Rock Tamers

[Luckyducks]

Here are my new Rock Tamers mudflaps (by Enkay). I'm very happy with how they function and their quality. Due to the weight and cumbersome size of the Rock Tamers and Equalizer hitch assembly, I prefer to leave the assembly on the truck at campgrounds (as shown in the first picture below on left). However, with the trailer unhitched, I noticed the Rock Tamers "rock" a little up and down at each end due to hitch slop or rattle. The weight of the trailer tongue prevents this when hitched up. So, exploring the subject of hitch slop I found a solution I'm happy with that I use in conjunction with the Rock Tamers. The solution is the Hitch-Vise, the picture below on the right, which is a bracket-type vise that grips together the receiver and the drawbar. The Hitch-Vise is exactly 1 inch wide, which is all the space that was available between the Rock Tamers bracket and the front edge of the receiver. The whole assembly is solid now, hitched or unhitched. Cost for the Hitch-Vise is $30 plus shipping. I made a 1,400 mile trip this summer and it all worked great. The link for the Hitch-Vise is: http://www.hitchrider.com/nowobble.htm

I bought the Rock Tamers at Cabelas, which occasionally has a free shipping sale. The current price at Cabelas is $189 for the plain black mud flaps. The Cabelas link is: http://www.cabelas.com/

The link for Rock Tamers is: http://www.mudflaps.com/

[moosetags]

Greetings from Walton County. Nice looking rig. It looks like it might fit on a Hensley hitch bar.

Brian

[purman]

My buddy uses these, and he says he gets 1 mile less per gallon with them on... How did you fare or did you even notice....

[Luckyducks]

Brian,

I understand from searching old posts that the "old style" Rock Tamers could be machined a little so they would fit on the Hensley hitch. The old bracket was brass, I believe. The newer style Rock Tamer I don't believe is machinable. If you are really interested maybe call the Rock Tamer people to find out.

I followed your trip this summer to Maine. Thanks for sharing. Looked fun. When I retire I hope to take longer trips like that.

Hope to see you at the Canopener again in January.

[Luckyducks]

Jason, I really don't know if my mileage is worse, but I would think there is a slight negative effect from the mud flaps. They do stick out on the sides a little so I'm sure they catch a little wind. FWIW, I computed the mpg on the interstate portion of my trip this summer from Florida to the Smoky Mtns National Park and back. I have a 2002 F250 diesel and averaged 14mpg. On the interstate I generally average 62-65mph. Compared to my previous gasser truck, this mpg is a lot better so I'm happy.

[Bambi_Bandit]

Originally Posted by Luckyducks

Brian,

I understand from searching old posts that the "old style" Rock Tamers could be machined a little so they would fit on the Hensley hitch. The old bracket was brass, I believe. The newer style Rock Tamer I don't believe is machinable. If you are really interested maybe call the Rock Tamer people to find out.

I have the new style as shown by LuckyDucks, with the chrome collar and flaps with chrome on them as well.. I machined my collar slightly to fit on my Hensley stinger without issue.

Costco have them for $179 including shipping:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...at21248&topnav=

Same price since March:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161...com-41088.html

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by purman

My buddy uses these, and he says he gets 1 mile less per gallon with them on... How did you fare or did you even notice....

My home-made set (1 1/2 angle iron and a $15 set of 18 wheeler flaps) make about 1/2 mpg difference w/o the camper. I haven't noticed any difference when towing. I bolted them to the hitch so the only time they stay attached is when I'm to lazy to lift off the hitch on a Sunday night.

[Roadtoaster]

Russ, I think you one uped me with the vise gadget. Not sure if I have the room. I will have to look yours over in January.

For those of you interested in the mpg effect of the flaps, mine went up 4 mpg , pretty sure its the vortec effect ! Of course it could be because I drive down hill everywhere I go.

[purman]

Has anyone used the grass style ones... I was thinking they don't seem like they would stop the rocks as well. but they sure look lighter.

When I am going to stay somewhere for a while I pull the pin on my receiver and with no weight on it drive out and leave it in the trailer. Then drop it from there.... makes for a quick disconnect and you don't have to deal with the weight of you equalizer till its time to hook up...

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by purman

...When I am going to stay somewhere for a while I pull the pin on my receiver and with no weight on it drive out and leave it in the trailer...

We have started doing the same thing. In most cases I leave the hitch attached to the trailer and back right up to it when we get ready to leave. The rock tamer bracket makes a good handle for aligning the hitch to the receiver during this process.

[DKDarrow]

Hey Russ.....You introduced me to the "Rock Tamers" concept last fall up at the Falluminum rally...........Have been putting it off; but NOW gotta do something about the situation.
Recently put some Michelin ATX's on the 250, that's another thread; but a really fine tire with one drawback. They have very small spacing between the lugs and really pick up on the gravel. Obviously, what this does to my rockguards is quite dramatic.

So, one small question. Is the Rock Guard logo part of the "weight" that holds down the mud flap or is this just for looks?.........Thanks Bud.......Dennis

[Al - K4GLU]

I have Rock Tamers and have never pulled my trailer one inch in the past 2 years without them. Despite this I have small chips all over the front of my trailer including some behind the propane tank cover and some pretty good dents in the rock guards. Also very little of my towing has been on unpaved roads. Perhaps someone can explain to me why this is. In addition I also have regular mud flaps on the truck. Rock Tamers do not impress me to say the least but it appears others are impressed by their performance.

