Westin Sportsman brush guard installed

Got and installed this today. . . .

Installed


I gave it a good test after I put it on, and it certainly feels solid. Also, for others interested in this, it did NOT require removal of the skid plate.

 

Nice! Looks GREAT!

..been looking at these for a while now....

 

Hey that looks like mine lol. Nice man!!!

 

Very nice.......................did it come fully assembled out of the box?...........what did it run you after shipping?................

 

Yes came fully assembled out of the box.. you just have to take the stock bolts off the bumper support, install a bracket over the existing studs and reattach with the stock bolts.. it is a LITTLE harder than that, but not much harder. I got it for $383 incl shipping from stylintrucks.com (That was the best price by nearly $100 that I could find online) That website has it listed for $283.. I used a coupon code "TAKE10" for a 10% discount.. and they charge $100 for freight shipping.

 

So I read about someone who ordered the grille guard off ebay, and he said that it moved, or "wiggled," when he went over bumps. Has anyone ever noticed any movement in the Westin grille guard, or is it pretty sturdy?

 

The brush guards over the headlights will 'wiggle' a little, but I STILL think they are very sturdy.

 

looks good

 

Do you lose access to the front tow hooks? I think I see them under there but not sure?

It looks great, BTW.

 

Does it wobble even the slightest when you drive? I've noticed mine does a lot.

 

How has it held up so far since you posted this? Wobble? Retightened the bolts? Taken out in deer? Are the factory tow hooks accessible still? Can the Fry Baskets come off or are they fixed? thank!

 

Almost right at a year since the original post. I'd be interested to know how the OP feels about it having had it on the truck for a while too...

 

Sorry.. been really busy and haven't been on TW very much lately. Since the original post, I have traded in my '09 Taco for a '11.. with pretty much the exact same specs. It was basically a refinance that lowered my payment and took away 16,000 miles

I transferred the brush guard to the new Taco.. and it still looks great, and I still really like it. It does not 'wobble' really at all. You will note a VERY slight vibration in the end of the guard over the headlight area if you hit a large bump or normal road vibration at highway speeds, but it doesn't hit anything.

I did not look in closer to see if the 'fry baskets' were removable. I think they actually are with hex-head nuts bolted into the frame.

The tow hooks are accessible, you do NOT have to remove the skid plate. It is a very easy installation. The bolts and hardware included with the kit use large lock washers, so I have not noticed anything loosening up. When I pulled it off the '09 to move to the '11, it was still hard to take the nuts and bolts out after I torqued them down before. The HARDEST part of the whole install is simply breaking some of the bumper bolts loose to place the guard over the studs before replacing the nut.

Let me know if you guys have any other questions...

 

No problem. Understand life gets busy sometimes! Thanks for the detail response. I still think that Westin is a very sharp looking aternative to say an ARB bumper/guard system if you just don't have the cash flow for that system.

I can write Westin to see if the Fry Baskets can be removed.

You mentioned torque. Did Westin install instructions provide the torque values or did you just swag the value?

Did you use a breaker bar to break the bolts?

I did keep eyeballing my skid plate this weekend wondering it I would lose it. I would not want to lose that functionality.

On to your 11' Taco....nice...tell me; did they get smart and add illumination to the 4WD dial on the dash or illuminate the window control keys, floor board or cup holders etc? I so hate that on my 09 Taco. I see more and more American cars with that feature as standard and most of them you can contol the color of the lights to a wide range of other colors. What a great, simple (and probably low cost) idea to make their customers happy.

 

I see you live in VA-most places will not inspect a vehicle with anything blocking the lights. PM sent

 

I like it

 

I have a westin brush guard as well. the smaller "bars" in the head light hoops cannot be removed on mine. The instructions came with torque values. I didnt have to remove the skid plate or tow hooks either. I researched it a lot before I got it regarding the skid plate and it and ened up just taking a gamble because I kept finding contradicting posts. I think if a skid plate needed to be removed it would be the gray one that I guess some of the trd models come with, that come right up to the front edge of the bumper, not the one that I see the majority of the people have.

 

I know. That's why I am so concerned about the Fry Baskets being removable! I keep seeing contradicting post about whether they actually do remove of not.

 

What about the entire Fry Basket removal? I really would hate to have to remove the entire guard for state inspection every year. What a pain in the rear than would be! After inspection, I could just pop them back on.