It's doable, if I can do it, anyone can do it.

[Hawkeyes3312]

Thanks for the tips!
I have a gas powered pressure washer with multiple nozzles - anything from cut the paint off or splinter wood to "just over water hose force - safe for kids" nozzles.
OUCH! I'd smile but that storm wasn't funny. We were IN IT. We were in Ames, an hour away from us, so we could pick up bird seed and go to a quilt shop up there (my wife makes thread catchers, the stores sell them, proceeds go to the food bank). The owner had the store closed on Mondays due to the virus stuff. We didn't read her newsletters! So Barbara called the owner, they chatted a bit - then the lady asked my wife where we were. We said - at the back of your store. The lady said LEAVE NOW! Find shelter! Don't even try to hit the road, you'll never make it.
So my wife hollered for me to put the roof panels back in and hit the road and go as fast as I could and not get caught or in an accident. We zipped to I35 south, I was passing anything and everything I could get around. At the east mix-master we hit I80 east, then the Altoona 65 bypass and headed south toward home. We got down to 163 and it hit like a WALL. Winds were CRAZY. I was pushing that JT hard. We got to our exit at the south side of Pleasant Hill, Vandalia Road, and the sky was BLACK - I mean SCARY BLACK - the wind had picked up plant life, all the dirt from the highway construction, road signs were flying by and being bend down or broken off. Big tree branches were flying across in front of us - some in the air, some on the road. My wife kept hollering WATCH OUT and here comes a branch across the road big enough to cause even a Jeep issues and I was swerving to miss the debris. I recalled the movie TWISTER and kept waiting for the cow or combine to come flying across in front of us - or the mean woman from Wizard of Oz on her bike.
I later found the winds hit a recorded 140 in some areas, our area was 70-80 or so, and my home town -2x4s slung through the air like darts - through outside walls to be imbedded into the interior walls of at least a couple of houses. We got home and I pushed the button to open the garage door - not working - crap, no electricity..........
We got power back early the next Friday (storm was Monday morning)

Anywho - thanks for the tips on the bug cleaning. When I took the JT to the dealership about the cracked windshield the guy had a product in a spray can he shot on the glass and the bugs, dirt, scum and all wiped right off!
But I'd rather prevent the mess - and what I can't prevent, a way to clean them.
Bug jerky ROFL - good one!

Wow, your story mimics every other one I've heard so far. I was in Iowa City getting the oil changed and tires rotated on the JT and was getting alerts on my phone. (Took them 2 freakin' hours!) so I was getting a little antsy as I could tell the weather was coming. I made it to Coralville exit off of 80 when it hit. Pitch black skies, winds were crazy blowing stuff everywhere. We're in temporary housing in N. Liberty until we close on our house in IC so I was racing to get back. Tractor trailers were flipping and rolling, debris of all sorts were like missiles and I am flying to get back to shelter. The Casey's sign in North Liberty rolled across the street in front of me and all the trampolines in this area were flying over two story homes. All I could think of was TWISTER!!! Linn county got hit the worst, but our winds hit 120 mph. Lots of damage!

National media didn't cover this at all and it's far worse than any tornado, wildfire or hurricane. Guess people will wonder why the cost of so many items goes up in the near and extended future.

We lived in Urbandale for about 12 years so I know right where you are at; glad your safe!

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[ShadowsPapa]

Wow, your story mimics every other one I've heard so far. I was in Iowa City getting the oil changed and tires rotated on the JT and was getting alerts on my phone. (Took them 2 freakin' hours!) so I was getting a little antsy as I could tell the weather was coming. I made it to Coralville exit off of 80 when it hit. Pitch black skies, winds were crazy blowing stuff everywhere. We're in temporary housing in N. Liberty until we close on our house in IC so I was racing to get back. Tractor trailers were flipping and rolling, debris of all sorts were like missiles and I am flying to get back to shelter. The Casey's sign in North Liberty rolled across the street in front of me and all the trampolines in this area were flying over two story homes. All I could think of was TWISTER!!! Linn county got hit the worst, but our winds hit 120 mph. Lots of damage!

