(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Are grill guards for the pickup worth the expense?

Tom in Mo.

Tom in Mo.

Well-known Member
I'm thinking about getting one for the '09 Chevy and wonder if they are worth the expense. Do they hold up after hitting a deer or do they get bent up? Seems to me the insurance deductable is cheaper than the grill guards I've seen.
 
Have not hit a deer with my p/u, yet, but it did come with the round chrome pipe bumper guard (04 F350)but 3 times in a car. Twice unable to continue the trip and out of commission until repaired. Yes, there is a chance it will get bend up, but it will take the brunt of the impact in an ideal "hit scenario", less p/u damage. They are also suppose to prevent things from coming up the hood and onto the windshield/cab. Around here, people use it for a lot of other tasks as well: moving round hay bales around, moving cattle along, etc. Plus, there is always the looks factor. If you don't want to spent the big bucks on a new one, try salvage yards, craigs, etc. Nothing wrong with a gently used one.
 
Just for deer they are not worth it.

If you use your truck in taller grass or to drive <brcattle along with the deer thing, they they may be <brworth it.

I have one on my 79 Ford.

It has hit two deer at about 40 MPH, separated two <brfighting bulls, pushed cows into the barn and laid <brdown tall weeds so they wouldn"t plug the radiator <brso bad.

One deer did tweak it a little.

I bought it for the other stuff not the deer.

Ohh and I was younger then and thought it looked <brcool also.

3 pickups since the and none of them have had one. <brI just quit using the truck to push cattle.

Gary
 
Alot of them anymore are just for show in my opinion. There are a few manufacturer's than fabricate heavier ones. In my area there is a small fabrication company called Circle K Manufacturing that builds a heavy duty one
http://www.circlekfab.com/
 
The payback comes not only in the damage savings, but in the time savings. hit a deer head on 50 mph, air bag will go off and insurance will not let you drive the vehicle, or at least will not want you to drive it untill the air bag is replaced. passenger airbag goes off, windshild is shattered and vehicle is un-drivable and you also have a towing bill. Killed 2 deer with the one on my jeep cherokee, no damage to the jeep, but had to straighten the guard. No damage to the jeep = no hassle with the insurance co, no getting 2 estimates, no drop off and pick up of jeep at the body shop, no time lost waiting for it to be fixed. My 2 cents
 
Don't know what happened to my post but half of it is missing and all jumbled up.

You'll have read between the lines.

That was to say drive cattle in the second line.

And to separate bulls and push cattle in the third line.

And looked cool in the fourth line.
 

Do you have moose where you live? In the northeast you see a lot of OTR truck tractors with them, but they are more for moose than deer. They probably out to offer a taller one for pick ups for moose protection.
 
they are worth it if you spend the money and get a real one, a lot of the chrome ones are show bars and are mainly for a place to mount aux lites, ranch hand makes a good one it repaces the whole fromt bumper, and weighs in around 8 to 900 lbs, it is made of thick wall tubing and diamond plate steel, winch mounting as well as a 2 inch reciver built in are optional, this thing will take a hit and survive, that being said it wont let you win in a headon with a heavier vehicle nothing will, but a deer, horse kick, dumb cow critter,parking lot dumb drivers ect are nothing to it , remember in this case cheap is not good, and quality is not cheap
 
Yes, but I use my truck for a tractor. The farm trucks have home built with a hitch to back wagons and can push wagons from the rear. The road truck has a low cost bought one but I have tested it a few times, backed into it twice with the loader and once well it has paid for itself. I will buy/build more as needed.
 
I had one that was just a bull bar/small light bar on my Blazer ZR2 when I was in college. I rearended a station wagon with it when they tried to stop for a squirrel in the road. No damage to the light bar or my truck what so ever. I think I ha dspent about $175 or so on it which is way more than a dumper cover and repaint.
 
If you have an accident you get a lot more damage from the grill guard mashing into the truck.A friend of mine had a minor accident with his new chevy with a grill guard.The grill guard damaged his hood and both fenders.
 
On a half ton I think they put too much weight on the front
suspension.....just look at the ones driving around. On a one
ton then I'd say you have the springs to support them. If you
work tough stuff I'd say they are surely worth it.

But they don't necessarily protect from animals. Neighbor was
doing about 50 one night and hit a cow with his. Cow spun
around the drivers side, smashed the whole side of the truck,
windshield and banged him up. Totaled a 1 ton Dodge 4wd with
flatbed, welder and fence building equip and all.

I don't have one and never had one, nor a 4wd pickup. Just
never needed either. 4wd tractor, yes I do and needed it and
love it.

Mark
 
I can't say for the new ones, but the older ones were well worth the money. I got one on a new 1978 pickup and within 30 days I hit a deer, no damage. Wife thought it was wasted money, but was with me when we hit the deer, she then changed her mind. Also hit another a year later and still no damage. I can't think of the name for sure, but I think it was made by Bimco. They were well built, and a lot better looking than the newer ones today, my opinion only. There were a lot of them sold in my area.
 
I absolutely would not have a pickup without a grille guard on it. When I bought my current pickup I had a Ranch Hand grille guard/bumper installed on it. It was pricey but it has paid for itself. I have hit two deer going 60 mph and it did absolutely NOTHING to the front of the truck. While my comprehensive insurance would have paid for the damage I would have been without a vehicle to drive. What is downtime worth to you? Mike
 
Saw a local oil field truck once that had custom made from pipe bumpers and the went all they way around the truck ! Now that's protection.
 
