Saran Wrap on Front cap while traveling

[case24]

Can anyone tell me what does the dealership apply for the $2400? Is it just a wax?
Case24

[Truknutt]

A good coating of Rain-X works pretty good. I used to visit the Blue Beacon Truck Wash and get the Rain-X treatment. It made a believer out of me. Now an applicator on an extendable paint pole does the trick. When you finish your trip just hose off any remnants of bug.

[CLARKR4]

Brian
I see it is a 3M product. Is the product all the same thickness, and if not, which thickness did you use? Which specific product number did you use? The basement wall has a hatch door. How did you handle covering the door frame? Did you apply just up to the door or did you apply a strip on the wall and the door and then cut the door frame out? Because the door frame is raised slightly getting a tight fit looks a little tricky.
Thanks for some more detail.
Rich

[bertschb]

Rich-

I'm not sure what thickness the film was that I used for the RV. For the last dozen or so vehicles I've owned I've had PPF (paint protection film) applied to the front. I've used XPel Ultimate for many years. The RV was an experiment. I didn't want to pay the money my installer charges (very expensive) plus they are 200 miles away. Soooo, we decided to try it ourselves knowing it could easily be removed if it didn't turn out well. I don't recall the product number. I was more concerned about the size of the roll.

What we did was use paper as a template to trace around the baggage door, edges, vent, etc. We then cut the paper to the size and shape we needed. We used those templates to cut the film. In our case, we applied film from a few inches above the baggage door to the bottom edge of the basement wall. We did not apply any film to the raised edge around the baggage door. The area we covered required several pieces. Maybe 5? Sorry, I don't recall.

To apply, we sprayed the area on the RV that was going to get film with water from a spray bottle. You then peel the backing off the film and spray that with water. You then apply the film to the RV and use a blade to press the film to the RV and squeeze the water out. It was actually MUCH simpler than we expected and turned out much better than we expected. We plan to do the same thing to our new 5th wheel when it arrives next month.

The squeegee looks like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00657SFPE...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[CLARKR4]

Brian
Thanks for the details. Did you find that it eliminated or just reduced the stone chips?
Rich

[bertschb]

...Did you find that it eliminated or just reduced the stone chips?

We didn't keep that 5th wheel long enough to find out!

[LegacyFB38]

1. You may find the ceramic coating makes bug removal easy easy enough.

2. Your idea to use Saran Wrap is not even close to wacky...it's a home brew paint protection film. Whether it will work well enough I have no clue, but conceptually it is a great idea! I used painters tape on the lower front section of my fiver this summer (mud flaps not installed yet) and it worked OK for 1000 miles round trip. It looked odd and started to peel off (rain), but cheap, fast, and did the job.

Expel Ultimate is REALLY good paint protection film. I had my Z06 Corvette completely wrapped. The film DEFINITELY helps prevents stone chips. If the area is smooth paint it will adhere extremely well. Money aside, if the surface is smooth, it would be an excellent choice. Consider it a permanent installation...it is very difficult to remove.

There are also temporary films. Track Armour is one. Folks who track cars and don'r want a film permanently use it (and other brands).

[grandseahawk]

I just picked up our rig yesterday and the dealer, in good faith, naturally tried to sell me extend warranties, internet service, and of course coatings...
The one they sell is the "Diamond X Ceramic Coating." It's not a bad product as I have been looking and researching at length on ceramic coatings and ceramic window films.
I'm just not willing to pay $4000.00 ($100 per linear foot) on something that costs $70 an bottle on Amazon (need 9 bottles for my RV) and 2 people a day to apply when I can do it myself on a weekend. Ceramic Coating are a proven heat repellent and there are lots of YouTube videos showing it's effectiveness. At my work, it's already in the paint on our fire engines and it works for sure... but it's a small fortune to have it applied in the paint. I do not see it as a very effective as a paint "protectant" for "physical" damage though.

There are detail shops that will apply a polymer coating between 1.5mil and 6mil which actually does provide physical protection. Those in my area all offers a 10 warrantee and will replace areas that get damaged by road debris for a nominal fee. It's the pretty much the same stuff you see advertising and business identifying on cars and trucks when the whole vehicle is wrapped. It can be colored, clear, letters, anything. I just had a bid come back for 4mil clear wrapping on all painted surface of my F450 Crew Cab... $6000.00!

I do plan on doing my 399TH with the Ceramic Coating and well ad the windows in ceramic film, and I like the idea of the preverbal "bra" on the nose so will look into that as well.

As for my original post... I applied one 18' wide strip of saran wrap on my nose-cone when I picked up my 399TH yesterday afternoon. It stayed on the entire 3 hour drive home in moderate Santa Ana Winds.

I'm going to do the Ceramic Coating and then try the Saran Wrap on the nose on a 6 hour trip we are planning in March.

I'll post the results.

[sc7903]

After a trip back from Florida (love bugs) I had a ceramic coating put on our unit, cleaning bugs off is easier. A little while after the coating was put on I decided to purchase a bugg banner for the front cap, and I am pleased with how it's protecting the cap from bugs when traveling and sun damage when in covered storage. The banner does not move or flap and I've not noticed any scuffs or damage. I have two banners, one while in storage and one for traveling. The one when stored has their log on it and the one I travel with is solid black. The one I use for storage takes the beating from the sun but it protects the decal.

The banner is a bit pricey, but I figured it was worth the cost to mitigate sun damage, remove the worry and time it takes to clean the cap after traveling. The folks at bugg banner are great to work with and are quick to respond to questions. I'd like the decal to be shown while traveling but when I arrive to our destination I simply remove the banner then put it back up on travel days.

[Jerryr]

Florida Love Bugs season is 2x each year, April-May and August-September, and it’s bad. Nothing works welll

I use Rejex on front cap of the trailer and front if the truck once a month during love bug season. It makes removing bugs easier but it still takes effort.

After a trip I use heavy water spray for 5 minutes which gets 90% off the a car and trailer with brush soaked in car wash soap on an extended pole to finish getting the bugs off.