Just found this video and must say that we had exactly the same issues when we used the Rock Tamers. We now use and are very happy with our Stone Stomper which has been on our caravan for a year now.
Yes isn't it funny that so many of us have had the exact same issue but according to some so much smarter than us, it mustt be user error 🙄 Stone Stompers are brilliant aren't they! 👍
I totally agree with you, I got the same setup on my Ford Ranger and after doing the same track as you guys, the back of my car was like someone had sand blasted it, I will never ever use this product again
Did anyone ask if you tilted the flaps inward as they recommended to prevent excess flapping upward/back and the change the angle of rock bounce ? Also, consider where this is made and used. We in America generally do not haul our trailers fast over dirt roads as generally there’s not a lot of flat dirt and gravel straightaways like you have. So the product might not be made for your needs but obviously the rock stomper is. I think the rock tamers are mostly for paved highway use.
Yes we spoke with rock tamer at length about trouble shooting etc. We agree these are definitely not made for Australian outback dirt roads (even though our adv speed was only 40 - 60 kmph on this road that did all the damage. ). I'm sure they're good for tarmac roads so it's disappointing that they're markerted in Australia for Australian conditions but are clearly not fit for purpose here.
We believe this is a FB myth. These are a mesh insert, my husband has a mechanical background & finds it difficult to understand how the diff could overheat with air flowing from the front 👍That's the least of the worries for this particular product anyway 😄
Im researching this product at the moment, it looks like you didn't rotate them up enough, they're not supposed to hang straight down, they're supposed to have a curve in them. Did you ever try that? Seems most people don't know this.
As we've said to many replies, we had been in contact with Rock Tamers direct, spoke with them about the problems, supplied pics, videos and measurements. They acknowledged that we had everything fitted correctly and within their measurement specifications, that they issued us with a full refund. So I'm guessing the manufacturer of this product know what they are talking about, and found that it was not user error.
Well I guess I’m not the only person that has been through that as well I had a set of rock tamer’s on my Ranger and I brought a new Olympic caravan and it was 4 months old when went across the plenty highway and just destroyed the whole front of my van plus broke the tap off the front and broke all the water pipes underneath the van it caved in the front of my van and the rock tamer’s did not help in anyway at all, when I returned back to my home in Hervey Bay I was so disappointed and disgusted looking at my van I just took it to my caravan dealer and traded it in on another new van I just couldn’t believe the damage and so embarrassed to look at the van I just had to get it out of my sight Rock Tamer’s Do NOT work I then purchased a stone Stomper and not one mark or chip on my van at all and travel off road regularly and on stony and rocky roads doing my caretaking on large remote properties best thing I have ever put on my vehicles go the Stone Stomper 👍🍻🇦🇺
Well said I reckon, I have watched all types of video from A frame on van on crap roads and I agree Stone stomper is the best of the bunch. But still I get a few kilos of small rocks in the stomper but very easy to just dump on the floor when off for a cuppa.
I can see what your issue is here and the blame comes back to how you have fitted them. These flaps are not designed to hang vertical from the mounting pole. There is supposed to be an arc in the mud flap at rest. This means you can have the flaps longer without dragging them, it also angles the stones back down towards the ground. Finally you made no mention of the pace you were setting and to have stones accumulating in those battery cases I could only assume you were go8ng pretty quick. Maybe slow down to around 80 instead of trying to sit on hiway speeds. Where I doubt any system will be able to be 100% infallible at that sort of pace.
Refer to previous comments as I'm not going through this again & again for people who think they know everything but don't care to read all the facts. If you had bothered to scroll through other comments, you would have also read that we were going on averages between 40km & 60km MAX! If you know anything about that road & the changes on that road, you would understand this. I don't need to sit here justifying our speeds to you when I know full well what we were doing & Rock Tamers were aware.
😢 Thanks for the video, we have had exactly the same damage and stone buildup. We have travelled approximately 40,000 klms and would never recommend the Rock Tamer.
