Need a functional brush guard.

Any brush guard worth a hill of beans will be heavy enough to change the handling of your truck. 8-9 deer in 6 years! You sure have bad luck spotting them before they are in front of you!
BTW my last deer encounter the deer ran into the side of my taco! No damage! It hit the rear fender flare, it was popped off its buttons. Pushed it back on, cleaned the snot off, good to go!

 

I've ruined 3 peoples ranch hand bumpers, and have seen several that are all mangled to hell. A buddy of mine hit a deer in north dakota doing about 35mph, and ruined the bumper as well as causing several thousand $s in damage to the truck. They're crap.

 

Were they actual replacement bumpers our just brush guards? Ranch hand makes both. Brush guards are simply that, for brush, not animals.

 

x2

Same thing im going with when my OME suspension arrives.

 

ARB works for me....

 

+1 for the arb bumper. It was designed with striking relatively large mammals in mind, and it's not too heavy for a tacoma

 

Del Rio Grill Guard is still open, they are built solid.

 

What an ARB bumper does to deer: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/pr...er-vaporizor-truck-destroyer.html#post5909421

Mind you, the truck was tweaked and was eventually assessed beyond economical repair (door wouldn't open, etc.), but could be driven away safely. It prevented the driver from getting stranded in a remote area with no cell phone coverage.

 

I've seen a lot of wrecks in the fire dept, some involving deer ... or sadly people. I've not seen the RH hold up well. Like I mentioned, it's weight seems to work against it. These were pretty much all full replacements, as they're the most popular. It's like it's overbuilt. Seems weird, I know, but it's the only thing I can come up with. For all purposes, it should be strong, but it just doesn't fair well. Maybe if they re-designed it a bit, it would change. I've only seen one full replacement RH do well, and it was vs a 110 lb Air Force woman who went into the road to help a dog hit by a car. The truck hit her at about 15-20 mph. RH held up, she was pretty beat up, with broken bones, but made it ok otherwise.

On the Del Rio guard, .. I went to a wreck on Christmas morning 1996 and a Ford F-250 had t-boned a Suburban. The older couple in the sub were killed instantly. They pulled out in front of the Ford that was doing approx. 65 mph. Major damage to the sub, but the Ford looked normal thanks to the DR GG. The only thing I noticed on the ford was that the doors wouldn't open. So, I'm sure it had it's share of issues, but it didn't look like it was in an accident.

 

Strange. I have been in and seen the aftermath of many a deer suicides, never seen a ranch hand come out with anything more than a few scratches. Although this conversation is rather pointless because they don't make a full replacement for the Tacoma. I feel like I'm coming off as a fan boy for them, which I'm not, never even owned one. I just don't agree that they fold up against deer, and have seen plenty of evidence to support that.

 

I hear you, and I'm not out to bash them either. There are probably many factors that come into play. I know in my business I've been called to a lot of wrecks, and back when I was in the "market" the RH came in around 750ish full rep, and the Del Rio GG came in around 250ish. From what I had seen of each, it was a no brainer as to who I went with.

Depending on what DRGG has in the Tacoma offerings, I will either go with them, ARB or I will just make something custom.

 

Arc Rite, Del Rio, Texas arcrite.com

 

I contacted the guy at Del Rio grill guards. He said he charges 645.00 plus tax. He didn't send me the greatest pic, but I suspect he's more of a metal guru than he is a marketing guru. I'm not sure I like that lower portion, but I know he can make it however I would want it. On my 97 I had the diamond plate added to the top and sides vs smooth plate, and had him extend the whole guard out a couple of inches more than usual. My buddy said the guard looks a little high in this pic, but I think it might just be the angle. Hard to say with the pic not being very good. Anyway, for what its worth I thought I would make an effort to get a pic up. If you're into flashy and show truck, its probably not your thing. But if you want a guard that will take a hard hit and shrug it off, these will do it.

 

How much does that thing weight?

 

I don't know for sure, but when I had mine built for my GM 97 I asked the guy and he said it was approx. 114 lbs. So, I would say it would be in that range. Pretty lite for the strength is provides.

 

A brush guard that is functional? Is there such a thing? Lol. I agree with others. ARB. Or steel plated bumper with the full light hoops like an ARB.

 

True. I have a feeling a brush guard is for... brush. Like really tiny brush.. At like 5 mph.. Not deer at 70 mph.