Forum Discussion

ajriding's avatar
ajriding
Explorer II
May 21, 2019

Bug Deflectors to push air over

Somewhere I saw a guy bolt gutter guards to the bottom of the TC overhang to keep air (bugs etc) from between the top of truck and camper. It seemed to work.
I have fiberglass TC so will not be doing anything thing like that - I will not be drilling holes into my camper to hang garbage, nor using tape.

A friend suggested that a bug deflector mounted on front of truck hood might push air over the gap. On some vehicles those will push air up to top of windshield, on others it will push completely over the cab. My objective is to deflect air from this gap. Bugs being the biggest issue, but also it is probably not as aero to catch air in the gap.

Anyone tried it? Did it work?

I have a Ram.
Truck Campers
  • ajriding's avatar
    ajriding
    Explorer II
    May 24, 2019
    My point being I do not want to junk up a perfectly good camper with random stuff bolted to it, screwed to it or odd-looking junkyard remedies. Koodos for the people who make it work and put function over form
  • Reality_Check's avatar
    Reality_Check
    Nomad II
    May 24, 2019
    ajriding wrote:
    I have the nicest looking TC rig in the country, I won't be putting mattress or home depot gutters on the rig. Keeping it looking nice is a priority, and as I said, putting holes in it is not an option either. The gutter guy had to drill holes to attach that, and only accomplished moving the bug splatter from the back to the front. I restate this since many people did not read it the first time


    lol... well, that discussion is settled. I always wondered who was going to get that trophy.
  • ajriding's avatar
    ajriding
    Explorer II
    May 23, 2019
    I have the nicest looking TC rig in the country, I won't be putting mattress or home depot gutters on the rig. Keeping it looking nice is a priority, and as I said, putting holes in it is not an option either. The gutter guy had to drill holes to attach that, and only accomplished moving the bug splatter from the back to the front. I restate this since many people did not read it the first time
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    May 23, 2019
    discovery4us wrote:
    ajriding wrote:
    discovery4us wrote:
    My neighbor uses a twin size inflatable mattress. Shoves it between the camper and the truck roof and blows it up. Not the prettiest thing but he claims the $25 mattress gets him better fuel mileage.


    Problem with that is my truck is painted and I'd like to keep it painted….


    I agree. I'm sure it will ruin the paint. Only time in 16 years I have seen the TC off the truck was when he moved the TC to his new truck.


    I’m sure prolonged use could do paint damage.
    It’s a balance of what you want to accomplish and what you’re willingness to put up with.
    If the blow up mattress is your method and paint damage is a concern, could always slap on a sheet of vinyl wrap.
    But can clean a lot of bugs for the time involved to do the roof and camper overhang.
    If there’s a will there’s a way.
  • Joe417's avatar
    Joe417
    Explorer
    May 23, 2019
    A friend made his out of vinyl contoured gutter with the back trimmed off and mounted upside down on the TC overhang with 3M automotive double sided adhesive. It was in a V shape from the middle of the overhang. It stayed on good with no screws. I don't remember all all the details.

    I think he posted it on here a couple years ago, but I couldn't find it.

    The difference it made was that it caught a lot of the bugs, keeping them from splattering the front wall in the truck bed. I don't remember how much clearance was above the cab.

    I planned on copying his but never did it.

    Maybe he'll read this post and put a picture on.
  • ajriding's avatar
    ajriding
    Explorer II
    May 22, 2019
    I have a long bed and an extended cab, so mind was going in that direction opposite the camper bed layout, lol.

    I have thought about a roof rack faring. My TC stops at the windshield, EW ;)
    Since TC is fiberglass I will not be drilling anything into it. If it were plywood and aluminum siding then I wouldn't hesitate to drill and bolt into it as kind of hard to ruin cheap.

    Still, my thought is that if your hood deflector is kicking the bug line up to the camper, then it is pushing the air above the gap. I am as interested in increasing mpg as I am keeping bugs out. I can get 16mpg with TC and a cargo trailer, so am doing pretty well there, but any extra is nice.
  • discovery4us's avatar
    discovery4us
    Explorer
    May 22, 2019
    ajriding wrote:
    discovery4us wrote:
    My neighbor uses a twin size inflatable mattress. Shoves it between the camper and the truck roof and blows it up. Not the prettiest thing but he claims the $25 mattress gets him better fuel mileage.


    Problem with that is my truck is painted and I'd like to keep it painted….


    I agree. I'm sure it will ruin the paint. Only time in 16 years I have seen the TC off the truck was when he moved the TC to his new truck.
  • wnjj's avatar
    wnjj
    Explorer II
    May 22, 2019
    Reality Check wrote:
    In all seriousness, does someone have a better idea on how to easily describe the bed layout in a truck camper? I don't think the EW or NS is the problem, as the abbreviations for North, South, etc, are used everyday, everywhere. You all know what NB is and E Maple Dr or Rainier Ave S refers to. And NW and SE, etc are so common... just asking.

    Front to back or side to side, but those just take longer to write. Also lengthwise or crosswise works.

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