Trillium Rock Guard Dimensions - Fiberglass RV
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Old 03-16-2015, 10:27 PM   #1
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Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
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Trillium Rock Guard Dimensions

There are a number of Trilliums that have lost their front rock guards. The cover over the front window that protects it from breakage, and driving rain, (literally). There are also people like me who would like a rock guard on the back window of the trailer. This would prevent the rear window from getting dirty, and help keep dust out of the trailer, I think.

To help in the construction of new rock guards, I present the following pictures of both a 1978 Trillium 4500 rock guard and a 1972 Trillium 1300 rock guard.

I suspect that before this is over, I will have drawn up both versions in AutoCAD.

First the 4500. The middle panel typically has the Trillium logo on it. Notice how all the aluminum is custom extrusions, and the corners are crimped. This design would be hard to copy.
Attached Thumbnails
1043 RG Vertical.jpg   1043 RG Horz.jpg  

1043 RG Aluminum Vertical.jpg   1043 RG Aluminum Horz.jpg  

1043 RG Filon Horz 01.jpg   1043 RG Filon Horz 02.jpg  

1043 RG Latch.jpg   1043 RG Support Arm 01.jpg  

1043 RG Support Arm 02.jpg   1043 RG Bottom Edge 01.jpg  

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Old 03-16-2015, 10:30 PM   #2
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Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
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More of the 4500 Rock Guard

Ten pictures per post.
Attached Thumbnails
1043 RG Bottom Edge 02.jpg   1043 RG Bottom Edge 03.jpg  

1043 RG Middle Vertical Inside 01.jpg   1043 RG Middle Vertical Inside 02.jpg  

1043 RG Upper Edge 01.jpg   1043 RG Upper Edge 04.jpg  

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Old 03-16-2015, 10:38 PM   #3
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1972 Trillium 1300 Rock Guard

While this design is in some ways more primitive, it is also built, in some ways, better. The support arms, and the latch system are, in my opinion, a better design on the older rock guards.

This rock guard uses much more standard materials, with less custom extrusions. It is all C channels, 90 deg angles and I beams. This would be the design to copy. Not many would notice the difference at a glance.
Attached Thumbnails
609 RG Vertical.jpg   609 RG Horz.jpg  

609 RG Aluminum Vertical.jpg   609 RG Aluminum Horz.jpg  

609 RG Bottom Edge 01.jpg   609 RG Bottom Edge 02.jpg  

609 RG Bottom Edge 03.jpg   609 RG Inside Hinge 01.jpg  

609 RG Latch 01.jpg   609 RG Latch 02.jpg  

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Old 03-16-2015, 10:40 PM   #4
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More of the 1300 Rock Guard

More Pictures.
Attached Thumbnails
609 RG Filon Horz 01.jpg   609 RG Filon Horz 02.jpg  

609 RG Middle Vertical Inside 02.jpg  
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Old 03-17-2015, 06:27 AM   #5
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Name: Glenn
Trailer: Trillium 1300
Georgia
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Thanks, David. That really sheds some light on how they were built.


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Old 03-17-2015, 08:50 AM   #6
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Name: Larry
Trailer: Trillium
Arizona
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Trillium 1300 Rock Guard Measurements

Hi Glen,

As usual David has great answers to Trillium questions.

Here are some measurements I took this morning off
my 1978 Trillium 1300 that might be useful?

Good Luck, Larry H
Attached Thumbnails
Rockguard1.jpg  
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Old 03-17-2015, 10:17 AM   #7
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Thanks Larry. Your rock guard looks brand new!

It got kinda cold last night. I hope to have the CAD drawings this weekend.

I also would like to figure out the hinge better. The bottom aluminum of the rock guard looks to be the same as the top. The whole thing seems to hinge on the screws that they put in the ends of the moving piece.
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Old 03-17-2015, 02:51 PM   #8
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Name: Claire
Trailer: 1978 Trillium 4500
British Columbia
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As you can see our rock guard was changed at some time. Though it looks like metal it is plastic. We were thinking of replacing it with metal sheeting or thin Diamond plate. What are you thoughts on that. We were wondering about metal and aluminum together.
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Old 03-17-2015, 02:55 PM   #9
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Name: Claire
Trailer: 1978 Trillium 4500
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This is a set up we saw in Tofino last summer. Unfortunately it was being stored and we were not able to talk to the owner as he was up the coast in a Kayak. Not sure what he does to protect it when traveling as it seemed permanent.
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Old 03-17-2015, 03:33 PM   #10
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Arizona
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Claire and David

Hi,

Aluminum diamond plate is available so you could get
away from dissimilar metals. Not as much light would enter
the trailer with an all metal awning.

