Here are photos of a Protect-A-Tow on my 1995 Honda Accord.
Chris
How do you like it? How many miles have you towed with it?
How do you like it? How many miles have you towed with it?
20,000+ It began to get a little ragged around the edges/seams after 15 yrs so I took it to an upholstery shop and he patched it up for $45. This is nice setup because your cords and cables rest on the PAT. There is no problem maximizing a turn; no crimping. Of course you need a football field to make a U turn in an LD. :)
Chris
"Of course you need a football field to make a U turn in an LD. :) "
You need to take lessons from LazyBones2 on how to do that! She swung our 30', with CRV attached, 180° in the middle of downtown Lee Vining when it was necessary to avoid a forest fire a few miles ahead. I was co-pilot that day! :o
We had one for our LD and later for our Foretravel and loved it. Some newer toads (like our 2014 CR-V) are a bit problematic in terms of where to securely attach the eye bolts on the car fascia.
If anyone is interested and handy, a member on Foreforums made his own many years back at a cost of around $60. Reply #8 in the linked topic has detailed instructions and materials:
Re: What did you do to your coach today. Tow skirt (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=14321.0)
Michelle, looks like you have to register to see the full posts.
BTW, interesting topic thread; sounds familiar . . . " What did you do to your coach today" ;)
Michelle, looks like you have to register to see the full posts.
BTW, interesting topic thread; sounds familiar . . . " What did you do to your coach today" ;)
Nothing to keep you from registering, but I will copy the details and post below this. I cannot copy the photos over, though, since those belong to the OP (Rick)
Yes, this was originally several posts in one of the nightmare "catch-all" topics moderators had to get involved in and split out the relevant posts to a new topic. Those "catch-all" topics were banned a while back due to all the work for moderators (multiple splits every day) and member complaints that they couldn't find/follow anything. If you were to be able to view the topic, you'd see it was only the posts relevant to the new topic name, which one of the moderators had to split out to create this new topic.
Reply #8 – 9 years ago
Michelle,
Here are the materials for the tow skirt along with an alternative for the shade cloth. Below are the links or info for the purchase of the materials.
shade cloth (Approx 6' x 9')
bungee cord (Approx 25')
sail thread (Sailrite V92 or V96?)
eyebolts and caribiners (6 each total, 4 on coach, 2 on toad)
3/4" PVC pipe and 2 couplers (approx 6')
1/4" diameter clip pin to join the two halves of the PVC together
The green tow skirt that I made was from the Home Depot material noted below
From Home Depot
Coolaroo 6 ft. x 15 ft. Shade Cloth Heritage Green (90% UV Block)
Model # 302238
Internet # 100656899
$36.97 /RL-Roll
I eventually bought a 12' wide x 15' long piece of 90% black for use as a patio awning shade from;
Custom size outdoor knitted shade fabric (shadecloth) and shade netting for sun
I also bought a bag of the plastic clips shown below to affix to the lower end of the patio awning and thus to the ground with some bungees. I have not finished the development of the patio shade cloth yet but I have some new ideas for attaching it to the Zip Dee awning flap. I used a UV resistant thread from Sailrite, not sure if it was V-69 or V-92 and the thread is in the coach in FL. I will get that info when I go back Feb 3. I do not have a word processor on this netbook so I have to do everything in this e-mail. I will formulate a better material list when I have access to my base computer. I will aslo write up a description of how to measure and sew up the tow skirt.
Up to 32 foot wide - Automatic Quoting and Ordering Form
Black 30% to 90%, Green 60% and White 50% in stock 6, 8, 10, 12, 20, 26 and 32 foot widths
8 foot width is not available in 30% or 40% Black and Green 60% - White 50% is not stocked in 8, 10 or 32 foot
FREE SHIPPING with tracking information automatically emailed after your order leaves the factory
sorry ... no expedited orders and no APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, US VI, Mexico or Canada
* lead time to make your panel is +/- six (6) business days this time of year *
plain cloth orders - without reinforced sewn perimeter hem - typically ship a few days sooner
Please select the color and level of shading for your custom panel
Selection is limited to knit color and density shown above and on this drop down list
30 percent Black Knit40 percent Black Knit50 percent Black Knit60 percent Black Knit70 percent Black Knit80 percent Black Knit90 percent Black Knit60 percent GREEN Knit50 percent WHITE Knit
Check here to install black reinforcing tape and hem on all four sides of your panel
Check here to install reinforced hem and brass grommets every foot with double corners
Check here for a double layer panel where we fold the fabric over, to create two layers
Colorado shipments only check here to add 2.9% sales tax (all other states, no tax)
Total cost of panel(s) with FREE SHIPPING via UPS Ground (motor freight on large orders)
($75 minimum delivered price per panel)
Quantity and description of your custom shade panel(s)
********************************************************************************************************
plastic locking clip shade netting fasteners for cable, wire fencing, lashing, nailing, ...plastic Locking Clips - $15 per bag of 36 fasteners
FREE Shipping to 48 contiguous states
Sorry ... no APO/FPO, HI, AK, PR, US VI, Mexico or Canada
fasteners leave the next business day via UPS or USPS
$15 per bag of 36 clips - Select Quantity:
Buy 10 bags and save 25% at $11.25 each (360 clips for $112.50
********************************************************************
Bungee cord off of E-bay
50 ft x 1 4" Shock Cord Dacron Jacket | eBay
50 ft x 1/4" shock cord (Dacron Jacket)
Price:
US $8.99
$5.00 Expedited Shipping See more services See shipping discounts
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Other item info
Item number:
320737230293
Item location:
Westfield, MA, United States
Rick,
Just to clarify, in the BOM (Bill of Materials ;) ) in your PM, you mention some plastic clips - I believe those were just for your patio awning shade project, not the tow skirt, correct? The PM discussion we had was for both projects.
A note on the tow skirt design, since it's very similar to our Protect-a-Tow... The P-a-T has a bungie loop in the center of it that goes through a reinforced hole/slot. Plastic ball on the underside, loop on top and you thread the PVC rod through the loop. I believe this is to keep the tow skirt from hanging too low in the middle.
Michelle
Michelle,
Correct, the plastic clips are not required for the tow skirt. Correct again about the loop in the middle. In the first post pictures you can see the loop in the center slid thru the PVC, once again I just figured out how much I needed and tied a knot (bowline knot).
Good luck,
Rick
Michelle