any way to mitigate windshield chips

[nomnom]

Two words, Following Distance.

I have a 2017 Ford F-250 with original glass. My wife's Explorer was bought the same day in November of 2017. She has probably replaced her's 5 times now. When I ride with her, she is too close to the car in front of her. No issues with my Bronco windshield yet...

Mostly, but there are off-chance chips. My first chip came on a highway when I just passed a car in the left lane, no cars ahead of us for at least 50 feet, then it hit. Can only assume it came from the opposite side of the highway.

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[orion]

Mostly, but there are off-chance chips. My first chip came on a highway when I just passed a car in the left lane, no cars ahead of us for at least 50 feet, then it hit. Can only assume it came from the opposite side of the highway.

True! I was in my work truck and no cars in front of me for at least a quarter mile and whack, a rock the size of a large marble hit the windshield. Still dumbfounded on that one...

I still believe that most rock hits to the windshield is primarily from driving too close to the cars ahead...

 

[BigFootie]

I really try to avoid following too closely to dump trucks or other vehicles with rocks and dirt etc from being off road. Guess that includes Bronco’s but for some reason I seem to be attracted to those!

 

[Fly2Win]

Got my first chip not ten minutes after picking it up when a soccer mom blew by me at 60+ in a 40 construction zone…

EXO Shield sounds interesting.

 

[tn3sport]

Ford sells a "day of purchase" glass warranty. Its not part of their Premium Care. Its a separate policy. Free replacement for 7 years.
Not sure if there is a way to mitigate the actual day to day driving damage. But, there is a way to mitigate the cost of replacement. Sounds like glass chips and cracks are a forgone conclusion... (They were on my Jeep)

Things I'll need to consider:
- Price of the Ford Glass Warranty
- versus my insurance deductible
- versus the cash price for a Bronco windshield (hearing about $900)
- versus what my state insurance policy is. (When I was a youth in Florida, windshield replacement had zero deductible. The Florida Insurance Regulatory Agency mandated that a broken windshield was a safety issue and must be repaired for zero cost. I think that law has since changed and I don't live in Floridah any longer...)


The roads around me are what's called Chipseal. Even nice Sunday drives like the Blue Ridge Parkway are chipseal or chipfog, et al. You can have rocks launched at you from traffic going in either direction. Yes, tires can pickup a rock and throw it forward on the rotation of the tire. Give wide tired mall-crawler redneck trucks plenty of space as their fenders don't completely cover their tires.

 

[RainbowStix]

Try not to be behind semis/lifted/dirty trucks especially without flaps. Try not to be behind anybody near or at an OHV area. If you must be behind someone in either situation, don’t follow close.

 

[SasquatchMansquatch]

i'm adding the deflector. it's been give or take on how effective it really is, assume it helps a little.

exoshield is probably the best option.

haven't heard of anything else.

I bought a diy kit from www.grab-gard.com. Took me under and hour to put it on.

Another guy on here was saying his exoshield started to fail after only 6 months, so I'm glad I didn't go with that.

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