National media didn't cover this at all and it's far worse than any tornado, wildfire or hurricane. Guess people will wonder why the cost of so many items goes up in the near and extended future.

We lived in Urbandale for about 12 years so I know right where you are at; glad your safe!

Your area got hit worse! Glad you made it - as I saw some photos of the Cedar Rapids area, and friends over there just got power back - about 1.5 weeks later!
Big steel power towers bent like toys.
4 billion+ in damage, 10 million acres of crops laid flat or damaged in some way. We saw fields of corn that you couldn't tell it was corn - it was literally laying almost flat to the ground.
When my wife says "drive as fast as you can but don't get into an accident" you know she's scared. Normally it's "you aren't speeding, are you?" this time it was "can we go faster?"
We also saw several semi tractor-trailer rigs off the road, tossed by the wind, jack-knifed in the ditches. Power lines that normally hang down were blown straight out horizontally. And this baby covered a huge swatch of the state! Imagine a tornado with winds of up to 140 mph 100 miles wide and covering a good 1/3 of the state west to east. Some compared it to a land-based hurricane.
I was also shocked - nothing much on national news! The only thing I saw was one news site said "10 million acres of crop hit in Iowa" and that was about it.
Now for folks wondering - if you drive an iowa "section" it's a mile square - 1 mile up, 1 mile over, 1 mile down, 1 mile back to the beginning. Inside that is 640 acres - 1 section. That's 15,625 of those sections. Flattened.

Anywho - glad you are safe! That area was hammered even worse. It's scary driving in it with those huge things being tossed about like toys - wondering if you can keep it on the road.

 

[saintpauljeff]

https://www.amazon.com/Bushwacker-14093-Black-2018-2019-Wrangler/dp/B07QC8HXMJ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=38EUB834FWYB8&dchild=1&keywords=jeep+bug+deflector+gladiator&qid=1598361067&sprefix=Jeep+Bug+deflector,aps,154&sr=8-3

the material of the deflector is similar in appearance to the standard black fenders?
I like this, especially if it's the same type of plastic

 

[OVERLORD]

the material of the deflector is similar in appearance to the standard black fenders?
I like this, especially if it's the same type of plastic

Not familiar with the black fenders, the screen has a bit of texture to it.

 

[saintpauljeff]

Not familiar with the black fenders, the screen has a bit of texture to it.

I suppose that works, especially if its intended to stop small stones and bugs

does it help with the windshield noise at all?

 

[OVERLORD]

I suppose that works, especially if its intended to stop small stones and bugs

does it help with the windshield noise at all?

Windshield noise?

 

[saintpauljeff]

Windshield noise?

hoping it redirects some of the airflow from hitting the windshield head on
my JT is loud as hell with a headwind on the highway...was just hoping this thing could alleviate a little bit

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I always figured the noise to be at the top, the roof level. The dealer warned me the truck would be really noisy in a wind - it sort of is, but not like he warned. Not as quiet as my Silverado I suppose, but then that thing had walls as thick as some houses.

 

[redrider]

A 50/50 mix of filtered water and witch hazel along with one drop per fl.oz. liquid dish soap cleans extremely well. Spray on, wipe off. Glasses, helmet face shields and windshields. No streaks. Even works on "Love Bugs"

 

[Cobraj]

That looks great! i am looking into the headlight guards, they are nice

 

[mike921921]

I have the same deflector on my JT, works ok I guess. Don't laugh, but here in FL, we have the Luv Bugs a couple times per year and I use plain ol' vaseline on the painted and plastic surfaces when the season starts. Works well and pressure washes off clean. Tried many things over the years and vaseline seems to work best.

 

[brianinca]

WTF is a "love bug"? Pepsis Wasps are the scariest thing we have out West......

 

[rr11]

Love bugs are a black bug with battery acid innards, that you kill two at a time. The body juice will remove paint. They are a March-Fly and are common on the Gulf coast. Mainly in April and May with a second season in August and September. A lovely pest, all the carwashes and auto parts stores love.

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