Wheel well rock damage

PGDriver · 11-23-2008, 11:42 AM

Just wondering if anyone has had rocks damage the fiberglass wheel wells on their trailers?
I live in northern BC and plan to use my 19 on gravel roads, with that in mind I have looked
into getting rock guard sprayed into the wheel wells and on the trailer bottom. Has anyone ever
done this before and if so did it work?

mosquitodirk · 11-23-2008, 01:23 PM

i haven't noticed a problem with mine (and I've been on gravel roads a fair bit through the Interior) - I tend to go slow enough on those roads that the rocks won't likely cause damage (mostly to prevent things in the fridge from flipping).

However, I would be interested in finding out about the rock guard if you decide to go that way (a little extra protection would help the trailer last a lifetime or more).

PGDriver · 11-23-2008, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosquitodirk

i haven't noticed a problem with mine (and I've been on gravel roads a fair bit through the Interior) - I tend to go slow enough on those roads that the rocks won't likely cause damage (mostly to prevent things in the fridge from flipping).

However, I would be interested in finding out about the rock guard if you decide to go that way (a little extra protection would help the trailer last a lifetime or more).

Its the liner they spray in the back of trucks and on rocker panels, the good part is it comes in different colors and if you have RV white sprayed you wouldn't even know its there.

gbaglo · 11-23-2008, 02:36 PM

Procrastinator that I am, I'll keep that in mind for after chips start showing up. Should cover 'em eh?

baglo

PGDriver · 11-23-2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Procrastinator that I am, I'll keep that in mind for after chips start showing up. Should cover 'em eh?

baglo

Hate to admit it but you might have a good point

Sandra L · 11-24-2008, 04:34 PM

http://oliverforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=689
You might want to look at this link also. I'm thinking about the flap solution.
Peace and Sunshine

PGDriver · 11-24-2008, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandra L

http://oliverforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=689
You might want to look at this link also. I'm thinking about the flap solution.
Peace and Sunshine

Hi Sandra

I was going to have the whole inside of the
wheel well coated, the flaps will just protect the area behind them.

Doug

reace · 11-30-2008, 08:55 PM

The only significant rock damage I have seen was on a unit that installed different tires with an aggressive tread pattern. They would pick up larger rocks and made a mess of the fiberglass.

On the flip side, I have also seen a unit that had undercoating put on in the wheel well area. I saw it after it was done and it looked good but after a couple of years, it has turned yellow and doesn't look all that attactive now. I am with Glen....fix the problem if it arises.

Reace

PGDriver · 11-30-2008, 09:00 PM

Thanks Reace, sounds like good advice.

Doug

PGDriver · 04-02-2009, 01:40 PM

If anyone is interested, last time I was at Escape Trailers I think Reace
mentioned that he might have a rock guard that fit across the front
of the trailer tongue this might stop any rock damage.

myacc · 04-07-2009, 07:30 AM

Thank for the good advice

thoer · 09-04-2013, 07:17 PM

Well I finally got around to coating my wheel wells with bed liner both for rock protection and maybe some protection if a tire shreds. So far I have one side done - the other tomorrow.

I read about how to paint fiberglass on a couple sites first. First step was to clean it as well as possible with mineral spirits, then I lightly sanded it all with 120 sandpaper, wiped it with mineral spirits again, and then put a good coat of Rustoleum spray primer that listed fiberglass as one of the materials it was designed for. After the primer dried I sprayed on the Rustoleum truck bed spray. It is kind of tricky with all the curves, overhead and vertical surfaces as it doesn't really react like ordinary spray paint. I was trying to get it on as heavy as possible and it looked like it was doing fine, but then after a minute or two started to develop runs. Since I don't expect too many people to stick their heads into my wheel wells, I am not too worried about the runs. I used about 1 1/2 cans of the liner spray on one well. It seems to be sticking properly and looks like a relatively tough coating - but only time and road wear will tell.

cpaharley2008 · 09-04-2013, 09:03 PM

pictures would be nice, if possible, thanx

**Donna D.** · 09-04-2013, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reace

....
On the flip side, I have also seen a unit that had undercoating put on in the wheel well area. I saw it after it was done and it looked good but after a couple of years, it has turned yellow and doesn't look all that attactive now.

I've seen my share of white trucks sprayed with white bedliner. Now they're an ick yellow after several years. For those folks that sprayed the front of their trailers with this stuff... do you now have something permanently yellow... ?? Now what's the solution? Painting the bedliner?

Jim Bennett · 09-04-2013, 09:21 PM

If I was to protect my wheel wells, and it has been a thought, I would likely get LIne-X sprayed on them.

paulw · 09-04-2013, 09:47 PM

I'm thinking about 3M Paint Protection Film & maybe a coat of Rustoleum Never Wet .
We had the film installed on our then new Subaru in 2005 - zero chips & it still looks great. You have to be right on top of it to tell its there.

float5 · 09-04-2013, 10:48 PM

We do not have rock damage in the wells. We have been on gravel roads a few miles but we go 10-20 mph just for that reason. If you have a lot of gravel roads to travel, you wouldn't want to go at our speed. Some protection is a good idea.

Greggo · 09-04-2013, 11:34 PM

we just returned from a trip which included at least 15 miles on a recently oiled and graveled road. We had plenty of oil to remove but had no damage in the wheel wells and found the vinyl rock guards snapped on the front end showed PLENTY of dimpling from rocks but no damage at all to the fiberglass shell underneath. THANKS Escape for including the rock guards!

Greg

thoer · 09-05-2013, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I've seen my share of white trucks sprayed with white bedliner. Now they're an ick yellow after several years. For those folks that sprayed the front of their trailers with this stuff... do you now have something permanently yellow... ?? Now what's the solution? Painting the bedliner?

That's why I went with black!

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

pictures would be nice, if possible, thanx

I'll see if I can get some - they might not show much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

If I was to protect my wheel wells, and it has been a thought, I would likely get LIne-X sprayed on them.

I thought of that too Jim, but my cheap gene made me try the do it myself route.

thoer · 09-05-2013, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

pictures would be nice, if possible, thanx

Jim - here are what I have so far. The first one shows how our well looked, second is with the primer on. When I get the wheels back on I will try for one showing how it looks painted now. The third shows a place on the vertical inside wall - there was a piece of masking tape embedded in the fiberglass apparently as part of the fabrication process. I pulled it our and tried to coat it very well. The 4th one shows my runs that I talked about earlier - that is the place is really seems to want to run.

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