It might just be the angle in your vid but it looks like your mud flaps are too far off the ground by a decent margin. The manual says 75 to 100 mm. They have to be low and wide (wider than the edge of your tyres) to work at their best. My RTs work very well and I'll be doing the Oodnadatta in a few weeks on the way to some remote places but I've been over rougher roads. Sorry to see the damage to your van, it's quite significant.
Yes they're sitting at 80mm off the ground so well within the specs & definitely protude past the profile. If they were any lower they'd drag on the ground in most cases (the pictures are deceiving). The company are also trying to tell me they're too high but as mentioned, they're measured within their specs. (They're also trying to tell me it's not RT centre mesh but it most definitely is & was sold in their packaging 🤷♀️) I'd be very interested to see how you go after doing Oodnadatta, I've been tagged in someone else from 5 months ago who also did the Oodnadatta after fitting RT & their van was also pummelled with damage. (Although they didn't have the centre mesh like we do)
@@familytrippersozstyle6255 yep, fair enough! I'll let you know how I go. We'll be touring around for 6 weeks so I should have a good idea of what's happening with the RTs by then.
@@familytrippersozstyle6255 yes I do. I'm also going to attach extensions to the rear of my D-Max mud flaps. I think they'll go a long way to stopping stones even getting to the Rock Tamers. Your video has scared me! 😱
Oh no, so disappointing, at least nothing has broken so far, you dont know until you try these things, try not to dwell on it, enjoy the rest of your trip guys.
Yeah true , there's still a lot of work to be done to fix the damage. So annoyed when you pay good money for something, you expect it to do what it says! I'm definitely not letting it put a dampner on the holiday though!
Yes, they’re rubbish. Had them fitted to our Cruiser and all they did was increase fuel consumption and transmission temperature, whilst bouncing rocks back up onto the paintwork and allowing the other rocks bounce up onto the van. Just useless.
The bars should be at its highest to stop stones breaching between bumper and the stone stomper. Also the canvas flaps should be tilted back 30degrees lifting them above the ground. Everytime you hit a whoops and the back of car went down these would hit the ground spraying up the stones and gravel. Plus they should be out winder than the car. I got a 6wheeler which sprays dedri like a freight train and I have done a fair bit of outback roads and never once had your damage. Another thing you could do is make your own stone stomper attached to the rock tamer bars with buggy cord. Get the mesh from bunnings. Stone stompers are no good on muddy tracks as they end up sacking under the weight of the mud. I can send you a mod I made to mine with a self made stone stomper because I couldn't wait 8weeks for them to be delivered. Do you have a Facebook page?
@beanys6x4adventures92 the bars are at their highest point, they are wider than the car & they don't hit the ground. You also shouldn't have to buy extra ad on's to a fully kitted product to make it effective. As others have mentioned on this thread, they too have had exactly the damage we've incurred. The company clearly agree with our Fitment given they gave me a full refund after seeing all our photos & videos
Then use that refund and get the stone stompers just take em off if you hit mud otherwise they'll get damaged. I just couldn't wait 8weeks for a product to be sent to me.
That's exactly what we're doing. We had one on the old van & never had a problem with them, wish we had of stuck with them on this van!! It's worth the wait given the zero damage we had with them 👍
Just found this video and must say that we had exactly the same issues when we used the Rock Tamers. We now use and are very happy with our Stone Stomper which has been on our caravan for a year now.
Yes isn't it funny that so many of us have had the exact same issue but according to some so much smarter than us, it mustt be user error 🙄 Stone Stompers are brilliant aren't they! 👍
I totally agree with you, I got the same setup on my Ford Ranger and after doing the same track as you guys, the back of my car was like someone had sand blasted it, I will never ever use this product again
Gee, can't believe they can sell them with so many damaged!!
Did anyone ask if you tilted the flaps inward as they recommended to prevent excess flapping upward/back and the change the angle of rock bounce ? Also, consider where this is made and used. We in America generally do not haul our trailers fast over dirt roads as generally there’s not a lot of flat dirt and gravel straightaways like you have. So the product might not be made for your needs but obviously the rock stomper is. I think the rock tamers are mostly for paved highway use.
