Aftermarket bumper? I hit a deer.

Suuuuuuuuure you did! Any excuse to replace a stock bumper. We all understand the politics with the Household Commander.

 

Agree 100% with those voting for an aftermarket bumper. I want a hybrid bumper but have higher priorities right now...doesn't stop a small part of me from wishing one of those little buggers would run out in front of me and force the issue though.

 

That is an eye opening video there! How did I ever survive my youth jumping around in the back seat of those '60 & '70's vehicles I grow up in?

 

The irony is....

The more resistant to damage the car construction is the more damage is transferred to the occupants.

Go back in history. Once upon a time (early 1900s), car racers would have accidents. The mechanics made the cars stronger.....soon the cars would survive the crash, but the driver was seriously injured or dead. This led to "safety" decisions and better builds, eventually all made it onto consumer cars. I would much rather survive an accident with serious damage to the vehicle than the other way around.

This is why Indy 500 cars (example) disintegrate into thousands of pieces in an impact allowing the driver to walk away with some bruising. The car is absorbing the impact energy, not the driver.

I know someone will make a claim that a heavy vehicle is safer..... but the reality is the heavy vehicle has more kinetic energy than a lighter vehicle, so the light vehicle is absorbing more impact energy.

 

They don't make them like they used to

 

Luck. You were lucky. I was talking to my mom reciently. She was telling me how when I was a baby I just slept in the same bed. Doctors today don't recommed it because of suffocation. Like you, I guess I was lucky.

 

That's debatable, and highly dependent upon where you live. I haven't been involved in an accident with another vehicle since I was t-boned by a one eyed meth head in 2003...but I've hit 3-4 deer in that time. It's pretty common where I live. Most guys with aftermarket bumpers have little to no damage from deer impacts (depending on coverage), unlike those of us with the factory plastic covered bumpers.

 

The true danger to your Tacoma is this threat:

 

It's truly remarkable how many things I experienced as a child are considered child endangerment (at best) these days. I remember riding on top of all of our gear and luggage for a 600 mile trip in the back of our SR5 pickup while our dogs where in the little access cab area. My dad figured I could just sleep on top of everything back there and would be safe because we had a topper. I had about 16" between my bed and the top of the topper shell. Pretty sure you would be arrested and loose custody of your children if you tried that now.

 

My head is spinning from looking at all of the options. Is there an aftermarket bumper that is light enough so I won't need to upgrade the front suspension?

 

Pretty much anything aluminum construction which will narrow the field and your wallet. Backwoods adventure makes a hybrid steel/aluminum which comes in at 85lbs. Steel winch tray married to an aluminum bumper. Interesting idea.

 

Cbi makes and aluminum one
I think a few others offer aluminum too

i was tempted to go aluminum but everyone is telling me steel all day

 

This is true.

I'd still like to have a F-450 with a Diversified Products front push bumper. That would probably hold up well to the occasional deer strike, or the Mazda Miata that decides to wander head on into your lane.

If that Miata was another truck with a push bumper, that might be a different outcome.

 

actually U cant go wrong either way......................

until U hit the next deer

not sure insurance willcover a second incidence on a aftermarket bumper

id get an estimate & be certain a GOOD body shop does NOT Overlook anything

 

That Greenlane looks good. How are you liking it? Being localish makes it a strong contender for the unit I may go with. Just a ferry ride away. Saves shipping costs. And my daughter lives on the island so always nice to see her too.

 

Good to know! Thanks.

 

It was dusk...or as we say in Harford County, Maryland it was deer30. We are loaded with deer.

 

What bumper guard is this?

 

Just FYI, You are going to have to replace you exhaust charging valve if you go to an aluminum bumper.

 

It's either Vanguard or Vangard