Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

I am setting up my 26' RB BF to tow my Honda CRV. What are your recommendations concerning rock guards. I tried to get the Ultra Guard at Camping World but they told me (after I showed up for the appointment) that it would not fit my BF. They suggested the Rock Solid type but did not have the size I needed in stock. I have also thought about the Roadmaster Guardian Tow Shield but that would be one more thing for me to lug around. I am a single female fulltimer and want something easy but effective. Or do I even need one? At this point I am not towing my Honda much at all. Thanks for any ideas.

Dorothy

I have towed a Jeep Wrangler behind our 26' for approx 15,000 miles without a rock shield with no damage or chips to the Jeep. Bill Lyon

We added a Honda CR-V toad earlier this year and worried about road damage also. However, we have towed it for about 7,000 miles including trips from GA to IA & GA to ME with no damage. The rear overhang on our 26RB provides good protection. Incidentally, our CR-V is all white and any damage would really be evident. Certainly it's possible that we may get some, but not enough to make us want to install something extra at this point.

We have towed a Jeep Cherokee for 3 years behind our 26 ft BF for about 35K miles. We used a lined vinyl cover for the front end of the Jeep for our 11K mile trip to Alaska, the rest of the time (24K) we have not bothered - no problems.

Thanks for all the replies. Just what I wanted to hear. I really didn't want to buy yet another thing to get set up for towing!

My little home, Honda and I are taking a trip to the beach for the Thanksgiving weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

I tow a 98 Honda Accord behind my 24 BF. When I first started towing, I purchased a BlueOx shield for about $300. as I had the Blue Ox Towbar. The only damage to my Honda (two different times) is when the shield hit the car itself, when going through a dip coming out of a gas station. It also had a tendency to hit the car when you made a real sharp turn. I had the hood fixed after the first three dents, and darn, on the next trip, I had another dent.

Also as you mentioned, it was a pain installing and uninstalling. It did fit nicely in the trucnk of the Honda.

The last few trips, I just left it at home. My car is surviving better. Have one or two small rock chips, but is actually less damage then casused by the shield itself.

I would not recommed the car blankets that fit over the front, the hood and the windsheld. I understand that they can really cause problems with your paint, if you get the least amount of sand or dirt between the car and the shield. I really do not want to wash my car everytime I would need to put the thing on.

After the first rock chip or two, it wount be so painful.

Regards,

Bob

I tow a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu LS behind my 2002 BF 26' RSB using a motor home mounted Blue Ox Aventa II tow bar system. I recently purchased Towcar Deflector from Progressive Creations, Inc. The company's website address is: http://www.towcardeflector.com/

I have only used it on one short trip so far and it seems to be fairly easy to install and remove. The shield is made out of tough lexan and the best part is that it is designed to fold in half making it easy to store in the trunk of your dingy. I purchased their 24" high standard model at $289.00. You need to specify the type of tow bar system you have as they can supply the proper mounting brackets designed to attach to your particular tow bar. Their website is confusing in that the custom mounting brackets are actually included in the $289.00 base price. I will shortly have a 5000 mile experience with the shield and will no more later how well it works out. How well this unit might work for you may depend on the tow bar system you use.

I agree that a bra for the front of your dingy is the worst thing you can do. If you want to try that, I have a short cut for you. Just buy some sandpaper and use it to throughly scratch the paint on the front of your dingy. It will cost less than the bra and you will get the same results. I also have a brush mounted under the rear bumper of the BF with the bristles just touching the ground. It is hard to tell whether this helps prevent rocks from chipping the front end of the dingy or not. I think the Towcar Deflector will work out OK.

I have logged over 295,000 miles on my 1987 Cabriolet Convertable when not towed it stays in the garage, and have never used anything but a tow bar. It has been to Canada, Alaska, Mexico and all the US. I have no idea how many miles are on the engine as the speedometer turns as we also tow the car.

The only thing I have replaced is the front window. because sand being sprayed behind the large diesels we had. We also towed a 1988 Bronco II all over the the country and never used anything but the tow bar. All we ever did was replace a front window. because of sand pitting. This time spans back to 1983. That is two windshields in 23 years.

I have seen the damage the bras do to a vehicle as sand or dirt get beneath the bra.

Use your best judgement
Don USN ret
2002 26' RSB
1987 Cabriolet Convertable Toad