I recently bought an '02 f-250 and am knew to this forum. I am feeling the need to put on a grill guard/bumper. Where is the best place to buy a used one and what are the best brands?

 

Welcome to FTE !! Personally I like the brush guards that are built into some of the aftermarket bumpers out there. But there are costly !! So are you looking for a brush guard for just looks or do you actually want one that will actually keep a deer from wiping out your intercooler and rad ? Because the ones that bolt up to the front of the bumper look nice but in reality they are NOT going to stop anything. OK maybe stop a bush or branch?? I have seen more than a handful of times where having a bolt on brush guard did more damage than whatever they hit.

I am sure guys that have some will weigh in but I would also like to hear about guys with brush guards that have hit something and what brands actually work. Because in my book pretty don't mean anything but if it looks good and it can help prevent damage then "That's Cool !! "

 

Thanks. I'm like you in that if its not functional no matter what it looks like I don't have any use for it. I live in western Nebraska and there are deer all over the road. I'm definitely looking for a grill guard that replaces the stock bumper and will protect my radiators from attacking deer.

 

i got one that bolts to the frame and bumper, i use it to push cars around and hold lights for winter, i purchased it used of craigslist. i would look there.

 

Does it have a brand name, or was it a custom built deal?

 

i think its a modular westin, the guy i bought it from welded it togeather and bedlined it.

 

Mine is bolted right to the frame. As with anything up front, deer are not just going to bounce off of it and in most cases a good size deer will still destroy the guard. While the center of the unit might remain intact, the bars that many have on the outside of the guard to cover the light area will just be pushed back into the body work. While it may help, the end result of having body damage and repair cost are still going to occur. Now I have seen some Road Armor setups that look like you could hit an elephant but you need to decide just how "road warrior" you want to look and how much you are willing to spend.

 

i honestly believe the only way your going to save the front is to tie in kicker bars to top of grill guard and go back thru front body/grill to top of frame at 45 deg angle, and then your probably just going to bend the frame when a accident happens and bodywork if its hard enough hit.

 

I have a RanchHand brush guard. Got mine from the RanchHand outlet in Houston Tx. $525 installed a few years back.
I love the quality, strength, and looks. It bolts to the frame and keeps the stock tow hooks.

One day I would like to make some blocks to move it out and away from the grill maybe two inches. It's a pain to wash the front of the truck when You can barely get your hand in between the grill & guard.

 

i use a meyer snow plow frame with the light mounts cut off and no plow pump on it.
it slips rite into the lower mount, and in the winter i just slide it out and slip the one with lights and pump in.
i don't have a pic of just the tube hoop, but here is one with the pump and lights on to give you an idea of what it looks like.

 

i like that idea.

 

I have 02 f350 with an older RanchHand like franko72. A passing 1/2 ton truck lost tire/wheel right in front of me on a 2 lane. The wheel hit the front end of my truck with combined speed of 130 and not even a scratch on the guard or truck. So a deer should be no problem.

 

Mine has taken out 2 deer and not a scratch. My buddy has hit about 8 in the last year. I ordered mine from peacemaker bumpers. I think they are down around Houston TX.

 

Build one if you want it done right.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...some-pics.html

 

Now that is a bumper worthy of a SuperDuty !! And that is a impressive track record with the deer!! I quit deer hunting years ago when I was doing better at getting the deer with my cars or trucks then I was actually hunting. I have hit 6 or 7 deers over the years and no matter what I was driving they tore up my car or truck. And I have had one deer run into the side of my car... Freaked me Out!! In the last 10 yrs. if I see a deer I head straight for it and hit the gas. It seems like every time I try to hit a deer I miss and every time I try to avoid a deer I hit them.

Custom bumpers with I would not call a bush guard it more of a cattle/ deer guard have more advantages other then looking bad a$$. The stock front bumpers on our trucks are a very poor design as far as impact goes. They were rated and tested for 5mph impacts just enough to keep the feds happy and of course save weight. But custom welded bumper will distribute the energy of a impact better. It spread that load better between both frame rails. And for you guys that have never put any thought to it. Please remember if you are going to hit something also square up on it if you can opposed to hitting it something with just one frame rail or a side blow. The frames on our Ford trucks by design if hit in one frame rail hard enough will cause a diamond in the frame. Mind you a deer will never cause a frame diamond. And on a frontal impact when a frame gets diamond it is almost or is impossible to get it out of the frame at the front cross member. It is less critical on a 4wd but on a 2wd you will have a hard time getting alignment due to the twin Ibeam set up.

Now as far as bush guards that are welded into the bumper of course they ain't moving or going anywhere. The problem I have seen on the kind that bolt to the frame rail is, when impacted even just a little bit above the frame rails they tend to roll the top of the guard on the hood and the headlight guards damage the fenders. Where they bolt to the frame acts like a pivot point since the upper mounts are really worthless in case of impact. As some of you know I spent over 20 yrs in the collision industry and I have seen them cause more damage there would have been if there wasn't a bush guard on it. But that is not always the case as some have pointed out here. But I myself when I run into something I would like to do so with confidence. So hopefully down the road I'll be able to buy or build a front bumper/ guard that I can go deer hurting with my truck.

Very Nice Job!!! Now that also is a that is a bumper worthy of a SuperDuty. The lights you used were a very nice touch and I am sure they are very helpful