The grill guards have to be built to NOT interfere with the airbag sensors in the front bumper.

A grill guard built out of well casing that can withstand hitting an animal at 40-50MPH, will prevent the airbags from deploying in an accident. You'll be spitting chunks of steering wheel for days...
 
I agree with ericlb post. A grill guard has to be very heavy to withstand the hit from a deer sized animal at highway speed. We used to have some supposedly "heavy duty" ones on our pickups at work. They weighed in at about 80-90 pounds. All they were was an extra expense to pay the body shop to remove to get at the damaged front end when the pickup hit a deer.
 
Tom, Here in Texas most of us have either a Grill guard or a Front End Replacement (Pipe bumper & Grill Guard Combo)
The HD black steel G.G.are well worth it in minor bumps with obstacles, the Light Duty chrome type are mostly just beauty ornaments for your truck. thought there are a few that have some strength to them.
The F.E.R. are mostly HD. And By in large are waaayyy too heavy for 1/2 ton pickups! Though there are a couple of brands that are light enough for 1/2 tons. The F.E.R. will and can help in a front end crash, In a normal Deer hit, it will save hundreds of $$$$ of minor repair.
But if the animal bounces around andtakes out the side of the truck, well the animal didn"t come through the windshield!
In a major crash the F.E.R. is just that much more that has to crumple up before it gets to you!!!
Most of us choose the G.G. or F.E.R. as to how it looks on our truck, and how they have stood up to years & miles of use and abuse,
Ranch Hand
Diamond B
Are a couple of the main brand here in Texas
I have a Ranch Hand on my F-350, 4x4 Dsl.
Hope this helps!
Later,
John A.
 
IAGary, Both your messages came through double spaced and all others are single spaced. Check that.
 
Don't know what kind of an outfit you have, but if your radiator is anything like mine, it's something like $1300 to replace. Not to mention all those other 6 or 7 coolers up there in front.

I use the heavy guard.

Allan
 
Body shop said the bull bar on our new Terrain reduced
damage from the 9-12 thousand range down to 3 grand when
my son ditched it.
 
The type of guard and how it mounts makes a lot of difference.
The type that bolts / clamps to the bumper is limited by the fact that the bumper will bend and allow the guard to fold back into the fenders / hood.
 
All good advice below and I have to share this: I looked at a pickup that had a HUGE front grill gaurd and had been hit in the front. No damage to the grill or headlights or hood, but the frame bent so badly that the starter was broken off of the engine! Moved the crush zone back some.........
 
Lots of variables on this. Cheap grill guards are just that and will not hold up they are for looks. The heavy duty ones will help but again depends on speed and size of the animal you might hit. I built a grill guard for my truck years ago and have not hit a deer since doing that and that truck is look since been parked and parted out. Deer here in Missouri are big enough that you would need a heavy duty one to do any good and then it has to be mounted well and the trucks they make now days are not very strong in the first place so mounting something heavy of these light duty things is a joke
 
You only have to pay for the guard one time. Each deer is a new deductable. First deer makes you even, every one after that and you are money ahead, if you have a heavy built gaurd.

Dave
 
now allen, you know how fun it is to work on a pickup with a grill guard....haha

JUST LOVE TO LAY ON YOUR BELLY ON THE RADIATOR SUPPORT WITH A CATTTLE GUARD PRESSED INTO YA..HEHE.

WRENCH
 
To withstand a deer hit, I'm thinking that you need a custom job like tow trucks have, homemade. Those ones that take at least three guys to mount. Two beefy guys dying while trying to hold it up while the third tries desperately to get the bolts in and nuts started before the other two guys collapse or just drop the whole thing on the third guys with the nuts and bolts.

Aren't too many brush guards worth much more than the cool looks of holding up a new set of after market fog or driving lights. Not that there aren't some, but most seen out and about are not.

Good luck.

Mark
 
(quoted from post at 04:16:20 04/27/12) I'm thinking about getting one for the '09 Chevy and wonder if they are worth the expense. Do they hold up after hitting a deer or do they get bent up? Seems to me the insurance deductable is cheaper than the grill guards I've seen.
Click to expand...

Yes, the good ones aren't cheap. But, downtime, ruined plans, etc, are all expensive too. I'm saving up for one for my 07 F250. Still PO'ed about losing my last pickup to a deer. Not making the same mistake. I know a guy that hit a moose at 70 mph with a loaded one ton welding truck, with a Road Armor bumper. Barely tweeked the bumper, no damage to the truck. Carried on with his calls, no downtime.

www.roadarmor.com
 
They will protect the truck from damage involving a deer really well. Hit anything that's bigger and weighs a lot more and you have a totaled truck since the guard transfers the impact to the frame. Bent frame equals totaled truck. Any good guard weighs a lot more than a 1/2 ton front end can handle.
 
Buddy of mine owns a body shop and he said that your average "brush guard" does more harm than good in an accident. The thin tubing from them gets pushed farther back into the body and does more damage.

Now their are manufactures out there that make heavy duty bumper replacements and they are worth it. I welded up my own for my last truck and hit many deer and only ever broke the plastic grill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

jon f mn
A set back for the kingdom
Replies
13
Views
1K
dwag
D
I
OffTopic roof repairs and contractors and insurance
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
INCase
I
N
What is a 40C worth?
Replies
5
Views
498
NoDakInMN
N
K
8n ignition switch bracket?
Replies
2
Views
198
Eman85
E
E
Gleaner A help
Replies
8
Views
737
ESVADuke
E
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top