Ranch Hand Review

Hello all!

Let me, respectfully, preface this post by saying I am not looking for anyone's opinion on a Ranch Hand.

I have had my truck since new in 2011, and have always wanted to add a frontal brush guard. I searched all over the last handful of years and read reviews on "damage multipliers" such as the Westin and Aries brush guards--guards made simply for brush. I decided I would go the Ranch Hand route because I (at the time being) am not interested in replacing my front bumper for reason of cost of bumper, heavier springs, etc. I did not want to spend that kind of money now, but later down the road I plan to. Anyways, I found a great deal on the Ranch Hand Legend series, and I decided to pull the trigger.

It arrived the next day, and I immediately noticed upon picking it up that it has some girth to it. It is clearly not as strong as a full plate bumper, but I am confident that it will protect my front end from radiator puncture upon impact with a deer, which on back roads is what I was looking for. The guard mounts to the frame using four brackets, two lower brackets mount with three bolts onto the front bumper frame mounts, and two additional brackets with one bolt each mount to the upright mounts through the lower valence grille. I installed this myself with the help of two buddies, and between trips to the store to get 1/2 inch drive sockets, drinking beer, and actually working, the total install took around 3 hours.

I noticed my front end sagged slightly, not enough to notice by sight, but I now have a slight tire rub with my 285's that was not present before install. I am able to jump up and down on the guard and it does not move, wiggle, shake, or shimmy--including while I am driving. Praise God, I have not had any collisions with anything since installing, but I am confident that it will do its job if something happens.

When I was looking into purchasing my Ranch Hand I was unable to find much information about them and real world reviews on this site, mainly because most people here do not like them/prefer plate bumpers. I wrote this to help anyone in the future that is interested in purchasing one, and to give a little more insight on real world, Tacoma specific experience.

I will update this more as time goes on!

 

Good review man. I'm glad you posted this, because I'm looking at buying one of these right now. Do you have any more pics?

 

I do, I can post some more later.

 

Thanks for the review! I have been considering a Ranch Hand for, literally, brush protection and impacts with deer at low speeds on back roads. Like you, I don't feel the need for the cost of a plate bumper and the associated suspension work.

 

Thank you for posting your review. I could only find one other post (on a completely different site) containing pictures of a GMC/Chevy truck that had been hauling a horse trailer when it was forced off the road and hit a tree head-on. Non of the occupants in the truck were injured which the owner attributed to the fact that they had installed a Ranch hand bumper. Now the bumper in that photo looked more akin to a plate bumper (Which Ranch Hand apparently does not offer for our Tacomas) but the testimonial was pretty impressive..

 

If you don't mind my asking, about what did that run you? I don't find pricing on their website.

 

Thanks

 

I've wanted a Ranch Hand on every Tacoma I've had, but I'm always told they don't work with Tacomas for whatever reason. They're even local to me.

 

They certainly work. I have had mine on since February now, and it has not lead to any issues. I know a lot of people bring up the added weight will cause alignment and irregular tire wear issues, but in the 10,000 or so miles I've put on my truck since install, I have not noticed anything. I rotate, align, and balance every 5,000.

I will add when you install it, grease the bolts a bit. I did not and I hear a slight squeak when I hit a bump. Not a big issue, but in hindsight I would grease them first.

If anyone is interested in purchasing one in the southeast, DM me and I will send you the contact for the authorized dealer I used. Professional and will ship.

 

Would you happen to have pictures of where it mounts? I can't seem to find anything online..

 

I apologize, I just now saw this. Ranch Hand has a PDF of instructions on their website and if I recall correctly, there were rough sketches on there showing the mounting locations. It mounts below the bumper on the frame in two places, and also mounts via brackets through the lower valence grill in two places.

 

Unfortunately, my truck was t-boned in January and I now have no use for this Ranch Hand and I am currently selling it. I made a for sale post that you can view here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/for-sale-ranch-hand-brush-guard-500.424357/

If interested in purchasing, please follow the link/DM me/reply to this post.