[DKDarrow]

Hmmmmmmmmm.......ready to purchase with my hard earned couple of hundred and then see this.........Without any kind of flaps on my TV I have zero gravel damage on or behind my propane cover. It seems to all be limited to the rock guards. What I really have noticed is on the "glass" rock guards some tiny crazing from perhaps recent hits; but who knows that?............Anyway..........could it be the placement laterally of the guards themselves???.........should they be centered on the tires themselves?..............Or what to get the best protection?........Dennis

[clancy_boy]

Originally Posted by Al - K4GLU

I have Rock Tamers and have never pulled my trailer one inch in the past 2 years without them. Despite this I have small chips all over the front of my trailer including some behind the propane tank cover and some pretty good dents in the rock guards. Also very little of my towing has been on unpaved roads. Perhaps someone can explain to me why this is. In addition I also have regular mud flaps on the truck. Rock Tamers do not impress me to say the least but it appears others are impressed by their performance.

Not to question your results, just a point that was cleared up for me when I first mounted mine. The company recommends 4 inches of clearance from the bottom edge of the flap to the pavement. Seems the flaps can flip up debris from the road and that can strike the trailer. The angle from the tire on the pavement under the 4 inch gap is small so any rocks tossed from the tire will strike under the trailer and not on the front.

Just what I was told from the company - I had to call for parts - several of the bolts I got were cross thread.

[AirsDream]

My brother in law has them on his big MoHo - and told me that he learned the hard way that if they're too close to the ground when in motion, they cause debris to fly up. One long trip and he had to have the front of his toad repainted because of this. It looked like someone had taken a shotgun to it.

He learned the flaps don't have to touch the ground; at highway speeds, the wind vortex generated by these guys causes gravel, etc. to fly around. And when it does, guess what it hits? In his case, his toad; in our case, the AS. He raised his flaps a couple of inches, and voila! no more chips on the front of his dinghy.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by purman

Has anyone used the grass style ones... I was thinking they don't seem like they would stop the rocks as well. but they sure look lighter.

When I am going to stay somewhere for a while I pull the pin on my receiver and with no weight on it drive out and leave it in the trailer. Then drop it from there.... makes for a quick disconnect and you don't have to deal with the weight of you equalizer till its time to hook up...

Got these at the beginning of this season. Could not be happier with how well they work and the quality.
http://www.towtector.com/aboutus.asp

Needed the 22" brush set for our 06 3/4 Burb.
No dents or excessive road grime at all in about 1500mi of towing. Much of which done on the backroads of the Adirondack Mtns. I also like the fact that they extend all the way across with no opening.

Moosetags,
These fit the haha stinger. Although I did have to shave the the welds about 1/8" on my new 8" drop. They fit the 4" fine. So I guess it's just how agressive the welder is on that day.

ps. the orange shin'saver and Hitch'n stick sold separately.

[Luckyducks]

Hey Dennis, hope all is well. First, the "Rock Tamer" plates on each flap are just decoration, they really don't weigh much, they're very thin, they're through bolted, and are made of stainless steel so they should last a long time. You pay extra for this version but at the time I bought mine last spring from Cabelas this version was all they had in stock. The flaps are a heavy thick rubber that you trim to the length you need.

The other thing I've read on this thread is that some people still have rocks hit their trailer. I believe the trick is not to have the flaps too close to the ground. When they are real low, they can suck up rocks in the vortec effect which may hit the trailer. My flaps are about 3-4" off the ground and I am not seeing additional rock dings from the last trip. You also asked about the lateral placement of the flaps. The Rock Tamers are adjustable in and out laterally. The thing that seemed strange to me at first was that they should extend out a few inches past each end of the rear bumper. But if you really look at an imaginary line from the outside edge of a rear tire to the corner of the trailer, the flaps need to be out that far.

Hope this helps. I like them.

Later,

[DreamStreamr]

I'm with Purman and HiHo about leaving the ball in the coupler and pulling the truck away from the drawbar/mudflaps assembly. As if the Airstream doesn't attract enough attention in campgrounds, you know people stop and stare at these Enkay RockTamers. I don't like driving around with the hitchhead sticking out, makes the truck another foot longer and could expose the hitchhead to damage. Darn, honey, we're staying here awhile longer. . .

Yeah, the Rock Tamers have weights built into the bottom already, and the chromey looking thing is just decoration. I wanted the girly pinup profile thing, my wife wanted a guy pinup profile thing. We settled for a piece of aluminum diamond plate we made and mounted on the weight just for decoration. Cheaper than Enkay's $35 or $40 for their prettier decorations.

Whose smarter than the product designer for a well-tested product? I wasn't. I thought I'd make my mudflaps closer to the ground. Remember tiddly-winks? I think I was popping the small rocks up to the front of my trailer. My Rock-Tamers are now regulation length.

Wider than the truck? Yeah, and even more might be good because my truck is under seven feet wide but the trailer I'm trying to protect is 8.5 feet wide.

We're super pleased with our Enkay Rock-Tamers to protect the trailer. Towed with them three years. No big stuff has hit the trailer yet, just little peppery stuff and apparently all from before I adjusted the length to the mfrs recommendation. (Being an Airstreamer, I was used to the idea the mfr had left a whole lot undone or questionable and we're supposed to fill in the gaps to our best judgement!) We'd buy these again.