Front towing covers
Hi everyone, I am trying to understand if I should buy a front towing cover or not, and then there is the question of which one. I have seen these for as little as £35.00 to £375.00 so which one should I choose, I fully appreciate that you get what you pay for but what am I paying for, I would appreciate any feedback on this topic, cheers Steve
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Hi @Gobalot. This may not be very useful, but, in almost 40 years of caravanning, we have never used a 'towing cover' and have not experienced any problems. I'm sure some folk find them really useful/protective, and many use them, but I've also read that some folk have had scratches on the front of the caravan as a result of using a towing cover, so it may be 'swings and roundabouts'!! Then, if you put a cover on, it has to be fetched off - just another job!!
David
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I'm with DSB, but only 25 years of towing and I cannot see why I should buy one. Yes they will keep the front of your van clean, but if you give it a good polish it cleans easily. As regards stone chip protection, I would welcome some physics on how a 2mm thick piece of cloth can resist the effects of a stone being thrown up from your cars rear wheels. As far as I know the covers are not made of Kevlar or similar.
Colin
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We have never bothered with one either. I realise they won't weigh a lot, but is more weight towards the front of the van, to take account of, and more to the point, something else to have to stow away, possibly wet, when you get to the site, and probably at home as well.
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When we caravanned we never bothered with one. I suppose one advantage of a cover might be that it keeps the van clean whilst towing but a 10 mintute wipe down with a cloth when you arrive on site serves the same purpose? I think one of the reasonings in using one is if the front panel is aluminium ( perhaps like the Bailey Alu Tech) where the roof and front panel are one continuos unit where aluminium is more prone to dents fro stones that fibre glass?
David
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We have one and use it all the time, but we are always away on extended trips, not just the odd week or weekend. It is a specific one for the model of our caravan, and find that it does keep the front of the caravan clean, especially from fly splatter. There have been a few problems with it, the main one being that it fits so neatly that it puts a lot of strain on the zips, some of which we have had to add extra stitching to. Had it been a couple of millimetres wider, or had a little more give in the material, I think it would have been perfect. It dries quite quickly even when soaking wet. As @DSB you get what you pay for quality wise and ours was from Specialized, not their cheapest, nor the dearest either. Should the time come to replace it I would look at alternatives but might stick with this company if others don't appear to match what we want.
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Thanks for the heads up @Tinwheeler - post moved to here where I hope it will get more replies... 👍👍
David
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@Gobalot Again in 26 years of towing across all seasons and weathers have never seen the need for one and never had the thought that we wished we had one after a trip. We like to be set up (and off) as quickly as possible as it's just extra time and effort as well as storing it somewhere, and that will be even more time and effort (and heavier) if it's wet.
The top of the caravan doesn't appear to get that dirty and it's more the bottom sides with the muck and rain thrown up off the wheels, I'll clean the windows if they are bad enough but in any case a quick wipe down of anything else will usually get it clean enough, but it what will make you happy that counts.
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I have always used a towing cover - mainly to protect the front windows from damage because not only are they expensive to replace, sourcing one from Knaus would be impossible, I suspect. Both with this van and the last one, I had the bespoke version from Specialised and, like @DSB found that after a while they became tight and stretched and split the stitching. I suspect that shrinkage when wet might have been the cause.
I must agree with what @eribaMotters says upthread about how much protection a piece of cloth can give and therefore, a couple of years ago, I ordered a new padded (and expensive) cover from Specialised. I now feel this was a mistake. Yes, it is thick and provides ample protection from flying stones etc - but it is so heavy - making it difficult to get on the van. It doesn't fold up as much and has to go in a very large bag which either fills the back of the car - or - I now tend to put it under the van when on site. For some unknown reason, Specialised have put all the bottom clips in little pockets, making them awkward and fiddly to get out. The first (cloth) cover was much easier to fit and folded down into a bag not much bigger than a briefcase whereas this one is more like 4' x 3' when folded.
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@Gobalot we always used a front cover when we had a caravan. Ours was a bespoke made one from Protec (if they still exist!) not the cheapest but it was light, dried quickly, and easy to get on and off. We found it good for keeping the front and the windows clean especially during the dirtier months and we have lots of farm/muddy roads around here.
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@Cornersteady it takes about 5 mins to fit or remove a front cover at the end each end of a trip, much less time than I used to take to clean off all the dirt and road dirt after weeks away in the caravan, so definitely worth it for me. As rain was forecast for this morning we put the cover on last night and although it was set when we set off it was dry by the time we got to our current location. It fills up neatly and I store It in the roomy front box of the caravan. If it gets wet during a journey I dry it outside weather permitting, often draped over the car. It works fine for me.
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Some years ago I was towing a site hut along a dual carriageway. Same size and shape as a caravan but built of plywood and not a good tower so proceeding slowly. I was overtaken by a tipper lorry and as soon as I saw the rear wheels going past I knew what was going to happen. A large rock was lodged between the double wheels and I knew that when there was enough of a bump in the road that would flex the tyres the rock would come flying out, which it did. My instinct was to duck but I need not have as the rock flew over the top of the Land Rover and whacked straight into the front of the site hut. There was an anti break-in panel over the front window and the rock knocked a big hole in that.
Who can say that had it been a caravan with a towing cover what would have happened but certainly a cover would have reduced the amount of damage.
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@nelliethehooker that's still five minutes too long for me, but as I said it's what makes people happy.
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Our first van was an Elddis Avante 556 bought from new in 2005. Despite keeping it spotless and washing it before every trip, the front panel, lost it's shine and became dull. Even with some polishing. The front windows also did not stay 100% clear ie, as new. We presumed it was due towing in all seasons, all weathers and some terrible road conditions ( mud, grit, stones, salt ) So when we traded it in for a Bailey Pegasus Bologna GT65 a few years later, we decided to try to avoid those issues and buy a front towing cover. The covers we have had have certainly achieved what we had hoped for, with each new van over the years. It's one of those things. Each to their own / no wrong answers 🤷♂️
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We've had a Protec Universal front cover for the past 11 years/3 caravans, and I wouldnt be without it.
It has protected the caravan front from mud, muck and dead flies, as well as a number of bird strikes, a cat, and the time a wing mirror came off on the M3.
With modern caravans having bigger front windows, I think they're worth the price. Cheaper than a new window
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