Deer proof bumper options???

Hey TW!

I live in East TX and the whitetail deer here are stupid thick!! Especially on hwy 204 from Nacogdoches to Reklaw. I drive this perilous stretch of blacktop twice a day, 6 days a week. Once at dawn, once at dusk. Exactly when white tails are most active! This stretch goes through one big river bottom and 5 or 6 creek bottoms, perfect white tail habitat!
literally every couple days I’ll see a new deer or hog carcass, or a new bumper from someone’s car laying in the ditch or middle of the road. Today I saw half a deer in my lane, then a couple hundred feet later, the other half on the opposing lane. last week the guy in front of me doing 70mph hit a deer, the deer flew over his truck, then completely over my truck, landed on the hwy behind me. Then this unfortunate doe slid into oncoming traffic where it was then smashed by a passing car. Claiming 2 bumpers and a windshield in the process!!

It’s like actual friggin’ pinball with large mammals out there!!

So I’ve decided to armor up!

What bumper should I get that could take a direct hit at 60-70 mph??
Btw, I don’t like the look of ARB bumpers.
I would also like to keep the cost around $1,000 if possible

 

https://virily.com/virily_poll/what-happens-when-a-deer-is-hit-by-a-car/

 

ARB is the only one designed, tested, and made for what you are describing. Even made for offset (side wing) hits. I have one on both trucks.

 

Having lived in Lufkin for a few years, I definitely understand what you are saying.

 

After losing a vehicle to a mule deer, I bought a Tacoma and put an ARB on it.

 

Fab Fours is a good bumper

 

Nothing better than a snow plow.

Anything else is just going to compound the damage.

I've got an ARB, but I know if I contact a Deer at 70+mph, there will be hella damage to the truck body work behind the ARB.

 

Shrockworks with hoops, way better looking than ARB for our gen
https://www.shrockworks.com/Front-W...1st-Generation-Tacoma-1995-2004-pr-16223.html

 

The arb isn't going to take a deer hit at 70, and I agree with OP that the ARB bumpers are ugly. I modified mine to be less ugly.

There isn't much that will take a deer hit at 70, maybe a big semi truck style bumper.

 

Right under the $1000 mark! Pretty great company name that sells it too.

 

flatland 4X4 has a set of plans you can buy then you can build the bumper out of 1/4” HR plate if you want. Of course it is going to weight a lot. It ain’t pretty but it does the job of moving cows, burrows and wild horses off the roads in Mexico. The bumber lights are angled to shoot the beam into the desert on the sides of the road. The HIDs do the same but at a greater distance… I have zero explanation as to why 4 legged critters decide to cross the highway just as you approach, 45 seconds later and it is a different story. THE problem down here are black cows standing in the road at night, they blend into the asphalt.

 

Honestly, no bumper is "deer proof" especially at highway speeds. And they're obviously useless if the deer side-swipes you (happened to me, munched up the entire driver side of my '17 4Runner that I hadn't even made my first payment, lol).

Beef up your bumper and you'll likely prevent at lease some cosmetic damage, but you'll likely just bend your frame.
You want to deflect and dissipate the impact (i.e. snow plow, lol), not give it a big flat chunk of metal to ram into. That energy WILL be transferred into the vehicle. So unless your truck says Freightliner or Peterbilt on it, the frames of our pencil neck little Toyotas likely won't survive.

For much slower impacts, big bumpers should hold up just fine, though.

I'm not saying don't get a bumper, just don't think it's going to allow you to continue driving safely at 70 on a deer infested road.

So, just slow down to a speed in which you can safely stop or swerve to avoid them.

 

Just send it and buy back for cheap when totaled.

 

I've gone back and forth on this...there are deer here in Delaware...I just would not want to see one/meet one on Hwy 1/Interstate 13 or even these farm/forest roads.

I would not want my Taco to look like a tank at the front either.

Ed

****

 

I have never hit a Deer !! Those evil creatures run into my vehicles I have had 4impacts in the last 5 years. Left fender left door right door and right middle of the bed

The thing with a custom bumper one must be careful with the design and how it is installed you don`t need the bumper acting as a ramp to funnel the deer into the windshield which can cause you to have a bad day.

 

When I lived in TX as a kid, I remember a story in the news about a woman who hit a deer - deer went through the windshield and kicked her toddler to death in the back seat. Awful

 

I have seen the aftermath it is not pretty.

2 of the times was on my driveway when you leave for work in the dark.

 

The only option is clear.

An AI-powered sharks-with-laser-beams-attached-to-their-freaking-foreheads cannon mounted to the top of the truck. The cannon will be capable of launching a shark at the deer from any attack direction.

Win-win situation- the shark gets a turf meal and the deer can't get near the truck.

#saveallthe1stgens

Might have to call Sea World to come pick the shark up afterward.. but they love that sorta thing.

 

holly hell man.

Back in highschool, was driving w/ my gf to a friend's house for an all nighter and hit a deer with my car. an 86 Accord. Luckily for my I was going slow and it was a fawn so didn't do much damage.

All my gf talked about the whole nigh was how I killed bambi.

The next morning I went out and you could totally see a perfect outline of the thing's head on my hood from the fur. I thought it was pretty funny and wanted to try and preserve it with some clearcoat.

Looking back, we broke up not that long afterwords. Weird.