deer and trucks

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

jpd

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Posts
4
Reaction score
0
Ram Year
2001
Engine
5.9L Magnum
Well I clipped a deer with my Ram 1500...nothing serious but I need a new bumper, foglight, and wheel tub. So, my question is this. Would adding a brush guard of some sort help or would hitting a 150lb animal at 65mph square on just push everything even further back into the engine compartment? I don't know if bull bars or brush guards would do anything or are they just for looks and don't really do **** in the first place. I am the type of person that only buys something for a truck if it actually has a function. I currently have a late model Laramie 4x4 and would really hate to hide the front end behind a guard if it's a waste of time. I'm up here in Wisconsin though so deer and trucks seem to be quite fond of each other.

Jon
 

1500ram12

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Posts
5,487
Reaction score
2,427
Ram Year
2005
Engine
5.9L Cummins
A brush guard would help but not enough to justify buying one. The only thing that you could add that would give you the most protection would be like a ranch hand or arb style bumper

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
 

Coop

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Posts
80
Reaction score
28
Location
Omaha
Ram Year
2019
Engine
5.7 Hemi
Deer belong in the bed, it's not good to try to scoop them up. :)

Brush guards can turn a little damage into a lot in many cases. Sometimes they can prevent or lessen some damage, but they can also cause more damage. They are good at protecting from brush, but not as effective at high speeds against big targets like a deer. A full bumper replacement can give you more protection.
 

Rotzilla

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Posts
656
Reaction score
135
Location
colorado
Ram Year
2013
Engine
6.7 CTD
I don't completly agree, I was in a ferd with a inexspensive 3 piece brush guard when we hit a 4x5 muley at 50mph, killed him dead. The truck escaped without damage, just a little fur.
 

Cruizer

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Posts
6,816
Reaction score
2,426
Location
Ohio
Ram Year
2010 Sport 4x4 QC
Engine
5.7L Hemi
Brushguards can help. Brushguard on our old Blazer stopped the thing from getting damaged in an auto accident. Brushguard was toast, but no damage to the Blazer. It all really depends on what you hit and exactly where it hits the brushguard. If protecting your truck is you motivation you would want a heavy duty one and not some cheap one. It could never guarantee protection for your truck though. The deer could get under it, over it, on the corner of it bending it over one the quarter panel. There's just to many variables. My insurance drops my deductible for things like that. My comprehensive does the same, no deductible for certain situations. Maybe that's an option.
 

TRCM

USN, Retired
Military
Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Posts
3,238
Reaction score
5,359
Location
Newport News, VA
Ram Year
2012 1500 Laramie CC 4x4
Engine
5.7 Hemi
It all depends on where & how the deer hits.

Most brushguards can be seen moving a good bit when driving, because they aren't solidly supported. Those kind will fold up easily on impact, and likely do even more damage, but the solid kind, like Ranchhand or ARB won't, and will save the truck.

I mean if I can push on the outer part of the brushguard, and almost make it touch the body, I can assure the deer will make it move even more when it hits.
 
Top