preventing stone windshield rock chips

[Shawn T. W.]

Going slower, and staying back a ways helps a lot ...

 

[deserteagle71]

Going slower, and staying back a ways helps a lot ...

Yes, that does help. But around here I've found that most rock hits on windshields come from vehicles traveling in the opposite direction (oncoming). I've even had a couple radiators holed by rocks thrown up by oncoming trucks so I've installed metal mesh in the grills of every one of my rigs. Mining companies and ranches around here buy those expensive "Ranch Hand" front bumpers with metal mesh all across the front to protect not just the grille but the lights as well.

But then most of our "highways" are dirt/gravel. Not much pavement in this part of the country.

 

[JRH02]

I just got new tires for the F350 (SRW) and went with a much more aggressive thread. The cleats are course and deep and much noisier. The noise isn't from the tire thread but all the rock that gets imbedded in them. Once I get to the black top I can hear them hitting the wheel wells constantly.

Guess I'm a bad guy....

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I drove the Alaskan Highway before it was all paved, and up to the artic circle, in a rented blazer ... I got quite a bit of "window art" plus the grill and front lip of the hood took a lot of damage ... Hertz wasn't happy, but they are the ones that insisted that I rent a 4X4 because I was going to be driving on dirt roads, AND required I buy there damage insurance ... Drove over 10,000 miles in 2 weeks, drove it like I rented it!

Now I drive most of my 160K miles a year on divided interstate highways ...

 

[JRH02]

I drove the Alaskan Highway before it was all paved, and up to the artic circle, in a rented blazer ... I got quite a bit of "window art" plus the grill and front lip of the hood took a lot of damage ... Hertz wasn't happy, but they are the ones that insisted that I rent a 4X4 because I was going to be driving on dirt roads, AND required I buy there damage insurance ... Drove over 10,000 miles in 2 weeks, drove it like I rented it!

Now I drive most of my 160K miles a year on divided interstate highways ...

You were not the city guy then.

Do you now dig rocks out of your tires? Not because of windshields?

 

[FullMetalBucket]

When I used to drive on RT 93 in to Boston 5 days a for work I was good for 3 or 4 windshields a year. Not from tailgating. A lot of trucks and a lot of traffic. Some of the time you see it coming but can’t swerve out of the way. Don’t miss that.

 

[Spanner]

View attachment 4323707

Great scenery.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've seen rocks kicked up by my tires, bounce up and take out the windshield with no other vehicle in sight. The worst part was that I saw the rock, but there was no time to stop.
The good thing is that it was a company truck.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I have a small crack in the windshield of my company truck which has been there for over a year. View attachment 4323644
I don't know if it helps or not but have kept a piece of duct tape on it to help deflect heat from the defroster on wet days like today.

Good to know in a pinch. When we get a chipped windshield, we always get a replacement. By the time I call, a chip is always a crack.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

When I used to drive on RT 93 in to Boston 5 days a for work I was good for 3 or 4 windshields a year. Not from tailgating. A lot of trucks and a lot of traffic. Some of the time you see it coming but can’t swerve out of the way. Don’t miss that.

I only go to Boston now to visit daughter and her new hubby. From Manchester NH and closer, I really dislike the traffic. I could see you loosing a couple of windshields a year from traffic in opposite side.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

You were not the city guy then.

Do you now dig rocks out of your tires? Not because of windshields?

If I'm bored and have time, yes.

As I do drive into customer lots that are gravel ... And so is my driveway ...

 

[areid]

When I spent over an hour traveling each way to work, it was usually on the PA turnpike or Rts 81, 80, 322 etc. In Winter it doesn't matter how you try to maintain space. "Traction material" gets kicked up by all the vehicles. Being 30 carlengths behind another vehicle only means that there's a line of other vehicles passing you while kicking up the saltwater/grit mixture.

On highways where there are Jersey barriers in lieu of expanses of grass or woods, approaching vehicles toss stuff at you. Years ago I was heading East on PA283 and a truck coming West plowed through a patch of stone-filled slush and threw it over the Jersey barrier. Made an awful splat, but the glass was fine. When I got to Lancaster and stopped at a traffic light I noticed steam coming up in front. No damage to the grille but one fin of the radiator had a nick. Did a temporary solder fix that lasted forever

In Saskatchewan (canadian province) rear mud flaps rea mandatory but not so in other provinces.

 

[garry1p]

I don't think there is an aftermarket device that works.

Best bet is insurance or if you suspect you be having lots of problems set aside a monthly savings amount.

 

[WinterDeere]

But then most of our "highways" are dirt/gravel. Not much pavement in this part of the country.

View attachment 4323707

That's gotta be hell on the Ferrari.

 

[deserteagle71]

That's gotta be hell on the Ferrari.

Those roads are hell on anything not wearing LT type tires.

Not long ago I was driving a remote dirt road in southern Oregon. Not much out there for many, many miles except for sagebrush and one area of hot springs. Suddenly I see a guy come running out of the desert toward the road I was driving, frantically waving his arms so I stopped. His feet were bleeding - he was wearing open sandals, not what you wear when running through desert where everything has a thorn. Told me his car had a flat off on one of the side roads leading to a hot spring and he needed help because he couldn't figure out how to change the flat tire. I loaded him up and drove over to where his car...one of those ultra-expensive low-slung Mercedes sports cars, the tires of which could best be described as a rubber band stretched around a metal rim. And of course those tires were never designed for rocky dirt roads. California plates, of course. I got his tire changed for him - first vehicle I've ever seen where there were no lugs on a hub that lug nuts screwed on to. On this Mercedes the tires mounted with long bolts with tapered heads that screwed into holes in the wheel hubs. The jack that came with the car fit into an opening (with a cover over it) in the car body! Once I got him going again I advised him to keep that thing on smooth pavement.......

 

[ultrarunner]

Those roads are hell on anything not wearing LT type tires.

Not long ago I was driving a remote dirt road in southern Oregon. Not much out there for many, many miles except for sagebrush and one area of hot springs. Suddenly I see a guy come running out of the desert toward the road I was driving, frantically waving his arms so I stopped. His feet were bleeding - he was wearing open sandals, not what you wear when running through desert where everything has a thorn. Told me his car had a flat off on one of the side roads leading to a hot spring and he needed help because he couldn't figure out how to change the flat tire. I loaded him up and drove over to where his car...one of those ultra-expensive low-slung Mercedes sports cars, the tires of which could best be described as a rubber band stretched around a metal rim. And of course those tires were never designed for rocky dirt roads. California plates, of course. I got his tire changed for him - first vehicle I've ever seen where there were no lugs on a hub that lug nuts screwed on to. On this Mercedes the tires mounted with long bolts with tapered heads that screwed into holes in the wheel hubs. The jack that came with the car fit into an opening (with a cover over it) in the car body! Once I got him going again I advised him to keep that thing on smooth pavement.......

Wow you very likely may have saved his life…

 

[JRH02]

I will help people. But I get a bit angry.

Our trail is well marked. 4WD only. But people bring their city cars here leaving a trail of plastic behind them. I have the plastic nailed to a tree at the bottom. I shouldn't have to put a plaque there, should I? But one after another they do the logging trail because they can make it where others didn't.

But in the winter I am not so kind. I neither want to cold start any machine nor do I want the obligatory Thank You and they drive off like the road was my fault. There is no cell connection. 20 miles. So I have a policy that they better have cash in hand to get me to heat a rig and turn a key. Or they can call someone. That will be $600 for a wrecker.

Um, then there is the thing where you help them and get a letter from their lawyer for damage. You can't make this stuff up.