Bumper or grill guard for deer?

Hello. I hve a 2008 project tundra and I’m researching whether I need a front bumper or a grill guard. I will not be using a winch or doing any rock crawling, it’s main purpose is for deer and to mount a 20” or so light bar. I spend most of my driving on windy country roads and highways and I’ve had far too many near misses. Will a grill guard be robust enough to save the radiator and what not if I were to hit a deer? I assume a light can be mounted to anything, I don’t need a special cut out for anything but the stock fogs. Thanks for any assistance.

 

From what I've been told, a grill guard will not be enough but it would help some.

I live in the state with the most deer strikes in USA (WV). A local shop told me "70% of all our repairs are from deer hits."

Get the grill guard if you want it, I might get one for my truck, but what I have found to work for me is to stay alert, eyes on road, and off to either side. I see a deer I brake, even if he's just on the side of the road. A deer passes in front of me, I brake, while looking behind him for deer #2 and #3. Many times had I not come to a stop I'd have hit the deer following behind. Good luck.

 

funny you say that cause the only deer I’ve ever hit in my life was in West Virginia

I’d go bumper with bull bar fab 4 has a lightweight one with light bar cut out. https://fabfours.com/product/toyota-tundra-vengeance-front-bumper/

 

WV, fattest people, most deer.

I've never hit a deer but I have hit a dog and black bear(!).

 

I hve no doubt it’s a nice bumper but it’s 2500 before taxes and shipping. I’d rather not drop that kind of coin. The lightweight aspect is ideal though. Thanks for the reply.

 

Yeah, avoidance is key but windy country roads, surrounded by trees and early morning commutes, it’s a recipe for disaster. I had a deer hit me (you read that right) last year and it took an act of Congress to get my insurance to pay for the damage. It came flying out of the woods one morning and destroyed my rear quarter panel. Glad it was a doe. lol.

 

"...windy country roads, surrounded by trees and early morning commutes...." you just described exactly where I live. Are you a neighbor?

I have seen deer crash into the sides of cars.

I still think seeing them first is key. That and an armored car or at least deuce and a half truck?

 

I hit a fairly decent sized deer with my Tacoma years back. Was traveling at 60 mph at dusk and the deer came out of a dark ditch.

ARB really designed the bumper well for animal strikes. The bumper effectively stopped the deer from going over the hood and pushed it down and out.

Deer was killed instantly. This was the final damage to the truck.






ARB sent me a lens for free.

The moral of the story: well engineered full bumpers work and you get what you pay for.

 

It’s funny how you mentioned this as about 20 minutes ago, after researching this topic for a few days, I had sort of settled on the ARB for the same reason. It’ll take longer to save up but I hope to pass this project truck onto my son and I’d prefer to do it right once. Plus he’s learning how to work on vehicles so it’s a win all around. Thanks for the pics and confirming the quality of the ARB. Glad it was just a lense.

 

An ARB bumper on a Tundra is heavy and expensive but there are few people who would question their engineering and quality of construction. They even crash test the bumpers to ensure airbags still work properly. Australians just have so much more overall experience with bull bars.

As long as you have a solid front suspension and keep the bumper clean from salt it will last as long as the truck.

 

Having hit one deer and seen the carnage from many….. it is amazing how much damage a deer can do.
buy the biggest bumper with grill protection that you can. No a simple grill guard will not be enough. In fact a deer will probably bend a big bumper some.

 

ARB front bumpers available for a 2006 DC Tundra?

I've never had a winch but it might come in handy.....

 

I’ll be redoing the front coils and rear shocks at some point as they’re pretty old so I’ll want to compensate for the additional bumper weight.