Stone guard options | Stone Stomper, a-frame stone guard or mud flaps etc

[Jared01]

Hello,

Pajero towing Jayco Starcraft 17.58-3 outback.

I was going to buy a Stone Stomper but am now considering other options, mainly due to cost.

As far as I see, there is the Stone Stomper, stone guard (bolted across the a-frame) and mudflap options (like rock tamers).


I have heard some stories that rock tamers actually kick up rocks, so I am now considering a stone guard that bolts across the a-frame.

With the Stone Stomper, the only downsides I can see are;
-Perhaps not always installed on the van/car
-If travelling on a unsealed road, perhaps rocks from oncoming drivers in the other direction could still kick up and hit the front of the van


With a stone guard the only downsides I can see are;
-No under a-frame protection
-Perhaps heavier (contributing to tow-ball weight)


After some feedback from people who have any sort of protection and their experiences. Do a-frame stone guards stop rocks bouncing and potentially smashing the rear car window?

 

[DRW]

Bit of a quandary, agree 100% with the mud flaps and rock tamers. We had a stone stomper on our Expanda and it saved us heaps but we did a lot of dirt roads with it, neither will stop underneath damage except protecting everything separately, if you choose a stone guard make sure it wont propel anything forward onto your tow vehicle, I have seen cars sandblasted from incorrect installation but installed correctly you shoulod be okay

 

[Drover]

Rock tamers and similar will throw up more ricks if not fitted correctly, the flap hits the ground especially in culverts etc, rocks fly everywhere, not hearsay either. Depending on vehicle the guard across the draw bar works well with decent mud flaps on the tug also will cut down a lot of goollies.......
My tray back for some reason doesn't throw a lot at the van , they stay at draw bar height so don't have any stone guards fitted....
.Do a search on here you will find some great builds and real use comments.

 

[chartrock]

I use a stone guard. As long as it is angled so that stone are sent down and not up and the mesh is reasonably slack. This allows it to absorb the stones momentum without allowing them to bounce forward. The other thing to be careful of is the clearance when reversing and you come close to jack knifing. I have done a tail light on each side but have now moved the stone guard further back for a bit more clearance.

 

[Crusty181]

Hello,

Pajero towing Jayco Starcraft 17.58-3 outback.

I was going to buy a Stone Stomper but am now considering other options, mainly due to cost.

As far as I see, there is the Stone Stomper, stone guard (bolted across the a-frame) and mudflap options (like rock tamers).


I have heard some stories that rock tamers actually kick up rocks, so I am now considering a stone guard that bolts across the a-frame.

With the Stone Stomper, the only downsides I can see are;
-Perhaps not always installed on the van/car
-If travelling on a unsealed road, perhaps rocks from oncoming drivers in the other direction could still kick up and hit the front of the van


With a stone guard the only downsides I can see are;
-No under a-frame protection
-Perhaps heavier (contributing to tow-ball weight)


After some feedback from people who have any sort of protection and their experiences. Do a-frame stone guards stop rocks bouncing and potentially smashing the rear car window?

We have a Stone Stomper and Ive never taken it off. I had to extended my cars rear factory mudflaps about 100mm because of a different rim offset that allowed stones to slip past the std length of the mudflaps. The only drawer back with the Stone Stomper is they get absolutely filthy and you need to touch them to hitch, unhitch etc, and get into the back of the car. Ive done many 1000's of dirt kms and cant fault the Stone Stomper, as a bonus it significantly reduces dust. Under the van Ive tidied up my wires and pipes etc but have no other stone protection at all; the only sign of stone impact is the rear water tank guard. Theres is no damage, and bugger all chips anywhere. I wouldnt be without it a Stone Stomper and short of trying to make one yourself it will be the best $600 you spend

 

[Smergen]

We have a Stone Stomper and Ive never taken it off. I had to extended my cars rear factory mudflaps about 100mm because of a different rim offset that allowed stones to slip past the std length of the mudflaps. The only drawer back with the Stone Stomper is they get absolutely filthy and you need to touch them to hitch, unhitch etc, and get into the back of the car. Ive done many 1000's of dirt kms and cant fault the Stone Stomper, as a bonus it significantly reduces dust. Under the van Ive tidied up my wires and pipes etc but have no other stone protection at all; the only sign of stone impact is the rear water tank guard. Theres is no damage, and bugger all chips anywhere. I wouldnt be without it a Stone Stomper and short of trying to make one yourself it will be the best $600 you spend

What this guy said....

 

[Brad77]

What this guy said....

Interesting, I bought a stone stomper and used it on my oodnadatta trip. It started to fall apart and all the stitching near where the support pole that goes across the A frame came undown/was damaged with stones.
I honestly thought for the price it would last longer. I will get in touch with the guys that make them to see what repairs can be done. Having said that, it did stop most stone from basjing into the front of the van.....but not all of then! I wish I used it in conjunction with my D-flector stone guard.

 

[achjimmy]

Interesting, I bought a stone stomper and used it on my oodnadatta trip. It started to fall apart and all the stitching near where the support pole that goes across the A frame came undown/was damaged with stones.
I honestly thought for the price it would last longer. I will get in touch with the guys that make them to see what repairs can be done. Having said that, it did stop most stone from basjing into the front of the van.....but not all of then! I wish I used it in conjunction with my D-flector stone guard.

Christian will repair it no trouble. My stitching has come lose on the support pole flap too. I assume it’s cause it’s streching so far.

