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Stone Stomper


morribm

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I'm looking for a system that will protect both the van and the back of the tug when off road and throwing rocks around.



The factory stone guard is helpful but I think mine is too vertical and tends to bounce some debris onto the back of the tug with some peppering evident on the paintwork. The rear window is protected by an Obies guard which works very well.



Question: In order to adjust the angle of the stone guard, does muscle power alone suffice to bend the frame of the stone guard slightly so that it will direct debris downwards, or is this a much bigger job?



In regard to additional protection I'm looking at Stone Stompers in preference to the other products in this category but my contact with the SS company indicates that their 'trampoline mat' when used on Kedrons, normally extends only as far as the factory stone guard because the low placement of the jerrycans holders behind this is a problem. I would very much appreciate some feedback from any other Kedron owner who has fitted Stone Stompers and firstly, just how are they fitted and, secondly, if they extend back only to the stone guard, is the front of the van sufficiently protected?



Cheers



Brian


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Hello Brian



Christian who runs the Stone Stomper is very helpful, I have had dealings with him in the past about a stone stomper for another brand of caravan. The product is well made in Australia and Christian stands by his product. When I get my new van I was planning on buying one to mainly to protect the back of my tow and reduce the dust on the back of the tow. The fitting you describe should still reduce the dust (on tow) and protect the back window of the tow, plus breakaway cable link.



Christian may be able to direct you to a Kedron owner who has fitted his product. Also I have seen a photo somewhere of a Kedron with a stone stomper fitted, unfortunately I can't recall where I saw it, it still however had the original Kedron factory stone guard.



I will be very interested in what you find out.



Regards


Terry

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Thanks Terry,



I have been in contact with Christian and he is indeed very helpful. It was he who indicated that when fitting the Stone Stomper to Kedrons, the mat usually extends as far as the factory stone guard only but he did also attach an image of a Kedron with a mat extending all the way to the van cross beam as well. That's my dilemma. I'm not sure just how long the mat should be to offer the best protection. I think you are correct in assuming the protection the shorter mat will provide but considering the pitting that has occurred on my van on the gravel road trips I have travelled to date, I'm not at all sure the shorter mat will protect the van as much as I would like.



The major concern I have with the longer mat is whether or not it will survive the abrasion and friction it may experience from the the low-set jerry can holders.



Cheers


Brian


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I personally have never had any dealings with Christian @ SS but have been aware of his presence on the LCOOL site (as he has a 200), he seems like a decent, willing sort of guy.


I would think that dealing with the manufacturer direct (Christian) shouldnt he be able to tailor a screen to your spec's as in having cutouts & reinforcing them for the jerry cans & also lengthening them to accommodate the longer draw bar.


If you where to put your van on your tug and take relevant measurements (using Christian's reference points) I would be surprised if he couldn't come up with a solution OR have a yarn to a competent motor trimmer in your area.



Edit.


I just had a look at my van, I'm assuming your jerry can holders are in a similar position to mine.....if the rear 'edge' of the SS stopped/finished just in 'front' of the jerry can holders.... that would have to give you adequate protection.... my thoughts.


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I have ordered and received my Stone Stomper for our new 21ft XC3 , we are picking it up on the 8th May , i got Graeme at Kedron to measure up and i gave these measurements to Stone Stomper and he has supplied the guard to suit those measurements , we had one on our previous Coromal and found it to be great , lets hope it all fits will keep you posted



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post-1372-0-32237100-1429087612_thumb.jp





post-1372-0-25659300-1429087628_thumb.jp


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Hi Brian


Have a look in Hints, Tips and products. (caravan mods)


I found that the Kedron stone guard is to narrow and short as well as been to vertical.


If you fit a stone stopper to the Kedron stone guard ,you will still have stones hammer the front edges of your van.


I made my own stone guard.



Nev


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Thanks for all the input.



This doesn't appear to be a 'black or white' subject.



Graeme, I received a copy of the first image in your posting from Christian. It wasn't clear from the picture whether or not there were cut outs for the jerry can holders but on direct questioning of Christian, he informs me they they don't do cut outs for that purpose and dragging the mat underneath the holders will undoubtedly result in it abrading and tearing.



Tony, you refer to fixing the mat just in front of the jerry cans which on my van is not a lot further back than the stone guard but even so IMO, this would still leave the front of the van unprotected.



Actually, at the end of the day, those jerry can holders although essential, are really a PITA regarding their location - particularly the off side one which obstructs access to the front boot. In fact, I remove the off side one when we are not planning to travel the outback.



Nev, I would really like to see what you have done but unfortunately, I don't have access to the forum you mentioned. I let my membership lapse some time ago and have never hooked up again.



A couple of years ago, just before traversing the Great Central Road I fabricated a guard to cover the diesel heater tank outlet (below the tank) and was very pleased I had judging by the large ding it received while on that route that would undoubtedly have done a significant damage to the outlet had the guard not been fixed. I think I did post images on this forum somewhere. Hence the need to ensure that that area is well protected.



So, at the end of the day, I've decided not to pursue the SS option. Which is all a bit disappointing because I'd sort of made up my mind to go down that pathway.



I get that the shorter mat will offer some protection but my Obie's screen protects the back window of the 'Cruiser and I consider the front mat only to be 'half-a-job'. I know others have fitted thick rubber mats to the lower edge of the stone guard and I think this has some merit - they would certainly go some way to protect the front of the van. I'd like to see this setup first hand so I can get my head around how the arrangement is fixed to the stone guard.



