Body Block Shield (Summit Products)

[GMandJM]

Have been considering getting this Body Block shield installed on our Phaeton.

Does anyone have this one or a similar product? If so, have you had any issues with it or noticed any additional heat buildup from running the generator while driving?

Body Block Shield

Would prefer a shield without the cutouts for the headlights, but the Summit rep said that isn't legal and it would cause glare when driving at night.

(Apologies to anyone who already read this question on TRVN. I don't usually post the same thing on both boards.)

As always, imparting your knowledge is greatly appreciated.

[Bruce_Brown]

RayChez wrote:

ok! I just called Summit Products and spoke with Kelly.

RayChez wrote:
Now Kenny of Summit Products did tell me that there were some bad lexon that slipped by back then, but they corrected the problem making the shield quarter inch thick, uv protectent on both sides, made of lexon and acrylic.

Ray,
Was it Kenny or Kelly you spoke to, or did you call them twice?

I'm just trying to help the OP figure out if what you have is what he's looking at.

First you said said 4 lbs when they we're saying 70 lbs.

Then you called and talked to Kelly and he laughed at 70 lbs.

The OP called and spoke to Kelly (might be more than one there, who knows!) and he confirmed 70 lbs.

You're confirming yours is no where near 70 lbs.

I'm not sure if we have a :h or a :S going on here. :B

[RayChez]

I said it is a three piece, and I do not think they are heavy or maybe I am stronger then most 72 year old men. Lol, but each section could not weigh much more then five lbs. It. Is quarter inch thick and I am not home to take a picture of it. But I do know that from 2000 to 2003 a lot of the flagship coaches on different companies were installing them. Now Kenny of Summit Products did tell me that there were some bad lexon that slipped by back then, but they corrected the problem making the shield quarter inch thick, uv protectent on both sides, made of lexon and acrylic.

[RayChez]

GMandJM wrote:

Bruce Brown wrote:

GMandJM wrote:
Talked with Kelly Johnson just now. The weight estimate on the Body Block shield for a Phaeton is 70 (seven-oh) pounds.

So the web site says it's 70 lbs, and the OP called again and they confirmed it's 70 lbs, but Ray says his is 4 lbs and the guy he talked to, which happens to have the same first name as the guy the OP talked to, said no way was it 70 lbs.

I'm confused. :h

But...having looked at a lot of them over the years, I'd tend to think it was a lot closer to 70 lbs than it was 4 lbs. :W

I'm thinking that RayChez and I may be talking about different products. Summit does three piece accent panels for motorhomes:


Call this number and speak with Kenny of Summit Products. 515 252 0435. Mine is a three piece, quarter inch thick. Has chrome all around the edges, easy to take off with ellen wrench and they stay looking like new if you use proper cleaner, slips my mind right now the name of product and I am not close to the coach right now.

accent panels

Maybe that's it. Looks pretty light weight.

[Sully2]

I clean and polish mine with the same stuff I use on my aircraft windshield so it still looks like new. You can order it on line from Sporty's http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/catalog........=windshiled+cleaner&q=windshield+cleaner

SPORTY'S....right down the road from me at the local airport..!!!

[GMandJM]

Wow! I had no idea shields ever came stock on Zephyrs. I might give a call to Red Bay to see if anyone knows what kind they were. Great info. Thanks.

Thanks for the heads up on Sportys, too. They also sell Plexus, which I was thinking of using since it's something I always have around. Both products (Clearview and Plexus) have hazmat shipping restrictions noted. First time I've seen that for Plexus.

Appreciate the info from you both.

[Grant_Lasson]

I'm not sure if I have the same brande but a similar shield came stock on the early 2000's Tiffin Zephyr. Mine is in two parts so I can open the generator slide without a problem.

Mine looks pretty good for 13 years old. It has done a good job protecting the front end.

It is a hassle to clean behind. I don't have their quick release hardware--I may be looking into that.

Grant

[dons2346]

The "bus armor" on my coach probably weighs around 50-70 pounds. I have never taken it of so I don't know. I do know that it will weigh less that the Summit produce because the Summit is a thicker material.

I clean and polish mine with the same stuff I use on my aircraft windshield so it still looks like new. You can order it on line from Sporty's http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/catalogsearch/result/?o=windshiled+cleaner&q=windshield+cleaner

You can't go wrong with the Summit shield. They are well made and are bullet proof. I would rather have a full shield than the film as I have seen a lot of film applications that have mold under them and that is really gross

[GMandJM]

Bruce Brown wrote:

GMandJM wrote:
Talked with Kelly Johnson just now. The weight estimate on the Body Block shield for a Phaeton is 70 (seven-oh) pounds.

So the web site says it's 70 lbs, and the OP called again and they confirmed it's 70 lbs, but Ray says his is 4 lbs and the guy he talked to, which happens to have the same first name as the guy the OP talked to, said no way was it 70 lbs.

I'm confused. :h

But...having looked at a lot of them over the years, I'd tend to think it was a lot closer to 70 lbs than it was 4 lbs. :W

I'm thinking that RayChez and I may be talking about different products. Summit does three piece accent panels for motorhomes:

accent panels

Maybe that's it. Looks pretty light weight.

