Rear Window Protectors...A new idea

G'day Willem
One day you'll get it right :-)
BTW - I notice that the elastic compresses the door rubber - have you taken into account possible dust ingress?
Cheers from the Moose

Brilliant Willie.

A real "Corn Flakes" solution.

Jim.

what was wrong with duct tape (gafferTape)

Willem,

Whilst probably not quite as cheap as your solution, I used this stuff called "3M Dual Lock" strips, which I cut into smaller pieces to 'spread' around the protectors edges. 2 x 4 week trips and no movement so far. Got the stuff from Bunnings. (is there one in Peterborough?) You could probably order it online?

This stuff is sort of like velcro but about a thousand times stronger. It's actually very hard to peel the protectors off. You have to do it very carefully so as to not break the polycarbonate.

Cheers,

Mark

G day Willem

Since I have got the Patrol, I have toyed with several Ideas...

My latest brain wave is to get a triple layer of shade cloth, and set it up like a stone deflector setup that's on our camper trailer.

Cheers mate

Bucky

Hi there Willem,

We got a tip from our mechanic.... we used an old 3" foam mattress and cut it into shapes that fit the windows and used race tape from Supercheap Auto. Now, I would have bet money that the tape would have either flapped off, or the sun would have softened the glue...... but it stayed in place for our trip to Birdsville & back! Downside is you can't see out the windows, but with the amount of stuff in the back of our truck, that certainly isn't an issue! It's visible in my pic below.

We pulled into Birdsville c/p and saw 5 rear windows busted! And numerous other people wished they had done what we had done!

Cheers


Brian

Why do the protectors have to be clear? Vision from the rear windscreen in any 4WD is always severely compromised anyway. The cheapest solution (very effective) is corrugated cardboard though if it rains it might be a problem. The one major plus is that its stiffness makes it easier to fix to the screen with initial use of the wiper blade and other security points added with tape. Also, you don't need to cover the back screen completely. You can leave a very small gap around the perimeter where you can stick tape to the glass and save damage to your paint work.

Why not make a good rock deflector (simple) out of shade cloth .

Then you will not have to stick stuff on your windows , the rear of your car will not be peppered by stones and you will be able to see through the rear window .

I towed my Trak Shak for thousands of miles on dirt roads with no damage to the back of the car .

Willie .

Ummm.......what Willie said, for me the most simplest, logical, permanent and effective way is a stone deflector on the trailer or van, mine is a home made job useing shade cloth and not one stone chip on the rear of my prado....although the shade cloth did get shredded on the last trip.....it does perish from exposure so best to keep an eye on it.

goodday willem
i have 1/2' thick felt cut to window shape and elastic to hold it in place works well

steve

Willem
How long have you been bashing about Australia....??? and it's taken you all that time to come up with a good idea,
You better put a Patent on it , ...lol

G'Day Willem,

There is only one solution mate...when this GQ dies go and buy a GQ ute with steel tray and canvas canopy. You've already said the wagon gets full of dust. Also a lot easier to set up shelves / beds / jerry can holders etc....plus increased payload.

Mind you you'll probably have to wait 10 years to kill your GQ wagon.... ;))

I am trying to build one - going to use suction cups.

They give you a bit of gap between window and polycarbonate and hopefully will be able to be taken off completely afterwards unlike the velcros.

The issue I had with the velcro option is the window ends up against the window and if a rock hit it would not the window still run the risk of damage. (a possible solution to this is to put some smaller cups on the window to push the poly out a bit )

My first option was the 3M stuff but could not find it any where. Also had trouble finding suction cups but found a place in Sydney - I ahve a life time supply now :) as you had to buy a bag of them.

I bought two types one has a double suction cup and seems fairly strong.

The problem is attaching then to the poly. I found a good whey by drilling two holes and connecting the holes using a jig saw. One hole bigger than the other - smaller one being the size of the neck of the suction cup. I found if I dropped the cups in hot water for a few seconds to soften them up it is fairly easy to push them through the larger hole, this is still in progress and not sure if will stay on.

One concern I do have is once I stick the thing on how to get the bloody things off.

If doesn't work an the 3M stuff is available i can always go that way.

Richard

Dearest Willem
Little Wes and are a bit worried about you. What the hec are you holding your undies up with now that the back window is protected?
Muzbry