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I found a grille/brush guard (i.e., deer puncher) that I would like to purchase and install on my X. However, I don't know the make or model. The owner doesn't know either based on the question previously asked in the comments.
Do any of you guys know who makes this or a similar unit as shown below?
I can't recall the maker on this one...think they are no longer in business. What I do remember about those is they are really flimsy and the deer will punch back at them...
Agreed, those ones are flimsy, if you want a bumper that can take a deer, or potentially another vehicle and provide complete protection, look into hammerhead, and Ranch Hand.
You can click on the word Dauntless in my signature and see my truck, i have the ranch hand on the front, and the hammerhead on the back
@Tunafish389 Thanks! That looks like the same brand or at least something very much like what I am after. Now I need to do some research to see if the quality is any good. Hopefully it has been upgraded or is a different better model than what has been reported here. I'm not necessarily looking to be be scratch free hitting a deer at 70mph, but I certainly don't want a flimsy piece of crap.
@MasterX , those Ranch Hands look beefy and the price seems reasonable. My only complaint is that they are black. My X is unfortunately the white with tan and chrome color scheme. I'll have to look at some web pictures and see if black would look decent or fugly.
The problem with cheap grille / brush guards is that their mounting points and construction are weak, due to that a deer strike can bend the uprights causing the entire guard to fold back onto the vehicle causing more damage across the entire front end than the deer would have done. A good well built guard will deal with the deer without any deformation (other than to the deer) and protect the front end like everyone hopes for, the full bumpers with welded on guards are the best route for the best outcome.
You can paint any of them to color match your body or trim color, looks good like that.
@Tunafish389 Thanks! That looks like the same brand or at least something very much like what I am after. Now I need to do some research to see if the quality is any good. Hopefully it has been upgraded or is a different better model than what has been reported here. I'm not necessarily looking to be be scratch free hitting a deer at 70mph, but I certainly don't want a flimsy piece of crap.
@MasterX , those Ranch Hands look beefy and the price seems reasonable. My only complaint is that they are black. My X is unfortunately the white with tan and chrome color scheme. I'll have to look at some web pictures and see if black would look decent or fugly.
If you want it to actually protect the truck from an actual impact, the bolt on brush guard is not going to do anything, get one that replaces the bumper and everything, and the deer will feel like a massive 1 ft deep pot hole when you strike one, and any evidence left on the truck from it, should wash off under a power washer.
If the Hammerhead rear bumper I have is any indication to their front bumpers, well, the Hammerhead Rear bumper is thicker than the Ranch Hand front bumper is....
Aaaahhh, I was looking at the Ranch Hand grille guard. I didn't realize that the bumper (which includes a grille guard) is what I actually need. Those are EXPENSIVE! I'll probably need to wait on that.
Does anybody make a bolt on grille guard that's actually worth installing or is there just not enough good fastening points available to make it possible?
If you want it to take a beating, it needs to be a bumper replacement....
That said, Look around at Junk Yards, Craigslist, Offerup, etc, there are tons of F250, F350, F450, and even some Excursions that had those bumpers installed and you can get them much cheaper used.
Front Bumper wise, As long as its from 2000-2007, a iron bumper off of any F250, F350, F450, or Excursion should fit your Excursion just fine, bolt right on. Even the ones made for 2005-2007 trucks bolt right on, they just leave a little gap between the bottom of the truck grille, and the top of the bumper, which is easily fixed by installing a 2005 grille.
I would be more worried about a roll bar than hitting anything up front; best bumper or factory.. Think about that.
I absolutely will not swerve for a deer in an EX...especially while towing! Rolling an EX has got to be a bad/last day. This is also why I am not interested in any lift kits. My rationale for a 'good' grille guard is to allow me hit the deer but at least be able to limp along afterwards and not be stranded.
Look around at Junk Yards, Craigslist, Offerup, etc, there are tons of F250, F350, F450, and even some Excursions that had those bumpers installed and you can get them much cheaper used.
Thank you...excellent advice! I have time, so I'll start looking. Plus I like the idea of a later model grill upgrade.
I absolutely will not swerve for a deer in an EX...especially while towing! Rolling an EX has got to be a bad/last day. This is also why I am not interested in any lift kits. My rationale for a 'good' grille guard is to allow me hit the deer but at least be able to limp along afterwards and not be stranded.
So some people say a lift will make you roll prone, and it may with stock wheels and tires, but i put on the -25 offset AR172 16x10s, and 305/70/16 tires, and the truck is actually more stable now then it was at stock height due to the wider stance of the wheel and tire combo. It is rather well planted this way, obviously if i jack knifted a trailer it might flip, but as for comparing hard cornering back when it was stock, to now, it actually handles better not worse, but i believe the much wider wheels and tires did that.
Think about it this way, factory wheels are 16x7, what i did was add 3 inches to their width, meaning 1.5 inches added on the inside and the outside, so overall 3 inches wider from outside of wheel to outside of wheel, but then the offset of -25 pushes them outward by 1 inch, so the trucks stance on the ground is actually 5 inches wider outside to outside.
Then the tires are 12 inches wide, which means they are about 1 inch wider than the wheel on each side, so thats now 6 inches wider outside of tire to outside of tire, the lift was a 6 inch lift, but add a little bit of sag and settling and there is the stability gain, 6 inches wider stance overall, plus 2.5 inches more of tire contact patch width going from 265 to 305, which also distributes the weight better on the ground.
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Grille/Brush Guard Identification
