Rock protection type for Neptune towing a Focus. 2 Fog lights shattered so far.

[Dale N]

I've looked at mustache, solid, paneled and other types of rock guards including the 'Protect-a-tow' and am not sure the best way to not keep replacing fog lights.  I stay off of dirt roads so that is not all the problem.

Costs range from$78 to over $500 for the systems yet at $180 for a used fog light and installation you can add that far real quick. 

My 03 Neptune 36PBD has a curved fiberglass rear that might not hold much and I'm not sure how much twist is put on the hair or solid guards.

The Protect-a-tow is mounted with tension on both the MH and the toad.  It should just keep the debris from coming up onto the vehicle.  I know not to drag and flip stuff up.  My clearance is 24 inches max.

Enough of my guesses now I'm looking for experts who have had, used or stop using different methods of protecting the car.  Another concern is the exhaust pointing down and burning the guard.  Photo attached of the rear.

 

[Ivan K]

We have made our own version and after around 40K miles not a broken light. Takes no time to hook it up, I just fold it over the bar when parked. Miniscule cost with stuff I already had around the shop.

 

Edited October 3 by Ivan K

[Dale N]

From the photo I can see bungee in the seams.  I assume the black is vinyl sewn into a track for the bungee.  Reinforcement around the hitch and it looks good.  Do you have a side or rear exhaust? 

Only question left is what is the tan material?  Water goes through it?  And lastly what is the rod at the toad (I assume maybe stainless)?

 

Looks great and maybe a project for this winter at our site. 

[Ivan K]

The fabric is for outdoor shade, I think 80% and yes, let's water through. The pipe is a thin wall gardening rod with fiberglass tree support rod inside of it, from Walmart or HD, simple stuff. I only need it because there is no full length bumper. I have a side exhaust but there could either be a cutout or some heat resistant sheet, I doubt it gets too hot unless you have DPF.

[amphi_sc]

After 140k towed miles beat up our last toad considerably, I also am looking at a solution for our new toad.  I have purchased a bra for the toad, but I too have thought about the protect-a-toad in addition.  The bra will help the front fiberglass bumper cover but not do much for the windshield.  With the previous toad we often had sand & pebbles on the wipers, so was thinking I wanted something in addition to cut that down.  I don't want the hard vertical shields.  I want something easy to stow.

So, I assume Ivan used some type of garden shade cloth?  How does it handle on real sharp turns?  Is the bungee cord enough slack?  I don't have good anchor points so was thinking of anchoring bungees to rods slipped over the receiver inserts.  I wasn't sure if I might need to also hinge the arms or use a thin wall PVC pipe that could also flex.  Does it need support 1/2 down the tow bar as the Protect-a-tow shows?

Thanks

[Ivan K]

Al, it is made from a shade fabric we used on our patio years ago. Pretty sure an Amazon stuff. I probably could look it up if needed. The bangees lasted at least 50k miles, since 2018. I had to replace 1 of the lines just because it got worn in the eye. Believe me, I made some crazy turns with it. I don't need any additional rod in the middle as the universal commercial product shows. I had to make it custom for the Hummer since it doesnt have the usual bumper. It was all made from stuff we already had around the house. This picture is of second copy this summer just because the old one was dirty beyond cleaning after a dipstick leak mishap. It works fine just the way it is in the pic.

[Dale N]

After all the help from this site and some other measurements I find that the exhaust for my Neptune extends too far straight back and will burn all the fabric ones investigated.  Being stable for the winter I ended up putting the Protect-a-tow on and am hoping it will do what it claims to do.  To protect the fabric from the exhaust I've added the heat shield.

[amphi_sc]

Question for either Ivan or Dale (or anybody)  What size bungee cord is used?  1/8 inch or 1/4 inch?  Many thanks.

[Ivan K]

Here is the one I used

[amphi_sc]

Thanks Ivan!

[Chargerman]

Roadmaster sells a heat shield to protect the fabric from exhaust. He’s a pic of it from eTrailer. I see Dale has already found this but thought it might help others

Edited November 24 by Chargerman

[Paul J A]

I used one of these 10 years full timing. 107K miles and it worked great. I also had the storing bracket that fits on the Exterior of the Hitch Receiver. 

I also stored it under the Generator, part of it covering the ground area where the air intake is for the Generator when running. 

https://www.roadmasterinc.com/guardian-rock-shield/

[zmotorsports]

I know you mentioned a Ford Focus toad so this will be quite a different setup, however, I chased rock chips for several years on this coach and Jeep toad setup until I realized the issue was the toad actually throwing the rocks and not the coach kicking them up.  The first two coaches we had we experienced no rock chips with just the rear rock guard on the coach and nothing additional on the toads.  When we purchased the Dynasty with the tag axle, the first couple of years were fine with our old toad, however, once we purchased our current Jeep Wrangler and started building it, the rock chips became apparent.  Finally I figured out the issue and devised a setup that has worked perfectly in for the past 9 years now and 50k miles without a single rock chip on either the toad or the rear of the coach.

 

Here is a video I did a couple of years ago explaining my solution.

 

Hope this may be of some benefit.