Tow Guards - Best One to Buy?

[ppranschke]

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

[jack14r]

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.

[Gil_J]

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.

[jbchevy3]

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.

[ppranschke]

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.

[Gil_J]

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.

[sswindle14260]

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.

[BrianE]

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/

[ppranschke]

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

Thanks to all for their comments!

Peter