I would not mount a solar panel on the front. It is just
asking for damage... it IS a rock guard. If I were to
'permanently' mount a solar panel I would fabricate
hardware to make the panel act as an awning for the rear
window so it would be out of the way for travel.
I would also make it removable so I could put the panel
on a longer wire to be able to have the trailer in the shade
with the panel in the direct sun.

David, when I got this Trillium about 6 years ago the
were a lot of glass fibers exposed on the front of the rock
guard. It was lightly sanded and then masked and sprayed
with several coats of clear polyurethane. However, the poly
has bubbled somewhat so I guess I should have found a
coating with UV inhibitors.

Regarding the hinge mechanism... Yes, it appears that the
screws do hold it in place but a lot of the stress is taken up
by the U-shaped part of the aluminum extrusion that makes
up the top part of the window frame. In all your Trilliums
has this ever failed? Maybe the hinge screw hole has enlarged?

Larry H
Attached Thumbnails
HingeScrew.jpg   HingeChannel.jpg  

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Old 03-17-2015, 05:04 PM   #11
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Name: Dave W
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Clair, The material that the rock guard panels are made of is called Filon:
FILON - Welcome to Filon Products
RV Filon Fiberglass siding - RV Parts Nation : RV Parts Nation
Smooth/Fibered Fiberglass - Siding
Crane Composites - Recreational Vehicles
http://www.factoryrvsurplus.com/prod...roduct_id=2122

I have looked high and low, the only place I see the imitation clapboard stuff is on old trailers. Nobody makes it any more.

In my minds design, I would love to put a solar cell in the rock guard, but it would have to flip, so the solar cell faced in, towards the window when traveling.
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Old 05-04-2015, 09:47 AM   #12
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Name: Claire
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Two questions in follow up
1. If we used the metal, as we are used to it being dark, our concern is reflection back into our mirrors when driving?
2. Would house siding be strong enough to withstand the air pressure when driving?
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Old 05-04-2015, 10:31 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Island Claire View Post
This is a set up we saw in Tofino last summer. Unfortunately it was being stored and we were not able to talk to the owner as he was up the coast in a Kayak. Not sure what he does to protect it when traveling as it seemed permanent.
This solar looks like what we have on our Lil Snoozy. They are used on sail boats where they are walked on. I have used both types (hard & semi-flexible) on the front of our trailers, and never had any problems....not even bugs hit them. We pulled with both a pick-up truck and a lifted Jeep Wrangler, so perhaps the shape of the tug blocked any flying objects.
Dave & Paula
Attached Thumbnails
DSC01213.jpg   DSC01214.jpg  

DSC01449.jpg   DSC01448.jpg  

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Old 05-04-2015, 10:47 AM   #14
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I don't see my rock guard in my side mirrors, but I drive a Savana travel van. I do however see it in my center mirror. I am sure that under rare circumstances it would reflect, but I would just adjust the mirror to not see it. The center mirror is a bit useless, unless I want to look at the rock guard on the trailer.

House siding is kinda flexible. Not sure how it would hold up.
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Old 06-15-2017, 04:04 PM   #15
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Name: Brad
Trailer: Shasta
New Mexico
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David: I noted your reference to The Rock Guard you made and the material list that you used. However, I went thru the list to try and find a manufacturer of the "corrugated" (for lack of a better word) fiberglass panels and I was not able to find any reference to them. Could you please help me. I have a 1976 Shasta that my wife and I are restoring as best as we can and I am striking out on the front window Rock Guard. I hope this is the proper way to leave a request and I am going to try to add a photo of the Rock Guard we are trying to replace. Thanks, Brad bfldroid@gmail.com
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