Looking for aluminum Ranchhand style front bumper/grill guard

[NVjeff]

Does anyone build a Ranchhand style bumper/grill guard, in aluminum, for the Gladiator?

I hit a deer Tues. morning about 7 hours from home. My Gladiator was disabled, I spent the last three days getting home to get my old Dodge to go get the Gladiator to get it home to get repaired.

Assuming the repairs include a new front bumper I'd like to replace it with something larger.

I'm looking for something like this, I've already contacted Truck Defender, they don't build this for the Gladiator.

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[BourbonRunner]

Damn. That sucks. Sorry to hear.

Dunno about the ranch bumpers. I'm leery of aftermarket Jeep aluminum off road bumpers being effective in a strike as is. I dont know that they're as strong as steel in the applications I've seen.

I tend to think the MOPAR steel bumper with a tall enough hoop should be sufficient for most deer strikes. A stinger theoretically should help knock the animal down so it doesn't go over your hood.

 

[chorky]

Oh man that sucks.....

For something like that I would get the AEV bumper. It will probably be the strongest option with a solid protection for the grille. I doubt anybody makes a ranch hand style bumper for the JT, kind not in line with Jeep styling.

 

[dave gladiator]

Oh man that sucks.....

For something like that I would get the AEV bumper. It will probably be the strongest option with a solid protection for the grille. I doubt anybody makes a ranch hand style bumper for the JT, kind not in line with Jeep styling.

arb full width

 

[NVjeff]

For bumpers I usually prefer steel, in this case I hope aluminum would be strong enough yet keep some weight off the front of the truck.

I had forgotten about AEV thanks for the recommendation and I looked at the ARB.
It's hard to get a feel for how stout these bumpers are built, I don't remember seeing material specs listed for either.

I like the Rock Hard 4X4 aluminum bumper except I want hood height uprights like in the pic I posted.

 

[Deleted member 52902]

I had the misfortune of a Grouse that flew across the road at dusk as I was driving about 50 mph. He hit my grill dead center before I had any time at all to react. I suppose that was best since any move I might have made, might have ended up worse for my JEEP, and myself. The grille seemed to be the only thing damaged as I pulled the bird out. It also put a pin hole in the AC condenser. $1,600 later (abt 10 yrs ago), grille, condenser and paint restored this. I then added a steel grille guard I ordered from Extreme Terrain. That arrived with a dent in it; ET ignored my report with pictures so I will anything again from them. Since the dent was small, I just decided to go with it. But with a modification to prevent such an occurance to happen again.

I acquired a piece of expanded metal that I cut to size that would cover the center of this steel grille guard. I welded two flat bars of steel to the expanded metal, and drilled holes through these bars for 1/4 inch stainless steel bolts as well matching holes in the grill guards (gg) vertical posts. Primered and painted the screen gloss black to match the gg and bolted it in place. This will protect the JEEP's grill, condenser, radiator, oil cooler from some future hits that might occur. Obviously some birds or animals may still cause damage depending on their bulk, speed of the JEEP, etc but for some of these or some objects that might bounce up into my path; this can stop or minimize some of these hits. A deer? Maybe. A moose? Of course not. Coming away from a Moose hit might not fair well for the JEEP or occupants. This guard is therefore will only help with some minimal sized "objects" and at what speed the object and the JEEP come together at. Hopefully any case that occurs will be improved with what I have done. 10-ish years later, the expanded metal & gg assembly has disintegrated a good number of bugs from making it in whole or part, to the JEEP grille and coils beyond.

Perhaps this solution will work for you to have some piece of mind without great expense. Or too much forward weight. You can see I did this with the factory cheezy bumper but I decided this too was part of this project. Regardless of how much money we can put into a beefier front welded steel bumper, it likely would get damaged with a good hit. Cost of replacement of the plastic covered steel, factory bumper is relatively cheap. Especially a used one from a bone yard. To this, I added a winch behind this bumper. Keeping the weight lower and mostly hiding it from those that might have sticky fingers with tools to abscond with top mount winches. Which also blocks airflow. Which also would have been a bit more work involved to have this grille guard. Just my choice of how I did this. Winch had a fair amount of use in the forest for recovering trees that fell, or I cut down where I would "skid" them out by winch cable to a better place to work with.

For your JT Gladiator, there are some steel bumpers that include grille guards that you could also add an expanded metal screen. And a winch if you need that. This one in particular places a winch low enough to keep from being top heavy. And you could if desired, add a screen to its uprights to keep the smaller critters and objects from damaging the JEEP grill, radiator, etc, and still able to work with this winch setup. Ideally the screen could be quickly removed (slid up?) in a track to make the winch completely accessible. If I had to work on my hidden winch for any reason, it would be a hassle and certainly no fun at all in the forest, on a hill, in the snow. URL for a possible solution for you.

https://www.extremeterrain.com/vang...steel-brush-guard-black-vgfrg-2507bk-led.html

Picture of my JK mounted Grille Guard below, with my expanded metal addition.

