Best grill guard/bumper??

[JB_AOL]

yep its old and paid for. can you say the same?

Yep.. And still in the same shape as when I bought it..

and highly doubt you put more miles on gravel than a farmer does, and no where nere what I do in a year.

Truth hurts..

because you are the all mighty of all knowing grand poobah of the Ins world and grand master of the gravel road travel, and what should be said would get me a holiday.

umm ok.. Never said anything of sort.. You just seem to think that since I live in the city, I don't know what I'm talking about..

oh yeah 2 moose hit and its still the same no difference,

great story..

but maybe try that with your lil vehicle

Why would I try to hit a moose..

You mad bro..

[caver77]

Originally Posted by m.mcrae

Wondering what everyone's opinion is on their favourite replacement bumper. I'm looking for a bumper/grill guard for my 07 dura max. I've had 2 warn trans4mers and not happy with them. Looking at the ARB's but would prefer something aluminum that can still house a winch. What's your opinion boys??

Another .02 . Another way I look at it, is, will there be a decent replacement vehicle or insurance payout if you miss work or for opportunity lost because they cant give you a loaner of similar capability. I hit a deer with a 3500 chev van this spring and they didn't have a replacement for me aside from a mini van which wasn't any good for me. If my schedule hadn't been flexible it woulda been a real pain. I had a number of very near misses with my 3500 Dodge dually for which (after inquiring) there was also no loaner or rentable vehicle of similar capability. Some times I can't afford to be down for a 4days-wk+ for repairs like I was with the van, a decent bumper would have turned it into a bad day for the deer and that's it. In relation to a bumper for wildlife strikes I think get the strongest best valued one you can justify,ARB's are great I like the looks of their Deluxe Bull Bar's, they are air bag approved and have decent tow points, I don't know about winch mounting with them, but I'm sure they would make a model that's compatible. On a normal strike they can easily reduce damage by deer and others critters to nothing. Hope you can find what you're after, and let us know what you end up getting.

[JB_AOL]

Good point..


There's some useful information..

Airbag compliant. That's all I was looking for.. Might have to look into them.

[Sooner]

[QUOTE=sunsetrider2011;1676458]The ones built for hiway tractors are a different storry they are built to withstand the game animal impacts and other impacts to minimize damage. however even the aliarc for the large trucks are still Junk Sooner. Can you tell i have a dislike for ALi Arc? hahahahhaha[/QUOTE


I know the HD ones are tough, I always thought the Ali Arc ones for pick ups just looked wrong. Too big and bulky.

[Sooner]

how will something that flexes (factory bumper) wreck a frame rail faster than a solid bumper? Please explain..[/QUOTE]

Todays factory bumpers are not built very strong imo, during an impact, where the bumper bolts to the frame rail is the strongest part so the bumper folds back and the rail takes the full brunt. A bush bumper, steel or alum, will not bend as easily and absorb the hit better but still has the potential to bend or sway the rails. Just not as much imo. I have changed enough factory bumpers on pick ups to know they have light steel face bars and plastic trim, totally designed to fold back and crumple. Problem is, this causes extra body damage most times. Bumpers will now flex a lot more and hit fenders, grilles or tailgates if it is a light crash.

[JB_AOL]

Sooner..

i think we are saying the same thing (sort of)..

The way I see it, the energy is dissipated through the crumple zone. So while Yes, the bumper and some other parts will bend, that is what it is designed to do. Only a small portion of the energy is passed on to the frame.
Whereas if there is no crumple zone, the energy gets transfered straight to the frame. So less sacrificial damage, and more structural damage.

[Fordpilot83]

Herd, all the way

[bigdaddy37]

I'm looking for one and came across Aluminess.

http://www.aluminess.com/index.htm

I'm still considering if I will go aluminum or steel. I like the idea of steel, but the extra weight on the front will cause additional wear on the front end, which concerns me.

[m.mcrae]

Hi guys, thanks for all you're replies, some good points there. The more I look into it the more I am leaning towards the ARB bumper as they guarantee it will not affect your airbag deployment. I understand what RB is saying about crumple zones in the vehicles, Although with pick up trucks being a full frame vehicle, and not a unibody construction, they are by far not the safest vehicle, but I do understand How bolting an aftermarket product on your truck will affect the engineering. Even if I get a bumper that splits apart, The key thing I am looking for is that it will not strand me on the road. My buddy was on a fishing trip this year and coming back at dusk he hit a deer at highway speed with his 2007 Duramax and busted up all the radiators and front end, $14,000 in damage but the worst part was he did not get home till three in the morning because his vehicle was undrivable

[Albertadodgeboy]

Well I see some have had a bad experience with the ali arc, I onthe other hand had a good one. A month after I had mine installed I smoked a deer outside of Dog pound doing 80km/h. Say the first 2 but did not see number 3. Yes the think bottom metal bent in, but that was it, the rest of the bar was fine. Some time in the garage and I had it staightened back out. I know it saved me thousands of dollars in damage and down time of the truck. I will see if I can find my pictures.