Guys,

I was just looking at my new F350 and noticed that there is no way the platic grille is going to keep that damn deer out of all of those coolers.

A friend of mine that owns a body shop said it's $1000 for the bumper and add an extra $1000 for every piece broke. By the time you get to the fan it's about $12K for a really bad deer shot.

Although I absolutely do not like the look, I have been looking at Grille Gaurds. The one I like the best is the Go Industries Big Tex in chrome.

Does anyone have suggestions on one that is less obvious? I'm really looking for one that seems to be invisible but still saves the coolers. Pictures of what you guys have would be great.

I think I've killed more whitetails on the front of a truck than I think most guys get with an .06!

 

Looks flimsy, no support for the pipes around the headlights. Cheap ones that don't have a lot of strength to them will bend up and cause more damage than they prevent. 14ga 2" tubing is roughly .083" thick, my Ranch Hand uses 12ga tubing (20% thicker) for the guard that's tied in to the bumper around the corner and not just floating loose. Ranch Hand uses 5/16" plate for the uprights, which is roughly 2.5x thicker than the 11ga sheet on the GI uprights, meaning the whole thing is pretty flimsy and likely to bend backwards into the body/hood if you hit something. If you hit on a corner you're going to tear something up, but if you hit one dead nuts center with that GI thing it looks like it would go straight through, compared with a guard with 4 larger tubes and mesh there. I'd call it a waste and say you're better off without one that what you said you were looking at.

 

I have a Ranch Hand Legend front and rear bumper on my 14 F250. I don't trust the paper thin factory bumpers.

 

I have a ranch hand full bumper. They are considerably stronger than the flimsy guards that are in some circles asthetically pleasing. Ive seen totalled vehicles that the ranch hand was pulled off and transfered to the next truck. That one was a grille guard. Ive seen the take out white and mmule tail deer even a cow. Plenty strong and they dont look half bad especially when painted to match. A similar guard but lighter weight and not quite as stron os frontier. I would bet it would handle smaller deer at least.

 

Isn't the whole idea to protect the truck from damage? If the truck got totaled, and the Ranch Hand came out unscathed, then what is the point?

Isn't that like hiring a body guard for protection, then, with the body guard at your side, getting attacked/mamed/killed, while the body guard comes out unscathed... ready to "protect" the next client?

 

A head on collision at 50mph. 94 chevy z71 vs a honda accord. The frame buckled behind the front tires part of that energy absorbtion stuff engineered into the vehicle. Also buckled the cab across the top on a extended cab truck. The grill guard did its job untill the items it was mounted to stopped doing theirs. With a ranch hand the frame is likely to become the weak link.

 

$2000 bumper versus a $500 insurance deductible. Which would you rather pay?

 

What major changes if any would it take for me to mount a 2011 ranch hand to my 2006.

 

I am fairly confidant that the mounting points are different between the two model years. I looked at a few newer push bars for my 06 that were meant for an 08+ and they would not mount up, I was told the bumper mounts and the tow hooks were in a different spot. Got this info from RH, never checked into myself by looking at the two trucks though...

 

Ford lowered the front frame horns in the 2008 body change. Hydroforming made it possible.

 

Dam had a good deal on a pretty much new guard. Was hoping it would work some how

Is the front clip a lot different. Like if I get it and cut and re weld mounting brackets. Will their be gaps from where my old bumper was.

 

Activated google and answered my own question.

 

Those are some great looking bumpers I need a set!!!

 

What have you all heard about Fab Four bumpers?

 

I tried doing the 2011 up bumper on my truck. Got it for a hundred bucks. After looking it over I just decided to sell it. Got 500 for it. Ended up getting ranchhands front and rear for like 680