Remove Rock Guard?? Melted by Tailpipe in High Winds

[Bill R]

On our last trip this past week we were going into 20 mph headwinds for about 4 hours here in Texas.  I noticed after returning from the trip that my rock guard had been melted by the tailpipe on the corner.  It became obvious to me that even though I was going around 60 mph, occasionally 65 mph on a downhill, because of the near 20 mph headwinds, there was a net 80 mph on the coach that must have been enough to push the rock guard up against the tailpipe.  See pic below.

Has anyone ever experienced this before?  I am thinking do I need to add some metal strips to the bottom back of the rock guard to provide more weight?  Any thoughts on this?

 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Bill R
Further Solution

[Ranger Rick]

I took my rock guard off years ago.  I could not get in and out of my driveway without it dragging and binding on the sloped sidewalk and gutter.  Towed vehicle has not experienced damage and I believe the rear mounted radiator has fewer small bits of rock stuck in the fins. 

[timaz996]

Put a different exhaust tip on that shoots the exhaust straight out the side and down just a tiny bit.

 

Tim

[Tom Whitlow]

It's already burned.  No further action is required.  😃

[Dr4Film]

Mine has metal on the backside plus the chrome emblem on the front. Plenty of weight already.

Just an unfortunate situation that happened and most likely will never happen again.

Highly doubt that it is replaceable.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Dr4Film

[ktloah]

Like Timad said,  change out the tip to a straight one. 

[Bill R]

14 hours ago, Ranger Rick said:

I took my rock guard off years ago.  I could not get in and out of my driveway without it dragging and binding on the sloped sidewalk and gutter.  Towed vehicle has not experienced damage and I believe the rear mounted radiator has fewer small bits of rock stuck in the fins. 

Thank you all for the input.  I have changed the title of this thread to include input of removing the rock guard as one of the solutions.  I just read a recent post in IRV2 about removing the rock guard altogether.  Like Chevy vs Ford there were many opinions both ways.  But I would like to know specifically from Monacoers what they have done and why?

My biggest concern now after further reading is running over large road debris that causes the rock guard to come loose or break and cause further damage to the rig or my toad.  I am not concerned about rock chips as I already have grill and hood protection for my Jeep Wrangler.

Thank you everyone who can share.

[ktloah]

I tow a 2013 GMC Sierra behind my 04 Dynasty and have been up and down the east coast, all thru the west and Midwest and never had any problem with the rock guard. I'm keeping mine...

[Ivan K]

I still keep our guard even though there isn't a good reason for it. Maybe because it is the only place on the coach that says Monaco... But I trimmed it and moved it up as far as it went to gain max clearance. And my exhaust tip goes straight out too. No downturn.

[Paul J A]

The advertising vanity flap is simply that. No functional purpose at all. I had a road gator , flew off of a trailer recap, go under the coach, hit it, and ended up in the engine compartment. Nasty and costly repair. Thru it in the dumpster, and continued full timing for another 8 years with out it. Had a Road Master Rock Guard on the front of the Toad. 

[Jimmer]

Back of my guard shows  lot dings  and debris stuck to it.

There is my sign it is working. I'm keeping mine.

Protection and vanity all in one.

[6Wheels]

I ran over a steering knuckle in Kansas on I-70.  The front axle cleared just fine, but when the flap hit the object, it kicked up and took a chunk out of the rear cap, and then hit the trailer I was pulling.  Also bent the chrome strip across the bottom of the flap.  Expensive repair.  Maybe replace it with a brush style flap to keep rain from spraying other vehicles in the rain?  I also see trucks with a piece of metal welded to the frame to keep the flaps from kicking up.

[[email protected]]

If you will be driving over gravel roads (i.e. Alaska Highway) take it off. The rock guard will loosen road gravel whenever you go over a bump and throw it onto your toad. I use a full sized bra on the front of my towed pickup to protect it. After driving the Alaska Highway I found rocks on top of my pickup camper-shell.

Jack M

1999 Beaver, Silverado 1500 toad

[Gsmentko]

My Rock guard on my 07 is behind my tailpipe... Maybe look at moving yours farther back?

Or, exhaust pipe forward?