By Greg Illes
As we prepared for our Alaska trip, we read many warnings about damage caused by flying rocks. Having traveled thousands of miles of dirt roads in the Desert Southwest, we are no strangers to road hazards. But this time, the hazards were to come from other vehicles tossing stones up off the roadway. How could we protect our RV’s headlights?
One of the most vulnerable spots on our coach is the quad headlight installation, which consists of expensive, and difficult to replace, Hella halogen units. Chipping or breaking one of these puppies would be inconvenient, at best.
Fortunately, the solution was simple and inexpensive. These headlights are recessed, and mounted behind a rectangular bezel with four screws. All that was needed was to cut a clear plastic cover, remove the screws and re-secure everything with the cover in place.
Note that the best choice here is not just any acrylic plastic, but a sheet of Lexan (polycarbonate). Although Lexan is softer than acrylic, and will scratch easier, it is extremely tough and both crack- and shatter-resistant. In fact, you can actually cut a 1/16-inch-thick sheet of Lexan with tin snips. Try that with acrylic and you’ll end up with plastic shards in your lap. You can buy a small sheet of this stuff from your local plastic supply, or on Amazon.
If your headlight setup isn’t as convenient as mine, you may still be able to use other techniques to mount your “invisible protective shield.” Use some stiff paper to make a template, and when everything fits right, cut the plastic and drill your mounting holes using one of the special pointy plastic drills.
For areas with compound curves, new challenges arise. It’s possible, with patience, to heat the plastic and get a mild compound curve in it. This exercise is not for the faint of heart, and requires patience, practice and some spare material. For aggressive curves, you may need to use a two-piece or partial-coverage approach.
Note that you do NOT want to have the shield come in direct contact with your headlights, especially if they are plastic. This would cause chafing and marring and would have a very negative effect on your lighting. Always keep air between the shields and your lights. You’ll also want to use nylon washers under the screw heads to keep from stress-cracking the plastic. Also, be careful that you do not “seal” the covers over the headlights. Headlights can burn very hot and if the air can’t get to them they will heat up and burn out much quicker.
Measure and cut the shields, strip off the protective films, attach your new shields, and drive those rough byways with greater peace of mind.
Greg Illes is a retired systems engineer who loves thinking up RV upgrades and modifications. When he’s not working on his motorhome, he’s traveling in it.
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RVDT2728
Lexan can even be bent. We use to use it to make light shades. Holes were punched in it for the screws before bending.
Carry a spare.
Thanks sounds simple enough that even I and a few friends could do it. Maybe lol
Be very careful of what you do. On the Alaska Hwy I’ve seen windshields completely covered by cardboard save for two small 8″ X 12″ holes to see through or two three foot posts running up from a vehicle’s front corners with fine wire mesh strung between them. Many “rock saving” inventions can make your vehicle illegal to operate on the highway. If you’re too worried about a few rock chips then stay home. If you need to replace a headlight or windshield just consider that part of the cost of a wonderful trip along with the expense of gas, food and camping fees. For peace of mind you might ensure you have glass insurance before you go which you could always cancel once you get home .
Great advice, Impavid! The Alaska Highway had far more gravel sections this year than we saw in 2019. Going slow helps save one’s suspension, but doesn’t do much to prevent rock chips. As you say, rock chips (maybe even a few tears in the fiberglass if a moose happens to hit you) are part and parcel of the trip, just as carrying spare parts. Safe travels!
Thank you for this oldie, but goodie, RV travel! We made a lot of preparation to travel to Alaska this spring. Unfortunately, this was not something that works with our rig. Have a great day and safe travels!
There is – or used to be – a wire mesh screen you could install over the square sealed beam headlites. (About the same style as used on furnace vents). No overheat problems with them. They may no longer be available with the new liting systems. Maybe on EBay?
This might help?
Also available via Amazon.
https://lamin-x.com/
Thanks, KGT. I added our Amazon code in there, in case anyone wants to order from it.👍 Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com