Poll: Bug deflectors and rain deflectors

+1

We have a "show your guns" thread.
On FSC, one of the mods renamed their thread to "The Come and steal my handgun Thread"

 

The channel/vent visors are nice in the rain. In 1st gens having the window down even 1" in the rain earns you a wet left arm and thigh. The value and lifespan of exterior accessories depends on how seriously you wheel your truck. Mine got broken and torn off by brush and branches years ago, along with the stock fender flares that came in my truck. If you run narrow trails, anything that's not welded on ends up as trail debris.

 

It's no better on the 2nd Gen.

 

Have AVS both places and I like them but then again I'm and old fart!!

 

I guess I'm an old fart also....AVS bug deflector and in channel visors. They work for me....and I think they look good.

 

I had a bug deflector on since new and removed it about 6 months ago. Already, I have 3-4 rock chips on the leading edge. Oh well...stick on rain deflectors are working great!

 

I got the weather tech window visor. Being in Florida it is GREAT! You can leave the window cracked open while parked in the sun and it is not as hot as being closed. Together with a sun shield it really is lot more cooler. Weather tech in channel is the way to go. Pricey but worth it.

 

Its because it draws attention and makes it easier to get in to steal things.

Not that its hard, or that if they want in they wont get in, but it helps in certain situations.

If you say, have you truck parked at the mall and you have your windows cracked.. If it was someone preying on cars in the lot, they see your window down from a distance.. Now they KNOW they have an easy opportunity.

With someone who has done it before, or knows what they are doing a 1 inch crack in your window means they can unlock and get in, in a matter of seconds without and damage, or noise they can be in.

And if you think bystanders will help, dont count on it. I drove up in front of a group of 20-30 people in my tacoma, who stool there and watched me. at about 1 am parked next to a mazda 626 with my truck running, walked around the car with a flashlight looking in the windows etc and then broke into it, and rummaged through it for 2-3 minutes. got back in my tacoma, and parked it right next to the group of people. Parked it, got out and went in the bar. Not a single person said a word, they talked about it to themselves etc but nobody cared or even asked. It was my friends car, and she had called me because she locked herself out of it. But i was amazed that not a single person gave a shit, i asked if she might have mentioned it or if they would have known and she didnt tell anyone or anything. I could not have made it look any less suspicious, or shady. I even used the antenna of the car to do it. People suck.

 

Not really a deterrent or protection, except opportunity grabs. I wouldn't buy them for that express purpose.

 

They really have to be looking to see that the windows are down. the visors hang down about 1.5 inches and are only half an inch off the wondow(my in-channel visors are pretty close the the window). i ususaly leave my windows at least a half inch down and you cant tell by looking through the tinted vent visors. never had a problem in 10 years

 

Both and love em. My brother in law gave me a set of the window visors for my old truck and shortly after a bug deflector. I didn't have my Tacoma a week before I had them for it.

 

Agreed. It makes a WAAAAAY easier target.

 

I know I need to use up at least a couple full tanks of gas but it seems like since taking my bug deflector off I've gained at least a couple mpg's. Right now I'm at 180 miles and half a tank, usually I'm around 150 at 1/2 tank.

 

You might be on to something. Your mileage with it on sounds like what I get. Keep us posted.

 

I put on a bug deflector when I first bought the truck in 1999. After three or four wheeling trips it fell off on the trail and I ran it over. I never thought much of the rain deflectors, but I suspect they might have been cracked and busted off in similar fashion due to brushy 4x4.

 

I had a bug deflector on my 1st gen. As soon as I got my second gen I ordered one and put it on. Its not about the looks but it is about how it keeps rocks and such from scratching the hood. If you look at my fiance's hood with never having a deflector it is looks like the moons surface with craters. I try to keep my vehicles clean and try and wash and wax hers as often as possible to keep them both clean.

 

REALLY! Wether you like it or not if they choose to break in your vehicle, they would and nothing will stop them crooks. Windows cracked open or not. Okay, let's define cracked open for you folks. If you apply common sense, it will be half an inch to an inch. You would only crack it enough to let hot air to flow through and not be trapped to get the interior too hot when you initially get in. Now, no common sense will crack it below the visor and visible from a distance to invite crooks to break in. So common sense has to apply in this case. Why do we call it common sense when it is not really common?

 

Personally, I would consider the bug deflector for the functionality.

The rain-thingies, also nice, except I have horror stories leaving the windows cracked. I would get yellow-jacket wasps in my car with the windows cracked every now and then. They usually eventually made their way to the front or back window and died there. One time, one smarter wasp found its way into some sweater I had in the backseat. Naturally, it was cold one morning or I felt like putting on said sweater, etc. I'm half-way to work, driving for 20-30 minutes, when I feel the sting on my hand as I was shifting gears or something. Freaked me the hell out. I smashed it best I could, but it was still moving. Pulled into a parking lot and tried to find it and make sure it was deader. My hand stung the whole day and I reacted a bit more harshly to any yellow-jackets I saw in the next few weeks.

With all that said, I will gladly leave my windows cracked if I also have a screen for the length of the crack. That would require a bit of custom fab to make it look clean. With all the added effort involved, I may as well make said rain-guards from the ground up; maybe out of carbon fiber even! But why go through the effort for rain-guards? Maybe some day!

 

Thats the point. Its not going to stop anyone it just hides the fact that the windows are cracked so it gets slightly less attention than if the windows were cracked without visors.