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Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 12/3/2021

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I think how much muck gathers and how many bugs splatter on the front of your van is heavily dependent on the tow vehicle. My car, a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso with it's high roof line and squarish back end, seems to provide a surprising amount of protection for my 4 berth conventional caravan, a few bug splatters at the roof line of van seems to be as bad as it gets. In that circumstance, a towing cover would be far more trouble than it's worth, especially for me, having to fit/remove it on my own.

A different tow car would almost certainly demonstrate different characteristics and may offer less protection. But it's all about the air slipstream over the tow car more than the actual shape of the vehicle, and that is not something you can easily pre-judge. Some vehicles will undoubtedly gather every bit of muck and bug in the vicinity and dump it all on the front of your van!

One issue I see with a cover is that both the van and cover have to be impeccably clean before fitting cover, otherwise you risk gritty dirt abrasion damage from cover movement under slipstream air pressure, any 'chattering' or flapping of the cover would obviously be the worst scenario.

Like most choices, there are pros and cons, and other people's experiences are no better than an insight, not necessarily absolute guidance. IMHO, I'd try towing the van a few times to assess just how bad it gets, unless you already know it gets covered, and then judge whether a cover is of any worth. I'd say the vast majority of caravanners don't bother, 3 of my friends with vans don't use a cover, but they've all got estate type tow cars, which may have the same effect as my car.

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