Thank God for duct tape

---

On the drive from Forbes to Dubbo we were in the town of Parks when we received a call on the CB radio that the stone cover on our caravan front window had come undone. We pulled over as soon as possible and to our horror found that the catch was missing and the stone guard was completely loose. The stone shield had also developed two small tears in the fiberglass – one on each side. Greg climbed up onto the “A frame” as massive semi trailers rushed past only four feet from the side of our van – certainly not a time to fall backward!



To our amazement the locking mechanism was wedged in the top of the stone guard, between the two top hinges. Closer inspection showed that it was missing the locking “tongue” and the fixing screw. Greg checked the mesh that we have fitted under our “A frame” and amazingly both the tongue and the screw were sitting on the mesh. Just as well that we have fairly fine mesh – anything bigger and they would have fallen through.



With all the components to hand the locking mechanism was reassembled and tightened up. We were able to head off again, not quite believing how this had turned out.



Some distance down the road we noticed that the two bottom corners of the stone shield were flapping. That would explain why the locking mechanism had worked its way loose and also why the stone shield had developed the two small tears. Again we pulled over but this time we used a small town that gave us plenty of space. Out came the trusty duct tape. With duct tape reinforcing in place we headed off and this time we could see that the stone shield was held in place firmly. Thank God for duct tape!

Obviously more permanent repairs are needed but the duct tape should give us the time we need.

---

Photos

Thank God for duct tape!
Holding our stone shield firmly in place.