Finally, Nev's point about the size and orientation of the factory stone guard is on the money. Too narrow and too vertical. I'm going to attempt to either bend the guard forwards to reduce the forward angle and failing this, I will consider fabricating some wedges to sit under the mounting bracket to tilt the whole thing forwards. Hopefully there'll be enough of the bracket sitting below the top of the A frame to allow the fitting bolts to bite.



Cheers



Brian

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Hi Nev,



Oh, I like it!



That's just what I need. It appears to me that your stone guard will deflect the gremlins downwards thus protecting the back of your tug and the back window and the mats are so designed as to deflect debris outwards and away from the van. Excellent.



I'm leaving on our trip next Thursday so if I head down to Brisbane in the next day or so, could you knock one up for me please? I wish.



If you could, I would appreciate seeing some more detail of just how the mat is attached to the guard and perhaps a close-up of that bracket on the van and the other attachments both to the guard and the van.



Is the mat easy enough to remove for when it's not needed?



Raising the jerry cans as you have done is a great idea but do you find they interfere even more with access to the front boots? I take it you're handy with welding gear?



Classy job!



Cheers



Brian


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There is a guy in Brisbane (Southside) who makes these stone guards. Much wider and large mudflaps from the bottom to protect from flicking stones. We are very happy with ours. From memory it was about $450/$500

I have his contact details if you are interested. He also made the checkerplate box for us.

post-1-0-94027500-1429172567_thumb.jpg

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Thanks Webby,



Sorry about the delay in responding. My Kedron website crashed and when up, my log in details wouldn't be accepted.



Your stone guard arrangement will do nicely for my needs but time isn't on my side.



Please forward the details of your man and I'll see what we can do. You may prefer to PM me but perhaps posting on this site may be of help to others in the same boat.



Cheers



Brian

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Thanks Sue,



I contacted Ken and although he wasn't able to fabricate anything for me in the timeframe I'm stuck with, he was very generous with his time and explanation of design and construction methods.



Pity I didn't get my act together sooner...



Cheers



Brian


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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Brian,

Back in 2012 we took our ATV to the Cape. Prior to leaving I fitted " Rock Tamers " to the tug & thought I had adequately protected the van. Unfortunately that was not the case & the front of the van still got peppered. We have since upgraded to a T/E , so prior to leaving on the Big Lap I fitted a set of truck mud flaps to the bottom of the standard Kedron stone guard-- Success! All those stones that previously got past the rock tamers & under the stone guard to hit the van are despatched back to the road without doing any damage. This proved to be successful even on The Gibb River road which is 600k of gravel & rocks.

Hope this helps

Doyley

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Thanks Doyley,



Timely response.



I'm now on the road, in Townsville and spent the day sourcing material to manufacture mud flaps as you have done. Couple of questions please. How far do your flaps extend below the stone guard? I'm thinking 300mm but am aware that if they are too low, they can act as stone/rock throwers as well. Also, what material did you use for the flaps? I've identified some 6mm rubber with internal reinforcing and although I am aware that others have used conveyer belt which is very strong but also very heavy.



Appreciate your input.



Cheers



Brian


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After our very recent trek up the Oodnadatta Track earlier this month I will be putting a set of standard truck mud flaps on the stone guard. 24" x 18" drop. The standard truck flaps are heavy enough not to flex too much at speed which I have see happen on thinner rubber.



Cheers



Merv

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Hi Merv,



Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means the bottom of the flap will be about 100mm of the ground. Is that enough?



I did have concerns about the flap flapping back in the breeze but I was thinking a 300mm drop would in and of itself generate a certain amount of rigidity.



Brian


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Hi Brian



The 18" drop should be sufficient, anything more I think would be overkill. Looking at the height of the lower strikes on the jerry can holders sway me to the 18's, plus they can easily be replaced from most outback truck stops if you rip one off. I don't think that you would catch as many rocks with the 300 drop and therefore defeating the solution, the 18's don't move that much.



Cheers



Merv


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Hi Brian



The easiest way to work out which is going to suit your application best is to leave at least 150mm from the bottom of the flaps to the road surface and that will give you the best protection. Don't forget to use an alloy/steel strip to retain the bolts and flaps onto the bottom of the stone deflector. eBay at the moment have truck flaps from between $20 a pair through to $120.



Cheers



Merv


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Hi Brian


If you look up hywaytrucks on the net , they have a store in most capital city's also are an online store. I bought 2 flaps from them which were MUDFLAP 455MM X 610MM TRUE BLUE for



$39.00 and they do the job and look good to

Cheers Kakadu

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Truckline at Caboolture have large truck mudflaps. We have put 2 cut down black ones on the back of the Cruiser. They are 600 mm wide and about the same long. We cut at least a third of the length off to give us the legal requirement of no less than 100 mm from the ground.

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Some interesting reading. We have a 2002 XC 24" towed with a 2003 Patrol 4.8 petrol with a 3" lift. Our protection comes in 3 parts - 1. we have fitted "brushes" - the ones you see around the wheel arches of trucks, to the bottom of the existing mud flaps front and rear - keeps the mudflaps within the legal minimum distance (may be a moot point), 2. a full width rubber flap of about 4" attached to two fitted drop down points off the tow bar frame with brushes attached for another 4" or so just clearing the roadway, and 3. a purpose built stone guard across the draw bar angled down to deflect rocks etc with normal shade cloth tied with cable ties not too tight. Worked for us on the GCR and Plenty. Some previous comment has said that this arrangement may not be suitable for Cruisers as the rear diff needs plenty of ventilation. Cheers from Tassie Devils


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