Grill Guard/ Bumper

[CToney]

Hit a deer with my 3500. Curious if anyone has purchased one for their truck. Any recomendations?

 

[Mark31]

I saw a Truck Defender bumper on a Ram and drooled all over it. Strong, lighter than steel, expensive!

 

[BarryG]

AEV makes a nice looking one albeit expensive. As does expedition one

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

Wow , I asked about the same thing on 01-16 2023, and never got a single response. Good luck with your search.

 

[Topzide]

3500
https://www.americantrucks.com/ram-3500-brush-guards-and-grille-guards.html
2500
https://www.americantrucks.com/ram-2500-front-bumpers-2019.html

 

[odinjunior]

Will one of those really protect the front end or just be something else to bend when a deer hits it?

I was thinking about a Bull bar to mount lights on but the truck already takes up more than a space in a parking lot.

 

[BarryG]

On my 01 I had a Denver Offroad bumper. It was made out of thick aluminum and worked very well. It took a deer hit at 60mph and was unscathed didnt even scratch the powder coat. I have no idea if Layne is still making bumpers or not. On my 17 I had an ARB bumper. It looked good and I thought it would do ok in a hit but thankfully it never got to try. Now my 22 I dont know what to use. I did hit a deer back in September did 6k of damage never would have thought it by looking at the damage but that's what the estimates were. The ARB at least so far doesn't fit the 19-23's. I personally dont like the ranch hands as they dont look great not sure I have ever seen one that wasn't rusted up quickly. Have been looking at the AEV and Expedition One but for the kind of money they want it better hold up to an elephant hit and not sure they would handle deer but I have not seen them in person to really look at them.

 

[Topzide]

If I had a shop and some extra funds laying around, I think that I'd fab up my own SS bumper and guard! Maybe an aluminum one. Not sure which way I'd go. At least I'd know how it was made and could get the fit I wanted!

 

[Turbo Terry]

We used ranch hands in the 1980s in Wyoming. Killed a few deer with mine at 60-65 miles per hour. Never hurt the truck ever. So they work Not the best looking and do want to rust up a bit but these were work trucks

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

I made my own bumper. I’ve hit many deer with it now and not one scratch, dent or blemish. I had it professionally sprayed with bedliner 8ish years ago and there’s not one spot of rust on it. I’ve had many different brands of aftermarket bumpers over the years and some are better than others. Quality finish wise, Ranchhand was the worst. They start rusting after about one year. The bumper itself is durable, the coating is not. We had good luck with Fab Fours. They make a great bumper and the finish lasts a long time.

 

[bcbender]

Seen a few like this,.. I am not a fan of the big bumpers and prefer a stock look so that style would be about as far as I'd personally go, but there are several out there that may save your expensive front end

 

[Turbo Terry]

And then we have moose right. Just a huge deer. Mostly on the roads in the winter they don’t like to walk in the deep snow. I have been lucky so far.

 

[Rowdy Dalton]

Deer in Texas are all the time getting hit. The guys who have the bolt on Brush Gurards/Buddy Bumpers never fair well. And this is with small Texas deer. Those Brush Guards always get pushed into the hood, grill, headlights, and at times fenders. Not to mention at times the factory bumper get slightly damaged too. There would have been less damage if they had left that bolt on brush guard off.
Now, I have had a large steel Baja style bumper since around 2009-2010. I was driving home, when another truck going the opposite direction, made a fast left turn in front of me. I was going around 45mph when I t-boned his truck. It hit so hard that the roof of his truck buckled. All it did to mine was bend the frame, where the bumper attached around 2 inches over, and slightly pushed the bumper into the grill and one fender. It was an easy repair on mine. The other truck was totaled.
So, what I am trying to say is to get a solid steel bumper, with a welded on grill/guard.
Oh, also make sure the bumper/grill guard doesn't fit to close to any of the body/grill/etc.

 

[John Jensen]

Deer in Texas are all the time getting hit. The guys who have the bolt on Brush Gurards/Buddy Bumpers never fair well. And this is with small Texas deer. Those Brush Guards always get pushed into the hood, grill, headlights, and at times fenders. Not to mention at times the factory bumper get slightly damaged too. There would have been less damage if they had left that bolt on brush guard off.
Now, I have had a large steel Baja style bumper since around 2009-2010. I was driving home, when another truck going the opposite direction, made a fast left turn in front of me. I was going around 45mph when I t-boned his truck. It hit so hard that the roof of his truck buckled. All it did to mine was bend the frame, where the bumper attached around 2 inches over, and slightly pushed the bumper into the grill and one fender. It was an easy repair on mine. The other truck was totaled.
So, what I am trying to say is to get a solid steel bumper, with a welded on grill/guard.
Oh, also make sure the bumper/grill guard doesn't fit to close to any of the body/grill/etc.

My experience with Rancher and Ranch Hand grill guards has been much better. I've never seen what you describe with a deer hit, in fact, what I've seen is zero damage to the guard or the truck. The one exception was when a deer landed a bit higher than the guard and damaged the hood and windshield. My brother has a 2016 3500 HO with a Rancher grille guard. One year in Los Angeles a new Ford F150 changed lanes into the driver side front corner of my brother's truck. The Ford's entire passenger side was destroyed from the front door to the rear bumper. The Rancher grille guard wasn't even scratched. The guard over the headlight IMO is the guard's weakest point but it kept that Ford at bay.

 

[Flinty]

I've had good luck with Herd

 

[BSeyler]

I second Herd. I think this looks good on my 2000. My neighbor hit two deer with one of his Peterbilts at 65 MPH and figures his Herd bumper saved him about $16,000.