Deer Protection

Well… my wife and I are set to close on a new house! Yay! We finally a garage to keep the truck in!

Only issue where we’re moving to… lots of deer! I want to get something to help protect the front of the truck.

Any recommendations?

 

Lighting upgrades and watching your speed will be the cheapest.

 

ARB summit bar. Nothing else compares for impacts, if you can spare the coin. And you'll need to upgrade the suspension to handle the weight.

 

All second and third generation Tacomas have holes in the lower A arms that act like a deer whistle.


You see many on this forum delete this nifty feature by installing plugs in those holes.

 

I hit 2 deer with my 2nd Gen. I wasn’t aware of these holes you mention and in my experience did not prevent deer from jumping at my truck…

 

I drive through Valley Forge National Park everyday going to work. A lot of deer. I have deer whistles on my vehicles. I know people say they don't work, but I found if you are at or above the minimum required speed for them to work. the deer do stop and look or move away from the road. I've been successful with them for 20 years now. I'll probably get blasted for this, but this has been my experience. A number of years ago a I did have a deer run in front of the Fire Engine I was driving to a call. When carrying lot of water it's best not to swerve suddenly. It went under the right front tire and out the left rear tire. Had fur under that truck for months.

 

This (specifically good driving lights with a wide pattern like Cibie Super Oscars).

And/or this.

 

@oyemengitsamie: This, being very observant and a low deductible on your comprehensive insurance.

 

Something like this

 

If the deer has coyotes or dogs chasing them those whistles will be the last thing it hears before it runs in front of your truck. I also think whistles are useless during the rut. If you see a doe or several does cross the road and stop with their heads turned towards where they just came from it is best to slow down because more deer are about to cross the road.

 

That's a freakin' awesome idea. I need that mod. LOL!

 

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/do-deer-whistles-on-cars-really-work/

 

If you're gonna go, go all the way...

 

Hell yeah!! Definitely need that in my life.

 

Regardless of brand, I would do some research as to how they are mounted. Many are mounted directly to the frame under the factory bumper, because it's cheap and easy, but less than ideal from an actual impact point of view. IMO they also look Fn ridiculous too.

 

I live in a area of Tennessee where there is alot of deer . I've found that very loud exhaust scares them off of the road back into the tree line . My Camaro has 3.5 inch exhaust and just idling by them they run away . Even just throwing a rev they scatter easily making it safe to drive to and from my house without incident

 

Agreed.

I just moved to the middle of nowhere as well...I'm going to put some ditch lights on for a bit of extra protection. I rarely see another car within a half hour drive around my house so I'm not worried about using "illegal" lights. I watch the peripherals like a hawk at night. I usually have deer run out in front of me two or three times a week and have had no close calls so far.

I'd rather just not hit them than spend a bunch of money to buy a bumper to hit them with. You'll likely still have damage anyway.

If I were to hit a deer and destroy the factory front end then I may put a better bumper on.

 

The problem in Valley Forge is that they have no predators to control the population.

 

"Though deer whistles are a good idea in theory, they pose a few problems. Some fail to make any sounds, or other exterior noises may mute the whistles’ sound. If humans can’t hear the whistle under wind and tire noise, a deer probably can’t either, especially from a distance."

The deer might not be able to hear the whistle over the other noises your vehicle makes...



That was the most stupid article i've read in a while.