Road Wrap for the bus & toad

[James]

Has anyone tried the product Road Wrap on your bus or toad? It appears to be a heavy duty saran wrap type of product that you can leave on for 7 or more days.

See: http://www.buyroadwrap.com/

It's $29.99 if you order in a single 18 X 100' roll and just over $20.83 if you order a 12 roll case.

If anyone has tried the product I'd be interested in the results.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Why?

We have towed 4 down for almost 20 years. The number of chips or dings I can attribute to towing are almost none. Driving on the roads yields more dings and chips from stones kicked up by passing or oncoming cars. The bus is low enough that if it kicks anything up it is low, passing beneath the toad. It is wide enough and high enough to protect the toad from the stones and dings from normal highway driving.

BTW, our toads are not flipped every two or three years. The last one we had we towed for 11 years. We towed that 200,000 miles. That one had chips from the slag they put on the NY roads that were kicked up from oncoming cars. We are on 4 years on our current one and no chips in about 40,000 miles We do not have the full width mud flap on our buses.

[dale farley]

I used a padded bra on mine for a couple trips and decided the bra caused more problems than it was worth. I haven't used anything for a long time and have had no problems.

[James]

Our experiences are different. We tow 15,000+ miles per year including our annual trek to Alaska in the spring and back in the fall through bugs, rain, snow, mud, and dusty construction sites.

Dings and chips in the paint on the front of the bus and tow vehicle are very common however, the worst part is the dust, diesel grime, bugs and small rock particles that get in the radiator and on the windows of the tow vehicle. You have to hose off the windshield and side windows just to be able to drive to a carwash to clean the rest of the vehicle. Lowering the side windows sounds like rubbing on sandpaper.

We just came back across the Siskiyou mountains in a snowstorm and the road grime laying on the front, windshield and side windows of the toad was thick. The bus looked liked someone had washed it with muddy water.

And the almost complete coverage of the front of the bus by bugs during bug season would seem to make the Road Wrap an attractive option if it works.

[GDeen]

We towed my wife's GX470 about 7000 miles total over the summer. Definitely have noticed some rash on the front fascia from the towing. That said, I am not too worried about it. As I pointed out to Loc a couple of weeks ago. the tree attack on the rear bumper caused much more damage.

[Kenneth Brewer]

Dings and chips in the paint on the front of the bus and tow vehicle are very common however, the worst part is the dust, diesel grime, bugs and small rock particles that get in the radiator and on the windows of the tow vehicle. You have to hose off the windshield and side windows just to be able to drive to a carwash to clean the rest of the vehicle. Lowering the side windows sounds like rubbing on sandpaper.

We just came back across the Siskiyou mountains in a snowstorm and the road grime laying on the front, windshield and side windows of the toad was thick. The bus looked liked someone had washed it with muddy water.

And the almost complete coverage of the front of the bus by bugs during bug season would seem to make the Road Wrap an attractive option if it works.

Got pictures of the bus and tow before washing? Very curious. Thanks.

[sawdust_128]

............. can leave on for 7 or more days.

See: http://www.buyroadwrap.com/

.................


I read their web page amd it stated road wrap up to 7 days, carpet wrap up to 30 days. Where does it state "7 or more"?

This material looks very similar to contractor carpet protector.

An FYI: I ran into a fellow in New Mexico who had worked a number of years as a guide for Alaskan RV tours. He advised everyone who went to use the thin bubble wrap with silicone calk. His words, looks like crap but works great. You could live with it for the 30 to 100 days you might be in Alaska on their dirt/rock roads and it beat living with the damage from then on.

The rest of the time, I don't worry about it. Heck, I've run my toad through thick brush and if it doesn't get dirty, I'm probably not having fun.

Now, if you have a product for the inside, I'm all over that.

[tdelorme]

One trip in the prime of Love Bug season and a roll of that stuff would be greatly appreciated.

[shookie]

i believe the product promoted here is nothing more than good old fashioned stretch wrap...i am in the packaging business and sell this item for pallet wrapping daily...stretch wrap has a built in tendency to cling...that is how the stretch wrap stays on the pallet (and your wrapped food items and the like stay sealed)...the cling is the issue acting as a sealing agent...so, the car wrap appears to be stretch wrap, put up in small rolls, selling for a very, very high price...this does not mean the product does not work and a value to the buyer...typically, the rolls are in lengths of 1500' - 2000' - we sell a carton of the 15" x 1500' film, packed 4 rolls per carton for approx 50 dollars a carton or 12.50 per roll...so, if in essence the product is the same, someone has figured a way to add value to a typical commodity priced item...just my 2 cents...happy to all....shookie

[James]

I read their web page amd it stated road wrap up to 7 days, carpet wrap up to 30 days. Where does it state "7 or more"?



The "or more" was mine. They do talk on the website what you may need to do if you leave it on more than 7 days.

[James]

i believe the product promoted here is nothing more than good old fashioned stretch wrap...i am in the packaging business and sell this item for pallet wrapping daily...stretch wrap has a built in tendency to cling...

You should try the stretch wrap, you may have a market for it.

[James]

Got pictures of the bus and tow before washing? Very curious. Thanks.

Nope, had them both washed in Indio, CA.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Our experiences are different. We tow 15,000+ miles per year including our annual trek to Alaska in the spring and back in the fall through bugs, rain, snow, mud, and dusty construction sites.

Dings and chips in the paint on the front of the bus and tow vehicle are very common however, the worst part is the dust, diesel grime, bugs and small rock particles that get in the radiator and on the windows of the tow vehicle. You have to hose off the windshield and side windows just to be able to drive to a carwash to clean the rest of the vehicle. Lowering the side windows sounds like rubbing on sandpaper.

We just came back across the Siskiyou mountains in a snowstorm and the road grime laying on the front, windshield and side windows of the toad was thick. The bus looked liked someone had washed it with muddy water.

And the almost complete coverage of the front of the bus by bugs during bug season would seem to make the Road Wrap an attractive option if it works.

The ultimate solution obviously is to avoid driving where it is dirty and buggy. But if you insist on doing that then get a CC plastic shield for the front of the bus (which will make it so ugly you won't care if it is dirty or dinged). Then get an enclosed trailer for the toad. Get one that says Wabash or Great Dane and when it gets cruddy looking it won't matter.

No charge for solving problems. It's a service I provide.:D

[bluevost]

Ken B,

I posted this picture before. This is the worst my rig looked during a 9600 mile round trip to Alaska in 2004. It all comes off with soap and water. BTW, the Wrangler is green.

[James]

Ken B,

I posted this picture before. This is the worst my rig looked during a 9600 mile round trip to Alaska in 2004. It all comes off with soap and water. BTW, the Wrangler is green.

You must have taken the good roads during great weather:)

[michaeldterry]

Ken B,

I posted this picture before. This is the worst my rig looked during a 9600 mile round trip to Alaska in 2004. It all comes off with soap and water. BTW, the Wrangler is green.

Ken - that's a great looking Eagle in the picture! You still own her?