 

[achjimmy]

We have a Stone Stomper and Ive never taken it off. I had to extended my cars rear factory mudflaps about 100mm because of a different rim offset that allowed stones to slip past the std length of the mudflaps. The only drawer back with the Stone Stomper is they get absolutely filthy and you need to touch them to hitch, unhitch etc, and get into the back of the car. Ive done many 1000's of dirt kms and cant fault the Stone Stomper, as a bonus it significantly reduces dust. Under the van Ive tidied up my wires and pipes etc but have no other stone protection at all; the only sign of stone impact is the rear water tank guard. Theres is no damage, and bugger all chips anywhere. I wouldnt be without it a Stone Stomper and short of trying to make one yourself it will be the best $600 you spend

Yep heaps less dust on the van and the back of the cruiser too.

I hung a rubber guard down under the van to stop the rocks tumbling along underneath and it’s helped on this van

 

[Brad77]

Christian will repair it no trouble. My stitching has come lose on the support pole flap too. I assume it’s cause it’s streching so far.

Oh sweet. Thats good to know. I will send him an email! Cheers

 

[Smergen]

Interesting, I bought a stone stomper and used it on my oodnadatta trip. It started to fall apart and all the stitching near where the support pole that goes across the A frame came undown/was damaged with stones.
I honestly thought for the price it would last longer. I will get in touch with the guys that make them to see what repairs can be done. Having said that, it did stop most stone from basjing into the front of the van.....but not all of then! I wish I used it in conjunction with my D-flector stone guard.

Unfortunate to hear that mate, but I suppose every product has a few that slip through. It's how the manufacturer backs it up that counts. And like others have said, I would strongly suspect Christian and his team would stand by it and help you out.

As for our experience, we put it on prior to the Nullabor and took it all the way around to SEQ without fault or complaint.

 

[Jared01]

Doesn't look like a stone guard on the A-frame will work. Now understand some of the reasons some people get an extended drawbar. One being so a box can be put on the front and other could be for a stone guard.

Tried fully turning right and there was bugger all distance left between the car's tail light and gas bottle. Later realised the other side would be worse as the gas bottle is 100mm more forward on the A-frame (will have to keep this in mind when turning full lock to the left).

Guess stone stomper it is then.

 

[yabbietol]

We have had our Stone Stomper for well over a year and it has now done many trips including the Plenty Highway and the Great Central Road. It works really well and has some rips and rubs repaired by Christian at Stone Stomper for the cost of postage. Great support for a well made Australian product.

On our latest trip doing a 10,500km loop across Nullarbor up to Shark Bay across to Wooleen Station and along the Great Central Road the Stone Stomper and back to Southern NSW. It worked well on over 1500km of corrugated dirt roads. One endearing trait of the Stone Stomper is that it collects an interesting sample of small rocks from the road. I usually clear them off every couple of days, so far no gold or diamonds.

On this recent trip I was packing the Landcrusier at Leinster WA and lost my caravan keys. We then drove south to Laverton and made camp 30km East of town then next day went on to Camp Paradise on the Great Central Road. We had travelled about 600km - 200km paved and 400km of dirt. I was setting up camp andcleared the stones off our stone stomper and there were my caravan keys a bit sand blasted, but ok.

.

 

[Jared01]

We ordered the Stone Stomper and installed it today.

Very happy with the product, installation instructions and packaging. Was surprised that there was even cable ties to tie up the armaflex type soft piping to put around the stabiliser legs/spare wheel brackets etc.

Seems pretty quick to attach and remove.

Will see how it goes on our first big trip

Our car (Pajero) has a 2" lift. Has anyone in a similar situation extend the length of their mud flaps?
Not sure if the exhaust is too close to the Stone Stomper flaps. May try to clip it up a bit on the side somehow, rather than getting a exhaust tip facing down

 

[Crusty181]

Our car (Pajero) has a 2" lift. Has anyone in a similar situation extend the length of their mud flaps?

Here I am again, ha. Yup, suspension lift and I added rubber extensions to the factory mud flaps. The lift wasnt my issue, my issue was I swapped out the factory alloy rims for steel which have a less positive offset. The result is the tyres now extend 20mm out from the factory line which allowed the outside edge of the tyre to skip stones past the Stone Stomper

Another thing I did after I cut the holes in the Stone Stomper for the WDH, was to pass a rope from tied around the WHD brackets bolt down through the holes and under the Stone Stomper to hold the mesh up against the chassis and reduce that mesh sag that developes over time

 

[Jared01]

Thanks for the photos Crusty181.

I will have to consider what I am going to do

 

[Bushman]

We ordered the Stone Stomper and installed it today.

Very happy with the product, installation instructions and packaging. Was surprised that there was even cable ties to tie up the armaflex type soft piping to put around the stabiliser legs/spare wheel brackets etc.

Seems pretty quick to attach and remove.

Will see how it goes on our first big trip

Our car (Pajero) has a 2" lift. Has anyone in a similar situation extend the length of their mud flaps?
Not sure if the exhaust is too close to the Stone Stomper flaps. May try to clip it up a bit on the side somehow, rather than getting a exhaust tip facing down

Your exhaust will be fine it already has a slight downward tip anyway and the flaps lift a bit while travelling, it will however still get black soot on it

 

[DRW]

It won’t get soot on it if it’s a Jeep, however it will burn the rear bumper as the exhaust is straight out, trust me grrrrrrr