I recently hit a deer with my 2015 F350XL. It bent the front bumper back in the center and took out the radiator, transmission cooler, AC condenser and PS cooler.
Most of the bull bars and grill guards on the market are aesthetic and would fold like the bumper at highway speeds when hitting a deer or smaller animal.
I know that a $1,200+ bumper would offer more protection, but I really don't want to alter the factory appearance of the front end so much.
Has anyone seen a skid plate or some type of "armor" that can be installed behind the factory bumper to strengthen things up?
Thanks in advance for your input!

 

You may look at something like a front mounted receiver hitch as an option to add some strength in that area. You may even be able to fabricate something that mounts in a similar manner and location, but stays completely behind the bumper and is essentially invisible. Curt makes a front mount receiver and they have a good set of instructions for installing it online that could give you some ideas.

 

I recently installed a Ranch Hand Grille Guard on my 2013 F350 FX4.

A couple of reasons I went with the Ranch Hand was well to be honest I got a killer price on a brand new one for $300.

Second was that the Ranch Hand not only mounts to the front bumper bolts of the truck, but there area also some lower mounting braces that attach to the front frame of the truck. The purpose of the lower braces is that in the event of a collision such as yours it will keep the Grille Guard from folding back into the front of the truck as some other manufactured guards would allow.

Third was that I don't want the weight of a full replacement bumper/grille guard combination hanging off of the front of my truck. Not to mention I like the way the stock bumper looks on the truck.

I also have the Curt front receiver hitch mounted on my truck. The front receiver hitch will add some strength to the front end of the truck, but it is all mounted very low so it will not add any strength value above the frame of the truck.

 

I'm not sure about the newer trucks, but on my 2000 F-250, the bumper mounts to the frame in front of the crumple zone. If you put something on there too solid, it may bend your frame instead of the bumper.

 

Do you have any photos?

 

I'll get you a couple in the morning if that will work for you.

 

If its a problem, dont worry about it. I am not ready to change the factory bumper at this point. I looked at the curt receivers and I agree that they are a little low for what I'm looking for.

Thank you for your thoughts though.

 

After a friend of mine hit a few elk and a moose ... He went with a full guard assy. He was tired of down time , 5 trucks , and repairs . A few hits were by his workers by the way . He is happy with the results after a few more hits with no Damage to the trucks .

 

Photos are no problem, I have the grandkids this evening. So free time is at a minimum.

 

This is what I put on my truck to protect deer damage......lol

 

With a grille guard like that you would think that if properly adjusted you could hit the deer, skin it and do a quick clean making it all packing ready.

 

I laughed out loud!

 

 

 

In Australia we are always ploughing into Kangaroos,Wallabies
So we run bullbars
My Truck



Cheers,
Patchy