Yes we spoke with rock tamer at length about trouble shooting etc. We agree these are definitely not made for Australian outback dirt roads (even though our adv speed was only 40 - 60 kmph on this road that did all the damage. ). I'm sure they're good for tarmac roads so it's disappointing that they're markerted in Australia for Australian conditions but are clearly not fit for purpose here.
I have also heard if you block the airflow across the back of the car you can over heat the diff
We believe this is a FB myth. These are a mesh insert, my husband has a mechanical background & finds it difficult to understand how the diff could overheat with air flowing from the front 👍That's the least of the worries for this particular product anyway 😄
Im researching this product at the moment, it looks like you didn't rotate them up enough, they're not supposed to hang straight down, they're supposed to have a curve in them. Did you ever try that? Seems most people don't know this.
As we've said to many replies, we had been in contact with Rock Tamers direct, spoke with them about the problems, supplied pics, videos and measurements. They acknowledged that we had everything fitted correctly and within their measurement specifications, that they issued us with a full refund. So I'm guessing the manufacturer of this product know what they are talking about, and found that it was not user error.
Sorry to learn of your experience. I was undecided between rock tamers or stone stomper, after this it’s a no brainer. Thanks for your honest review
You're most welcome 👌
Well I guess I’m not the only person that has been through that as well I had a set of rock tamer’s on my Ranger and I brought a new Olympic caravan and it was 4 months old when went across the plenty highway and just destroyed the whole front of my van plus broke the tap off the front and broke all the water pipes underneath the van it caved in the front of my van and the rock tamer’s did not help in anyway at all, when I returned back to my home in Hervey Bay I was so disappointed and disgusted looking at my van I just took it to my caravan dealer and traded it in on another new van I just couldn’t believe the damage and so embarrassed to look at the van I just had to get it out of my sight Rock Tamer’s Do NOT work I then purchased a stone Stomper and not one mark or chip on my van at all and travel off road regularly and on stony and rocky roads doing my caretaking on large remote properties best thing I have ever put on my vehicles go the Stone Stomper 👍🍻🇦🇺
Wow!!! How utterly disgraceful!!
Well said I reckon, I have watched all types of video from A frame on van on crap roads and I agree Stone stomper is the best of the bunch. But still I get a few kilos of small rocks in the stomper but very easy to just dump on the floor when off for a cuppa.
Thank you for that! Glad to see common sense prevails 👍
I can see what your issue is here and the blame comes back to how you have fitted them. These flaps are not designed to hang vertical from the mounting pole. There is supposed to be an arc in the mud flap at rest. This means you can have the flaps longer without dragging them, it also angles the stones back down towards the ground. Finally you made no mention of the pace you were setting and to have stones accumulating in those battery cases I could only assume you were go8ng pretty quick. Maybe slow down to around 80 instead of trying to sit on hiway speeds. Where I doubt any system will be able to be 100% infallible at that sort of pace.
Refer to previous comments as I'm not going through this again & again for people who think they know everything but don't care to read all the facts. If you had bothered to scroll through other comments, you would have also read that we were going on averages between 40km & 60km MAX! If you know anything about that road & the changes on that road, you would understand this. I don't need to sit here justifying our speeds to you when I know full well what we were doing & Rock Tamers were aware.
@@familytrippersozstyle6255
😢 Thanks for the video, we have had exactly the same damage and stone buildup. We have travelled approximately 40,000 klms and would never recommend the Rock Tamer.
Oh wow!! So sorry to hear about your damage but how interesting to hear it's not just us!
It might just be the angle in your vid but it looks like your mud flaps are too far off the ground by a decent margin. The manual says 75 to 100 mm. They have to be low and wide (wider than the edge of your tyres) to work at their best. My RTs work very well and I'll be doing the Oodnadatta in a few weeks on the way to some remote places but I've been over rougher roads. Sorry to see the damage to your van, it's quite significant.
