Grill Guards and Proximity Detectors

[Stak]

My name is Steve and this is my first post.

I drive my 2015 Interstate EXT from Colorado to Florida 4-5 a year. A few weeks ago I'm driving through Tennessee and Kentucky and had a near miss with a deer. For the next few hours my wife counted seven fresh deer road kill sites. I would like to install a grill guard like the one in the photo.

I was all set to buy then it occurred to me that my front proximity detectors would probably go nuts. Now I know that many people believe grill guards can cause more damage than going without. I'm not delusional that deer are going to just bounce of this but I do almost all highway driving and my objective is to protect the radiator and other front end essentials enough to continue driving until I can get it looked at.

I'm looking for feedback, proximity detector work arounds and any specific make, model that people have experience with.

Thanks

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by Stak

My name is Steve and this is my first post.

I drive my 2015 Interstate EXT from Colorado to Florida 4-5 a year. A few weeks ago I'm driving through Tennessee and Kentucky and had a near miss with a deer. For the next few hours my wife counted seven fresh deer road kill sites. I would like to install a grill guard like the one in the photo.

I was all set to buy then it occurred to me that my front proximity detectors would probably go nuts. Now I know that many people believe grill guards can cause more damage than going without. I'm not delusional that deer are going to just bounce of this but I do almost all highway driving and my objective is to protect the radiator and other front end essentials enough to continue driving until I can get it looked at.

I'm looking for feedback, proximity detector work arounds and any specific make, model that people have experience with.

Thanks

..I have lot of experience with deer....that won’t work..too low...on my Kenworth an Ali- arc is the best...14 deer...before it got bent by a very large doe ay 64 mph...

[InterBlog]

Welcome to the forum. Good question - this is a topic worth revisiting now.

When similar questions were asked several years ago, I learned the phrase "damage amplifier". Some users don't believe such products work as intended and in fact can make collisions worse by allowing impacted objects (including deer) to become entangled in them.

Myself, I have no experience with these things, other than having witnessed multiple deer impacts involving other drivers. In the ones I've seen, unfortunately the poor animal tends to come up over the hood and through the windshield. It would be interesting to know if there's any product that could lessen the chances of that scenario.

[85MH325]

Originally Posted by Stak

My name is Steve and this is my first post.

I would like to install a grill guard like the one in the photo.

I'm looking for feedback, proximity detector work arounds and any specific make, model that people have experience with.

Thanks

That is a "brush" guard. It's called that for a reason.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by 85MH325

That is a "brush" guard. It's called that for a reason.

......fact...

[james.mileur]

Westin sells grill guards that use four attachment points. (HDX). They also sell proximity sensor kits that I installed on my 2016 3500 RAM three years ago, still working fine. All on Google or e-trailer.

[dechampion]

I have the Westin HDX on both my 2018 Ram 2500 and my 2016 Tundra. I haven't hit anything yet (thankfully), but the HDX is pretty hefty (not as hefty as a cattle guard) and gives me great peace of mind that I should not have to slam on my brakes (risking a jackknife or rollover) in case a deer jumps out in front of me.

[tbashin]

Relocate the sensors so they work. A good shop should be able to do that as part of the installation. They do it all the time on the front cameras on Super Duties.

[tjdonahoe]

[QUOTE=dechampion;2310799]I have the Westin HDX on both my 2018 Ram 2500 and my 2016 Tundra. I haven't hit anything yet (thankfully), but the HDX is pretty hefty (not as hefty as a cattle guard) and gives me great peace of mind that I should not have to slam on my brakes (risking a jackknife or rollover) in case a deer jumps out in front of me.[/QUOTE
A deer jumpe out in front of you.....Brake normally and hit it head on..you swerve , you will roll it.....then :you have problems...you hit a deer with that at 60...you will have a lot of damage..I have hit 14 with an Ali arc on a kw...and it got bent and it was solid on the frame...

[HRTKD]

This is a question that has been coming up on the ford-trucks.com forum for the 2017+ Superduty trucks that have Adaptive Cruise Control as well as the Collision Warning feature.

A select few manufacturers are providing a relocation location within their grille guard. A few forum members there that have done the relocation are reporting issues with the ACC or CW features not working and the blame is on the relocation.

At the very least, when a relocation is done, a recalibration of the radar is highly recommended. That requires a trip to the dealer.

Here is a link to a thread on that forum: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ng-module.html

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Welcome to the forum. Good question - this is a topic worth revisiting now.

When similar questions were asked several years ago, I learned the phrase "damage amplifier". Some users don't believe such products work as intended and in fact can make collisions worse by allowing impacted objects (including deer) to become entangled in them.

Myself, I have no experience with these things, other than having witnessed multiple deer impacts involving other drivers. In the ones I've seen, unfortunately the poor animal tends to come up over the hood and through the windshield. It would be interesting to know if there's any product that could lessen the chances of that scenario.

I had an encounter with a good sized deer about 20 years ago. Came out nowhere from the left side and yes attempted to jump over the hood area only to crash onto it.
Demolished the hood completely.
On the upside it was a rental car.

[gcarter]

30 years ago I converted a GM4106 (highway bus) into a motor home. It had a great option called a spot light. In driving thru the areas where dear like to live I could shine the spotlight a quarter mile down the road on the right side ditch. In one area I counted over 50 dear in a mile and they all stayed off the road. Anyway worked for me or I was lucky.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

......fact...

A lot of folks refer to them as "damage multipliers"

A few years ago, we hit a full-grown elk dead center (the operative word here is "dead"). We were traveling at 65 MPH and didn't even have time to tap the brakes. We suffered ZERO damage. The ARB "bull bar" on the Land Cruiser did its job, and once cleaned up (yuk) was good as new. ARB: the right stuff.

[RFP]

FYI: the OP hasn't been back to the forum since his original post. I guess the deer got him!