Cracked Plexi Rock Guard

[Roadtech]

What is the best mud flap type rock guard to mount on my truck to try and prevent another cracked Airstream rock guard? I have a 2015 Chevy 2500 HD and use a 2" Hensley Arrow hitch into a 2 1/2 to 2" receiver adapter.

[dznf0g]

Rocktamers for me......but you should have mudflaps at the wheel wells too. If you stand behind the truck, regardless of what types of flaps you have, if you can see tire tread, there are "holes" in your coverage. Rocktamers alone will allow stones to be thrown between the bumper ends and the top of the tamers. Wheel well flaps "cover" that "hole".

I am certain that the few star cracks I have aren't from my vehicle, but from passing vehicles. Not much you can do about that.

[GammaDog]

After my plexi wrap misadventure I looked into better mud flaps and came to the same conclusion as dznf0g... the rock that hit mine could not have come from my own truck.

[Roadtech]

I need a recommendation on removable mud flaps for my truck. I have a 2015 Chevy 2500HD Duramax. I use a 2 " Hensley Arrow hitch into a 2 1/2" to 2" adapter hitch receiver. There is not enough room sticking out of the stinger to use a Rock Guard hitch mounted mud flap. Any other suggestions?

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Roadtech

I need a recommendation on removable mud flaps for my truck. I have a 2015 Chevy 2500HD Duramax. I use a 2 " Hensley Arrow hitch into a 2 1/2" to 2" adapter hitch receiver. There is not enough room sticking out of the stinger to use a Rock Guard hitch mounted mud flap. Any other suggestions?

Are you sure? Rocktamers fit on my stingers.

[Roadtech]

i called Rock Tamer and they said I need a minimum 1 inch of stinger from the face of the receiver. My stinger is a dropdown type and the part of the stinger that drops down is right up against the receiver.

[tjdonahoe]

I built my mud flaps, used angle iron bolted above and in front of the rear bumper ,they stick out 2" past the tires on the outside ,are low to the ground, I like them better than the rock tamers , which are hanging on the wall.

[Siegmann]

Out of curiosity, what material/source did you use for the "flaps"?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

I built my mud flaps, used angle iron bolted above and in front of the rear bumper ,they stick out 2" past the tires on the outside ,are low to the ground, I like them better than the rock tamers , which are hanging on the wall.

Originally Posted by Siegmann

Out of curiosity, what material/source did you use for the "flaps"?

Hi, I did the same thing for my Lincoln; Mud flaps attached to angle iron and mounted under my bumper and to my receiver. I bought universal mud flaps from a NAPA truck parts store. I got a nice rock chip in my windshield and my rock guard from passing trucks.

[Siegmann]

Robert, thanks--

[ghatfield]

This does not add a lot to the discussion, but here is a pic of my door side rock guard which has numerous cracks. They are not noticeable when the rock guards are locked in place. None of the cracks go all the way through and all started on the inside. The other one has some, but not as many. I'm going to keep an eye on them to see if they spread. For all I know they were there when I bought the AS a couple of years ago. I opened them to clean them since the windows were so dirty.

[Siegmann]

Ghatfield, I vaguely remember reading that the rock guard plastic is not compatible with either the ammonia or alcohol in certain window cleaning solutions, and that they could cause cracking. Don't know if that is the case with your rock guards.....

[ghatfield]

There is another interesting thread on this topic...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f469...ds-102064.html

These "cracks" might be due to crazing of the plastic. Might give the superglue a try to arrest the cracks. I have never used ammonia nor alcohol on the rock guards, but I bought the Bambi used so who knows what happened previously. Like I said the cracks are not very visible from the outside. It is only when I pulled them away from the window and looked out from the inside of the rock guard did I see them.

[Msmoto]

I have accumulated several dents in the SS guards, a couple star shaped cracks in the window guards.

So, just installed new Rock Tamers, hopefully this will decrease the problems.

I believe I will try the cyanoacrylate super glue to see if it fills the crack. My largest hit so far was apparently a tire tread which bent the SS shield back to the aluminum.

Oh, well.....

[Wayne&Sam]

I had a rock crack one of mime on our first trip.
I stop drilled the end of each line of the crack and then used a syringe to apply acetone to each of the cracks. The cracks have been stable for a year and a half.

Acetone very effectively welds the plastic.

[KJRitchie]

Washing my 2008 Classic 25fb. Swiveled the street side front corner window rock guard out to clean and noticed in the upper corner adjacent to the center window two stress cracks from the corner. The longer one is a couple of inches long. Starting to occur on the curb curved window rock guard too, a crack coming from the corner but less than an inch. Found replacement part online; $500 for each corner.

I notice when I unlatch the clips on the windows they seem to have tension. When secured you have to lift the window to line up the clips so the rock guard seems to be under some stress before the trailer hits the road.

Its hardly noticeable from the outside due to the dark tint. Will it get worse? I can live with it if the crack doesn't get any longer.

Kelvin

[ghatfield]

We have a 2006 Bambi and our front side window rock guards developed severe cracks. Some were several inches long and went all the way through the plastic. I finally replaced the curb side since it had the most cracks and I questioned how much protection it would provide. The cost was about $600 which included shipping to Tucson. Installation was easy although I had to remount one of the locking mechanisms on the trailer.

[dwightdi]

The "Plexiglass" material, that the guards are made from, is susceptible to chemical stress crazing. The crack pattern will tell you whether this has occurred or the cracks were caused by an impact. Do not clean the guards with cleaning products that contain alcohol. here is the link to the list of chemicals that can cause acrylic to fail. http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/pla...iglass-Acrylic

[KJRitchie]

I'm wondering if my rock guards where mounted incorrectly. When the rock guards are swung around to be secured the Dzus fasteners don't line up with the rubber grommeted holes. I have to lift the guard frame up and secure the bottom fastener before the top fastener. Is this putting strain in the frame and plexiglass? Add towing vibration and I can understand the failure.

I guess you can't get the plexiglass replaced, have to buy the complete guard.

Kelvin

[Wayne&Sam]

Stop drill the leading edges of the crack then weld it with acetone. I used a syringe and needle to apply the acetone.


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