[Bruce_Brown]

RayChez wrote:
ok! I just called Summit Products and spoke with Kelly. He told me that the shields are made of the best lexon with Acrylic and UV protectants on both sides. When I mentioned that somebody had posted that it weighed 70 ibs, he cracked up laughing. He said No way. So if you want to believe rver's that have never owned one, then I am wasting my time giving my experience with the product.

GMandJM wrote:
Talked with Kelly Johnson just now. The weight estimate on the Body Block shield for a Phaeton is 70 (seven-oh) pounds.

So the web site says it's 70 lbs, and the OP called again and they confirmed it's 70 lbs, but Ray says his is 4 lbs and the guy he talked to, which happens to have the same first name as the guy the OP talked to, said no way was it 70 lbs.

I'm confused. :h

But...having looked at a lot of them over the years, I'd tend to think it was a lot closer to 70 lbs than it was 4 lbs. :W

luvlabs wrote:
Your 2003 Phaeton had 3M film which was more like plastic seat covers than the new stuff. I've seen older Tiffins with the 3M stuff with mold growing underneath it and it is ugly. People in dry climates still look like new.

The difference with the new films is that you basically can't see it unless you look close. I've had rocks take out my fog light (thanks Oregon Dept of Highways) but the area around the light and the rest of the front cap was unmarked.

I would tend to agree with this too. When we bought our '03 I installed the material myself (just a bear of a job BTW). At that time the reports of mold, etc were just starting to come out. We, fortunately, had no issues before we traded it 5 years later. The material on our '08 is different, and still looks great today.

[luvlabs]

Tntman wrote:
O.K this is my opinion so take it for what it is worth. Lovlabs, you said that the shield would look like plastic couch covers. What exactly is that film on your Phaeton? I had that junk removed and then repainted. They wanted 1200 dollars to add that stuff back on.
When you get a rock chip in your film and mold grows behind it, remember your response to this thread. There is also the was edge peeling that will start in the near future. Anyway, good luck.

Your 2003 Phaeton had 3M film which was more like plastic seat covers than the new stuff. I've seen older Tiffins with the 3M stuff with mold growing underneath it and it is ugly. People in dry climates still look like new.

The difference with the new films is that you basically can't see it unless you look close. I've had rocks take out my fog light (thanks Oregon Dept of Highways) but the area around the light and the rest of the front cap was unmarked.

To the OP: People I have talked to who have made the Alaska trip have been more worried about the front of their cars than the motorhome. Things happening to the front of the motorhome are usually windshield and not the front area below the windshield.

[deandec]

I had a similar shield on our now 20 year old rig (see picture in sig) but removed it a few years ago.

Problems:

It took a lot of time to polish it to remove fogging.
I had to remove about six wing bolts to open the generator door with the shield still attached.
The generator door was next to impossible to clean behind the shield.
The shield was next to impossible to clean in front of the generator door.
It did not protect the lower bumper of my rig.

Postives:

It did reduce the dings from road ammo.
It did save the fiberglass from a direct hit by a pheasant at 50 mph.

I still have the shield but probably will not remount it.

[GMandJM]

Talked with Kelly Johnson just now. The weight estimate on the Body Block shield for a Phaeton is 70 (seven-oh) pounds.

[Sully2]

dons2346 wrote:
I have the original shield on my Country Coach, been there since August 2001. It has not crazed or turned milky. The only problem is that I have had to replace the rubber grommets.

Much better than the plastic film

Amen all the way.

As far as gromment...I called the company that made mine and they sold me some new grommets and a few new Lexan stand-offs.

[Sully2]

GMandJM wrote:
Thanks for the replies so far.

I was told the material that one is made of (Lexan) will yellow with age since the cut sides (top and sides) might not have UV protectant on them. Am hoping to find someone who actually has something similar to see how it has aged.

And I'm not surprised they died out. They're fairly heavy and someone compared the look of them to putting plastic covers on a sofa.

Mine hasnt yellowed in 15 years! Its taked rock hits that wuld definately have done damage if I wouldnt have had it

[GMandJM]

Thanks for the reply, Don. I'm pretty sure that your Country Coach product is the same (Lexan), so that's helpful. Any estimate on what your shield might weigh?

Funnily enough, I found my information from Summit and the person I talked to and who gave me the weight estimate was Kelly Johnson. I presume he is the same person RayChez talked with. I'm waiting for a phone call and after that will contact Summit to see why there's such a discrepancy about the weights.

As for Diamond Shield, I have it and it works okay for its intended purpose: Bug juice. It was factory installed and there hasn't been an issue with peeling (not yet, anyway). It just isn't as "robust" as a shield would be. Apples and oranges.

Btw, The Luddites were skilled artisians who tried to prevent cheap, poorly made goods from being mass produced and putting them out of work...sort of like the whole Wal-mart/cheap Chinese-made stuff going on today.

And the look of the shield is really more "SteamPunk" than sofa cover to me.