front end of 5er with diamond plate

f1100turbo · 08-31-2011, 08:37 PM

Just throwing this out there .....

Has anyone attached diamond plate on the front of there 5er to protect the lower portion of the unit from debris ?

Reason I ask is i live on a gravel rode with a half mile trip to the hi way .

Looking for suggestions to be able to keep my front from getting beat up. at least the aluminum I can polish .

Dont get me wrong I go super slow on the gravel but once on the hi way the rocks that have collected in my tires head for the camper at hi way speeds .

Ovair · 08-31-2011, 08:50 PM

My previous camper was a 5th wheel. It came with diamond plate from the factory. If I were to buy a trailer of some sort that did not have diamond plate, I would probably install it myself. It was a good idea.

**herk7769** · 08-31-2011, 09:25 PM

Just watch your pin weight.
That much metal up front goes right to the pin.
make sure you have enough Pin box capacity and truck payload capacity for that heavy a mod.

f1100turbo · 08-31-2011, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herk7769

Just watch your pin weight.
That much metal up front goes right to the pin.
make sure you have enough Pin box capacity and truck payload capacity for that heavy a mod.

Thought about that Herk but I was only going to run a strip just under the bay door . I have not measured it yet but would only be about the bottom 10" all the way across of 1/8" aluminum .
Went through a mud puddle while camping two weeks ago and thats all the further the mud spray was . It didn't even reach the bay door .

wingriders · 08-31-2011, 09:59 PM

I'm thinking the speed through the mud puddle was considerably slower than highway speed so the arc of the mud from your tires wasn't anywhere close to the arc of stones flying out of your tires at highway speeds.

My thoughts on how high up you're going with the diamond plate of only 10" isn't high enough.

flyrotor · 08-31-2011, 11:16 PM

Looking at my trailer the diamond plate was factory installed, it is 16" across the front, and there are still a few dings at 18 to 20" in the metal siding. (just below the light) Granted this is a travel trailer and yours is a 5th wheel, but it should help.

Also, there are several grades or thicknesses of diamond plate, you shouldn't need on that is too thick, you can reduce the weight by using a lighter plate and still accomplish what you are trying to.

youroo · 09-01-2011, 04:55 AM

Mud flaps on the truck that say (Back Off) with Sam & his pistols!

Youroo!!

Ovair · 09-01-2011, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyrotor

Also, there are several grades or thicknesses of diamond plate, you shouldn't need on that is too thick, you can reduce the weight by using a lighter plate and still accomplish what you are trying to.

Right! The diamond plate that came on my 5th wheel was about as thick as a cookie sheet. The whole piece across the front end might have weighed 15lbs max. It's just enough to add some durability and to make it easy to wash off.

Bama Rambler · 09-01-2011, 09:50 AM

I added diamond plate to the front of our TT and it makes a lot of difference. I used 1/16" and it's plenty rigid. The whole sheet weighed about 10 lbs.
It looks a whole lot better too IMO.