Tow Guards - Best One to Buy?

Anyone with experience with Tow Guards for a blue Ox system? I have seen two types: (1) a full blown shield/guard that sits up in front of the towed vehicle and (2) one that goes under the tow bar and acts as a deflector for debris that is thrown up from the bus. I am wondering which one is best for protection and for convenience wrt to storage and set-up.

I really don't want to add a skirt on the bumper as I have seen on some motor homes.

Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated

Thanks

Peter

I have towed 2 Chevy trucks and a Saturn View for 7 years and have not seen any damage from rocks or debris,I tink that anything to protect the toad is a waste of money.

I agree with Jack. I've driven to Alaska and can tell you those with protection didn't have any less damage than I did. FWIW, my damages were only glass.

Don't install a mud flap across the back of your coach. It will actually create enough turbulence to lift road debris and rocks. The flaps at the wheels and between the whels i all you need.

I agree with Gil, I have towed several black Jeeps over the years, and have never sustained any damage from the bus. When I bought my bus, it had a mud flap, and I took it off, the first week after I bought it.

Thanks for the comments. I had no damage the first 4000 miles we put on the bus. Then we went on a newly laid tar and chip road and sustained $10K in vehicle body and glass damage. I don't want to go thru that again and was hoping there was some good evidence that the guards helped.

Peter, the only thing that works on those kind of resurfacings is to slow down, way down. I went through no less than 4 20 mile stretches of that in MT, the Yukon and AK. It may men lowig to 15mph.

I have the Blue Ox tow guard and it is easy to install. I bought it several years ago and used it all the time with my XL coach as it had a mud flap. I know now that I should have removed the mud flap. I now have an XLII and I don't always use it as my new coach has mud flaps behind the tires and there is not that much need for it. So because I have it, I still use it some but probably would not go out and buy one today. Just depends on my mood when I am hooking up whether I use it or not.

Agree with Gil. Nothing works on gravel or fresh oil except creeping along very slowly. For general highway use however we use a Protect-A-Tow. Since my wife and I work as a team, installing and removing is a snap. I believe it is helpful in deflecting normal highway stones and debris. Added advantage, it rolls up into a small package and slips into a bag that keeps the dirt captured. It's easy to pressure wash the net in a do it yourself carwash. http://protectatow.tripod.com/

I now know to slow down for those freshly laid roads.

Thanks to all for their comments!

Peter