Dont leave home without the contact and duct tape

Submitted: Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 09:52
ThreadID: 97228 Views:3209 Replies:11 FollowUps:5
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Whilst traveling the Birdsville Track, a stone bounced of our trailer and completely shattered the back window of our cruiser. As soon as it happened we covered the window with a roll of clear contact and duct taped around the edges. Forty two days and 10,600kms later which included thumping and bumping over the QAA line (where our companions broke a sway bar on their trailer) and Hay River Track, lots of shaking and bouncing over corrigations on the Binns track, Savannah Way, Kakadu, Cape Leveque Rd, to name a few, we arrived home with the window still in place!
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Reply By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 10:15

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 10:15
Hi Geoff

That was a real pity that you had that trouble.

Even though you were prepared, it is general knowledge that with any trip towing on dirt roads, a piece of cardboard over the back window will stop this happening. You will be surprised the number of vehicles we have come across over the years and had not taken any precautions and suffered the same fate as you.

All the best and you would have had a great trip.


Cheers



Stephen
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AnswerID: 492149

Follow Up By: Member - Joe n Mel n kids (FNQ - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 12:15

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 12:15
we lost count of the amount of cars we saw with broken back windows and that was just in the 1 trip, it was an eye opener for us, at one stage it was probally every 3-4th vehicle that was smashed, most were in and "around" Birdsville for the races ................

Cheers
Joe
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FollowupID: 767801

Reply By: Member - cuffs (SA) - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 10:28

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 10:28
Same thing happened to us, on the Birdsville Track, wrapped the window with glad wrap and duck tape, we had the rear window on the Parado replaced in Longreach. After that the lad listened to dad and covered the window with cardboard. Expensive lesson.

AnswerID: 492152

Reply By: pop2jocem - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 11:23

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 11:23
Apart from the usual tools and spares i always pack a couple of rolls of duct tape, some fencing wire, several largish plastic bags and a selection of zip ties. It's amazing what you can cobble together to get yourself out of a sticky (pardon the pun) situation using these common articles and a large plastic bag (garbage bag) with three holes cut for your head and arms makes a pretty good makeshift rain coat.

Cheers
Pop
AnswerID: 492154

Reply By: Member - John and Val - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 12:37

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 12:37
Some clear polycarbonate sheeting from Bunnings, cut to size and taped on works for us. Make sure to tape all around so dust does not get in, and then you can still see through the rear window.

Cheers,

Val.
J and V
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AnswerID: 492160

Follow Up By: Member - Wamuranman - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 12:41

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 12:41
Yes that is the best option...cardboard is no good if it gets wet from overnight dew or rain.
For about $8 you can get a piece of Corflute (what for sale signs are made from) from bunnings...cut it to shape and reuse over and over again when on gravel roads.
Cheers
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FollowupID: 767804

Follow Up By: Member - Tony Z (NSW) - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 18:15

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 18:15
As said by Wamuranman. We are getting ready for a trip and have fixed velcro to the rear window and the Corflute and carry it in the vehicle and fit it for the short dirt road trips (reusable) and when we get on the long dirt trips we will tape up around the edges.
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FollowupID: 767817

Follow Up By: Member - ACD 1 - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 19:58

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 19:58
Hey Geoff - Clear poly carb worked a treat on my trip on the Gunbarrel last week. I velcro'd mine on and they didn't move.

One suggestion - get a couple of those little clear rubber stick on spots and put in the middle of each window first. If the poly carb touches the window, the fine dust will act like sandpaper and scratch $&!@ out of you windows.

Cheers
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FollowupID: 767831

Reply By: ChrisK - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 13:41

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 13:41
Geoff,
If you plan to continue to travel off road it may be worth your while looking at a product called a "rear window saver" Loon them up in google and have a chat with Jeff.
AnswerID: 492162

Reply By: J.T. - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 15:41

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 15:41
Driving through near Gascoyne junction we had a large rock bounce off the trailer and actually sconed the dog in the melon, who was sitting in the back of the Prado.

We'd driven about 300kms off road, had a cup of tea then drove off and the wife said, Do you reckon we should tape the.... Bloody big bang.

Had half a roll of insulation tape and a big green rubbish bag and limped into Carnarvon.

Insurance covered the rear screen luckily because it was $1,100. We've learned our lesson!
AnswerID: 492168

Reply By: bluefella - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 17:45

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 17:45
g'day Geoff
bit of good quality polycarb sheet ,cut to size stuck to rear screen in about 10 positions with an industrial quality double lock adhesive velcro,can be removed easily and stored in the vehicle if not needed,when no longer needed warm up the velcro on the window with the bosses hair dryier,peel it off .
cheers
Blue
AnswerID: 492174

Reply By: rusti2 - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 19:25

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 19:25
how do you think we will go in our colorado with no canopy,is our rear window in danger,towing a camper with stoneguard and mudflaps,thanks
AnswerID: 492183

Reply By: Member - 2000 Red Rodeo - Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 23:30

Friday, Aug 03, 2012 at 23:30
The same rocks that hit the rear window from ct also hit oncoming cars if you don't slow down. It's amazing how many ct's we have had coming our way that have showered us in rocks.

On our first outback trip we got 5 stone chips all caused by oncoming ct's who wouldn't slow down for oncoming traffic. Now I get right of the road and stop when I see them coming.
AnswerID: 492207

Reply By: Member - Geoff B (WA) - Saturday, Aug 04, 2012 at 09:46

Saturday, Aug 04, 2012 at 09:46
Thanks everybody for your replies. We will certainly be covering up next time. We also saw quite a few other cars with boken windows on this trip and noticed alot of cars with the corflute attached with velcro. Seems to be the way to go.
Sue
AnswerID: 492216

Reply By: The Bantam - Saturday, Aug 04, 2012 at 12:30

Saturday, Aug 04, 2012 at 12:30
One thing that seems to have gone out of fashon with laminated screens is stone guards......they seem to have gone the way of the sunvisor.

Back in the 60's my old man made a roll up stone guard form fly screen for the morris oxford that strapped between the sunvisor and the vent grill and arround the pillar.

Remember in the 60's and 70's a simple picnic outing ment driving on dirt roads for significant distances and at speed...hell some of our major highways where unsealed.

Not so long ago it was common to see mesh stone guards on the front of cars up the country and on the fronts of caravan rigs.

I even remember a friend of ours having a moulded perspex stone guard for his mini that stuck on with suction cups

Perhaps thay are not such a bad idea.

A laminated screen may not smash from a simgle rock like the old zone tuffened screens, but a decent sized rock will still cost you a replacement

One thing that might be worth investigating for the rear screen is security film.

I sold a bit of this stuff back in the 90's.
It is appied to the inside of the glass and is like realy heavy window tint.
I sold a product called "profelon" but 3M had a similar product.

The heavier profelon stuff was very impressive, it made ordinary window glass almost unsmachable......if ya took to it with a pick, it would poke a hole in it but the remaining payne would stay in tact.

It made even ordinary glass very much stronger and very much harder to damage......
It came in clear and tints.

cheers
AnswerID: 492225

Follow Up By: Member - Gordon T (NSW) - Saturday, Aug 04, 2012 at 16:37

Saturday, Aug 04, 2012 at 16:37
Don't bet on modern laminated screens being immune to small stones. I have done front screens on a sealed highway from small blue metal stones no larger than a 5c piece round. My current vehicle has numerous chips from conventional highway travel and the problem is if these are not attended to they can become cracks right across the screen.
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FollowupID: 767894

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