One Piece Fiberglass/Plastic Front Cap Protection

[trailertraveler]

I just acquired my first trailer with a molded one piece front cap, Salem Hemisphere GLX. All my previous trailers had diamond plate on the lower portion of the front of the trailer to give some protection from gravel, stone and other road debris. It seems that most if not all brands with a molded front cap that appears similar to that of my trailer do not have any protection on the lower portion.

My question is how well does it hold up? We travel on a fair amount of gravel and dirt Forest Service and BLM roads. The diamond plate on previous trailers did acquire some small dimples over the years. Have you done anything to try to protect it? I am planning on putting mud flaps on the rear of the truck.

Thanks for comments and suggestions.

[deltabravo]

trailertraveler wrote:
Wondering whether the Rock Tamers or similar behind the bumper designs do a better job than standard mud flaps like the Weathertech. Still researching, so keep the comments/suggestions coming.

Yes, they will. The video linked above mentions that. Marc has a set of mudflaps on the truck wheel openings, but rock damage still occurred.

Rock Tamers are the best hitch mounted mud flaps available. I had a set for a while. The only drawback to them is they affected my fuel mileage about 2 mpg when I did long drives without towing. I used to leave them on driving empty when I was doing RV transport. After several trips on the same 200 mile route seeing the MPG hit they made, I started removing them when empty.

If I had an RV with a front cap, I'd probably look at doing a spray-on truck bed liner and Rock Tamers.

[trailertraveler]

Edd505 wrote:
Anyone tried the new vinyl wraps on a front cap?

I looked at the reviews for the 3M wraps on Amazon and there seemed to be quite a few negative ones about ripping and difficulty in applying to other than flat surfaces (which the front cap is not). Not that expensive. One of my bigger concerns with trying it is getting the glue off if it doesn't work.

Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. Wondering whether the Rock Tamers or similar behind the bumper designs do a better job than standard mud flaps like the Weathertech. Still researching, so keep the comments/suggestions coming.

[Blazing_Zippers]

We had a LineX spray liner put on the lower portion of our fifth wheel. Worked great and was in a matching color. The cost was $415.00.

[trail-explorer]

Fiberglass will get rock chips...

Watch this video: Rock Tamer Mud Flaps + Front cap rock chips

Edd505 wrote:
Anyone tried the new vinyl wraps on a front cap?

That's a good idea.... the heavy duty 3M clear stuff.

Spray on truck liner is good too, like maybe the lower 1/4 or 1/3 of the front cap.

[Edd505]

Anyone tried the new vinyl wraps on a front cap?

[wanderingbob]

Today it is not " real ' aluminum diamond plate on the front of newer trailers , it is some kind of plastic . Have I put any on a TT , no . I have used it many times on trucks , cargo trailers , tool boxes and buildings . You can cut it kinda like you would a piece of wood , being careful about splinters and screw it down or lately I have been gluing it with poly construction adhesive .
You can cut with a sabre saw , or a hand power saw with the blade in backwards or even a rotary tool . I believe what I bought last time at Tractor Supply was six feet by two feet for $ 70 .

[trailertraveler]

wanderingbob wrote:
You can buy a sheet of diamond plate at Tractor Supply for $80 that would cover the front .

Have you actually done this? How did you attach the diamond plate?

[wanderingbob]

You can buy a sheet of diamond plate at Tractor Supply for $80 that would cover the front .

[carringb]

My trailer came with bedliner on the lower half, plus some diamond plate it the area directly behind the TV tires. Most of the towing is in the winter, and PNW uses a lot of gravel on the highways for traction. The diamond plat is fairly pitted at this point (~45,000 miles on the trailer). The bedliner does have some chips as well, but it's in better shape than the diamond plate. At some point I'll re-shoot the bedliner, and just take it over the diamond plate as well.

[Bumpyroad]

just be sure your mud flaps don't hang so low that they drag and kick up stones.
bumpy

[am1958]

No problems in 5 years and 16,000 miles...