 

[NVjeff]

Thanks, that Extreme Terrain bumper and guard would do, if I could find out how thick the material is.
I can't find any material info (other than steel) in the ad, I'm afraid it's stamped sheetmetal.
I want 1/4" plate.

I searched Vanguard Off Road and think I found the manufacturer.
The weight of that bumper is 100 lbs.
A Rock Hard 4X4 steel bumper is something like 137 lbs., with a much smaller guard on it.
I don't think that bumper is built heavy enough.

 

[gonemad]

As for deer protection it would need to be really stout. I’ve hit two, both a long time ago. One was a full grown buck. Hit him on the left headlights in an ‘85 Crown Vic 35 years a ago at about 50-55mph. It felt like hitting a dang tree, although it did less damage, but that was a big heavy, honkin’, all steel tank I was driving.

 

[BourbonRunner]

For bumpers I usually prefer steel, in this case I hope aluminum would be strong enough yet keep some weight off the front of the truck.

I had forgotten about AEV thanks for the recommendation and I looked at the ARB.
It's hard to get a feel for how stout these bumpers are built, I don't remember seeing material specs listed for either.

I like the Rock Hard 4X4 aluminum bumper except I want hood height uprights like in the pic I posted.

ARB and AEV are OEM suppliers to multiple manufacturers, Jeep included and among the best built and designed equipment generally speaking be it bumpers to suspensions and everything in between. AEV's Brute conversions are part of why we even have the JT today.

I had an ARB on my 1st gen Tacoma and it was an absolute beast. Yes, it was heavy but it was also damned near indestructible. I would have zero hesitation buying anything from ARB or AEV- It ain't cheap but know the quality is there.

 

[NVjeff]

I had an ARB on my 1st gen Tacoma and it was an absolute beast. Yes, it was heavy but it was also damned near indestructible. I would have zero hesitation buying anything from ARB or AEV- It ain't cheap but know the quality is there.

Do you think the upright on the ARB would withstand a deer strike? Or would it fold over and cause more damage?

I've looked at some pics on the ARB site to try to get an idea of the construction.
It's hard for me to judge, looking at the pics.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Do you think the upright on the ARB would withstand a deer strike? Or would it fold over and cause more damage?

I've looked at some pics on the ARB site to try to get an idea of the construction.
It's hard for me to judge, looking at the pics.

I hear you there. Technical pics for them online are a bit lacking. I bought mine used from a tow driver that pulled it off a rear end total., it was missing all the hardware including the crush cans. ARB at the time didn't sell a kit of bolts, etc but did graciously provide me with full tech specs, drawings, instructions, and more importantly- a comprehensive list of what hardware I needed that I took straight to Fastenal and a discount on the crush cans I was missing. ARB's customer service is top notch.

A possible deer strike is the main reason why I put one on my Taco but never tested it, thankfully. That hoop was THICK and the whole thing weighed a ton. To be very blunt I think ARB overbuilds their armor, and that's a Very Good Thing.

Whitetail? Yes, I'd think so.
Muley? Maybe. Depends on the size I suppose.

 

[Freems]

Thanks, that Extreme Terrain bumper and guard would do, if I could find out how thick the material is.
I can't find any material info (other than steel) in the ad, I'm afraid it's stamped sheetmetal.
I want 1/4" plate.

I searched Vanguard Off Road and think I found the manufacturer.
The weight of that bumper is 100 lbs.
A Rock Hard 4X4 steel bumper is something like 137 lbs., with a much smaller guard on it.
I don't think that bumper is built heavy enough.

Keep in mind 1/4” steel plate weights over 10lbs per square foot. So maybe 60 - 80 lbs just to cover with the plate, that’s a lot of weight plus the bumper infrastructure.

 

[Blade1668]

ARB bumpers are designed for dealing with kangaroos in Australia so that should help with a deer incidents. If that puts it in perspective. That's a top contender for front protection. IMHO

 

[NVjeff]

Keep in mind 1/4” steel plate weights over 10lbs per square foot. So maybe 60 - 80 lbs just to cover with the plate, that’s a lot of weight plus the bumper infrastructure.

This is why I'd really like to find an aluminum bumper w. grill guard.
I want a Rock Hard 4X4 aluminum bumper (1/4" material) with a guard like the Vanguard bumper.

Maybe Rock Hard will build one if I ask nicely.

 

[Freems]

This is why I'd really like to find an aluminum bumper w. grill guard.
I want a Rock Hard 4X4 aluminum bumper (1/4" material) with a guard like the Vanguard bumper.

Maybe Rock Hard will build one if I ask nicely.

Find a local aluminum fabricator and have one built to your exact wants and needs. The aluminum boat fab people do amazing work, good luck.

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