Yes they're sitting at 80mm off the ground so well within the specs & definitely protude past the profile. If they were any lower they'd drag on the ground in most cases (the pictures are deceiving). The company are also trying to tell me they're too high but as mentioned, they're measured within their specs. (They're also trying to tell me it's not RT centre mesh but it most definitely is & was sold in their packaging 🤷♀️) I'd be very interested to see how you go after doing Oodnadatta, I've been tagged in someone else from 5 months ago who also did the Oodnadatta after fitting RT & their van was also pummelled with damage. (Although they didn't have the centre mesh like we do)
Plus as you see in the video, the jockey wheel is down on the van as we'd pulled up for the night so the video isn't showing the true heigh of them 👍
@@familytrippersozstyle6255 yep, fair enough! I'll let you know how I go. We'll be touring around for 6 weeks so I should have a good idea of what's happening with the RTs by then.
@@longstraightlines6747 do you also have the mesh insert?
@@familytrippersozstyle6255 yes I do. I'm also going to attach extensions to the rear of my D-Max mud flaps. I think they'll go a long way to stopping stones even getting to the Rock Tamers. Your video has scared me! 😱
great review, those fly's are ruff. thanks for posting
Your most welcome 👍
You haven’t fitted them properly, there needs to be a curve in the rubber, not hanging straight down. Correct installation will fix this
I'm not going into this AGAIN - refer back to all previous comments 🙄
What sort of speeds were you sitting on? 60-80? Cheers
@@mjhmech4903 40 -60, nothing higher was possible with the road conditions & towing
@@familytrippersozstyle6255 Yeah ok, wow! Thanks for reply👌
You cut them too high off the ground. I have them and they helped tremendously and only gave them 1.5 inch clearnace.
As per my previous comments they were not cut too high, they were cut exactly to the companies recommendations
My wife works for stone stompers, and they do a quality product.
Yes it's brilliant, we loved it! Can't wait to get another for our new van!
Oh no, so disappointing, at least nothing has broken so far, you dont know until you try these things, try not to dwell on it, enjoy the rest of your trip guys.
Yeah true , there's still a lot of work to be done to fix the damage. So annoyed when you pay good money for something, you expect it to do what it says! I'm definitely not letting it put a dampner on the holiday though!
Add a stone stomper to the rock tamer. Then it wont fill with mud.
Neither are a perfect solution.
Now that may be the go!
Yes, they’re rubbish. Had them fitted to our Cruiser and all they did was increase fuel consumption and transmission temperature, whilst bouncing rocks back up onto the paintwork and allowing the other rocks bounce up onto the van. Just useless.
Agreed!
You installed them incorrectly
How so?
The bars should be at its highest to stop stones breaching between bumper and the stone stomper. Also the canvas flaps should be tilted back 30degrees lifting them above the ground. Everytime you hit a whoops and the back of car went down these would hit the ground spraying up the stones and gravel. Plus they should be out winder than the car. I got a 6wheeler which sprays dedri like a freight train and I have done a fair bit of outback roads and never once had your damage. Another thing you could do is make your own stone stomper attached to the rock tamer bars with buggy cord. Get the mesh from bunnings. Stone stompers are no good on muddy tracks as they end up sacking under the weight of the mud.
I can send you a mod I made to mine with a self made stone stomper because I couldn't wait 8weeks for them to be delivered. Do you have a Facebook page?
@beanys6x4adventures92 the bars are at their highest point, they are wider than the car & they don't hit the ground. You also shouldn't have to buy extra ad on's to a fully kitted product to make it effective. As others have mentioned on this thread, they too have had exactly the damage we've incurred. The company clearly agree with our Fitment given they gave me a full refund after seeing all our photos & videos
Then use that refund and get the stone stompers just take em off if you hit mud otherwise they'll get damaged. I just couldn't wait 8weeks for a product to be sent to me.
That's exactly what we're doing. We had one on the old van & never had a problem with them, wish we had of stuck with them on this van!! It's worth the wait given the zero damage we had with them 👍
If you don't want stone damage then don't drive on dirt roads!
Hmmmm, or, get a stone stomper which we know actually works... thanks for your input !!