Under vehicle protection

MarkAC · Veteran Member

Under vehicle protection

Ger08 · Senior Member

One trick is to cover the pipes etc with pool noodles, it has proven very effective for us.

blissonwheels · Senior Member

Gooday,

Have done many thousands of KM on dirt stony roads, Great Central & Tanami ,The Stone Stomper is the only way to go to protect the front of your caravan, but as for the underneath I had 3 Mats made up of heavy duty Shade Cloth, fitted with elastic loops like used on Tonneau Covers on Utes in days before these fancy fibreglass ones, fitted fixing "Doovers" in necessary places on chassis rails etc. First Mat covered front water tank and etc, second one covered second water tank and plumbing etc, third one the 3rd tank and all associated cabling and plumbing.

Yes I needed to fit two pieces of approximately 12mm RHS as cross members between the chassis Rails & each tank to attach loops to the Tonneau cover clips, easy and cost effective.

Most important, then attached a piece of approximately 6mm rubber insertion to floor at top, then to front X-member holding shade cloth loops to the Tonneau Clips to stop stones going into the shade cloth. The other thing I did was wrap a cheap carpet like 'Feltex' about 6mm thick from Clark Rubber around both axles and also the U Bolts, (have seen the latter worn away by flying stones ,when working in The Kimberley's in the 1960's) do not use Wire or Cable Ties to attach the carpet, will get chopped off in first 200Km, use 2 inch wide Duct tape wrapped around the carpet.

Also placed Cable Conduit over electric brake wires to protect them.

I can assure you it is worth the bit of effort and will only cost some time, not a fortune. Link to loops below, picture of fixing "doover" also below.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiYiK3nnf7iAhUEJCsKHT4zBr4YABAgGgJzZg&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQOD2pEW0x_CuTHW9_PaOt_qPzmN_RWvqD816xti484YQ3S5RMVP6P6CW3Ng4jd4LRdJYC-f0DkeCEYjSLJLAY9c&sig=AOD64_18Lq9ZmB6cPs0z-aEJ9KOheqKOTQ&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwjh_6Xnnf7iAhXZWisKHQ-YA7YQ9aACCE0&adurl=

Image result for tonneau cover clips Fixings. Tonneau Clips

KJB · Guru

Plastic/nylon sheet (guessing approx. 3 mm) is available and is much better than steel , aluminium or timber (LIGHT , absorbent , easy to work with, can be bent with a little heat and retains the bend ) I have used all 3 materials over the past 40 years and the plastic/nylon has been by far the best. I used aluminium flat bar stock cut, bent , drilled and bolted for mounting brackets.

Plastic absorbs the impact of stones whereas steel, aluminium or timber is blasted away by consistent stone impact.

KB Stone Guards.JPG

MarkAC · Veteran Member

tried that, it was destroyed in a month. thanks anyway

MarkAC · Veteran Member

Thanks. Tried shade cloth but it gets destroyed very quickly as well. My tanks are covered (incl end plates) in 2mm sheet ga and are like new. .

the rocks destroyed the 100mm pvc sewer pipe so I need something more permanent. still thinking about 6mm conveyor belt positioned vertically directly behind t

MarkAC · Veteran Member

Thanks for the replies. ive included a pic of the plastic pipe damage fyi.

so I wont use plastic again

blaze · Guru

Hi Mark
The sheet that KJB is talking about is nylon type stuff, they use it chutes for gravel hoppers to stop the steel wearing out
cheers
blaze

MarkAC · Veteran Member

Thanks, ill look into it

Whenarewethere · Guru

Go to a proper plastic supplier, there are some really tough plastics which simply are not available at any hardware stores. My dad use to make up engineered parts for all sorts of industries. Sorry can't ask him any more!

KJB · Guru

PVC pipe is hard and just shatters - had experiences with that as well. I had nothing left to take a picture of...!

-- Edited by KJB on Sunday 23rd of June 2019 05:19:10 PM

blaze · Guru

check this site
www.plasticcenter.com.au/products/ptfe-sheet-teflon/
cheers
blaze

Eaglemax · Guru

Isnt pvc pipe 150mm thicker than 90mm?

I recall 90mm is flexible and 150mm isnt.
Tony

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

UPVC is totally inappropriate for use under a vehicle, not withstanding being the most common drain pipe used.
PE pipe will be 10 times tougher.
Cheers,
Peter

MarkAC · Veteran Member

Hi Peter and Margaret

Long time no see. I was 'nomad' with CMCA. no longer have my motorhome now use a caravan.

The PVC I mentioned was fitted to the van when I bought it. I had it on my last van for 10 years but it was protected, unlike this so called 'off road van'.

do you still have the OKA?

Jaahn · Guru

Eaglemax wrote:
Isnt pvc pipe 150mm thicker than 90mm?

I recall 90mm is flexible and 150mm isnt.
Tony

Hi smile

All 'plastic' pipe is not the same as others have said. The cheap 90 mm drain pipe is thin and made cheaply as it has no pressure rating needed. There are several grades and thickness of pressure pipe that can be bought easily from suppliers. Up to quite thick in high pressure ratings. Check out what you need on line !!

Plastic sheets in a multitude of types of "plastic' are available for any job you can name. But the good old rubber belting seems to be able to take a beating in bad conditions hmm

Jaahn

-- Edited by Jaahn on Monday 24th of June 2019 05:07:04 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

MarkAC wrote:
Hi Peter and Margaret
Long time no see. I was 'nomad' with CMCA. no longer have my motorhome now use a caravan.
The PVC I mentioned was fitted to the van when I bought it. I had it on my last van for 10 years but it was protected, unlike this so called 'off road van'.
do you still have the OKA?

G'day. Sure do - 16 years now. Currently at Kingoonya and about to head home after a trip to the Simpson and Googs Track with Friends of Parks groups.

Cheers,

Peter

MarkAC · Veteran Member

90 mm is stormwater pipe and no good. 100 mm is sewer grade and much stronger

Mr Fuse · Veteran Member

If you cannot locate a source of suitable plastic sheeting for the protection I, like others already have, would suggest metal shielding. However, I would use aluminium instead of steel. Apart from being lighter and requiring no rust or other surface protection, it's biggest advantage is that, being softer, it has a better tendency to absorb some of the shock instead of transmitting it through it's fixings. You may be surprised at the difference that tiny bit of shock absorption makes.

MarkAC · Veteran Member

have you used al sheeting? how did it handle the flexing etc

Mr Fuse · Veteran Member

MarkAC wrote:
have you used al sheeting? how did it handle the flexing etc

Oops, sorry, I hadn't seen your question previously. Yes, I do use aluminium and, like anything else, you simply need to choose the size, thickness, fixings, etc. to suit the situation. Even the standard stone guards on our camper trailer are aluminium. They show no signs of wear at all, even after significant off-road use at fairly high speed. And before anyone jumps on that part about driving off-road at speed, I prepare both tug and trailer appropriately when I leave the bitumen and have had adequate training and experience to suit.