not the front, of the towd.
The Protect A Tow has a lot of users and they seem happy with it too.
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Sooboy
Toronto, Ontario
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Joined: 05/10/2007
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Over 20,000 miles of towing (behind 2 different RVs) without a single chip in the paint. The toad sure gets dustier behind the new one, but no chips.
2012 Jayco Embark TB390
2009 Honda CRV TOAD with Blue Ox Aventa LX Tow Bar
FMCA #F413428
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Hikerdogs
Wisconsin
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Joined: 08/23/2004
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I think it all depends on what type of vehicle you're towing. We purchased a Roadmaster Guardian for our Jeep Wrangler when we went to Alaska. It may have saved a couple nicks in the paint when going through construction zones, but all in all we haven't used it since. We've towed the jeep another 50,000 miles with no paint damage. The Jeep sits high enough that we rarely even get much dirt on it.
Several people we went to Alaska with towed Saturns and other low profile passenger cars. A number of them looked like the front end had been sand blasted. A couple had almost no paint left from the headlights forward.
So my take is that if you pull a toad that sits as high as the rear of the coach, and has a bumper extending out in front of the body (not part of the body) the need for a tow guard is minimal. If you tow a low prifile vehicle with a painted facia over the bumper a tow guard is probably a good idea.
Hikerdogs
2013 Winnebago Adventurer
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Roadtech
Georgia
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Joined: 10/09/2005
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I just got back from a 600 mile trip. I checked every motorhome with a toad that I passed. Every one of them had no rock shield of any type. I stopped looking after 30 of them.
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Roadtech
Georgia
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Joined: 10/09/2005
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Well, I have now been on several trips and I have continued my survey of toad protectors in use on the highways. My unofficial survey is about 1 in 50 motorhomes with a toad are using some type of toad protector. I guess the vast majority don't see any benefit from using them.
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