Sky11

Hey guys, recently I had an encounter with deer in my truck going 70km/h on a side road, and while family is perfectly safe, my truck took some damage - driver side headlight, grill, radiators, bumper, driver side front quarter panel and even driver side mirror. Yes insurance is covering it, but I am still into $1K deductible, plus a replacement for my Diode Dynamics fogs, plus for month I do not have my truck, and still need to arrange PPF replacement for the front. Headache that I was not looking for
So that made think real hard about getting a grill guard, and as per my research, Ranch Hand Ford Legend GGF21HBL1C (with cutout for the camera), is the best option in terms of compatibility with sensors / strength /etc.
If anyone on this forum has experience with Ranch Hand grill guard, or a similar product, can you please share your experiences?

• Does anyone have experience with such grill?
• Does it really work well with sensors?
• Will it really protect the truck from another deer encounter?
• Any alternatives (that explicitly will work with censors and camera)

Thanks in advance guys!

Was still able to drive home ~150km with leaking radiator...

jhelrey

Let the body shop fix it and just drive it.

Scott in PA

jcnorton

I.ve had 2 from ranch hand, 1 on 17 Expedition, and 1 on my current F150(23). The newer grill gaurds don't have an upper mount anymore (too much garbage behind the grill-no room) and there is more flex to it. Judging from you pic it would have saved the grill, radiator ect. probably some minor damage to fender or headlight. With the added flex this one has it would probably be tweaked enough to need replaced. The only thing I can say on the sensors is if Ranch Hand says it will, it will. They've always been pretty straight with me in the past. The grill gaurds in general will add about 120# to the front end, will help a lot on damage but no free ride. Each hit is different, I've had one that saved me completely, zero damage and one hit that was off center (like yours) and had some fender damage. I like them and have had them on all trucks for a while with no regrets. To each his own!

David Hineline

I wonder about those and even sturdier units, obviously it protects the truck from small animal hits, but in a really severe crash does it transfer the crash energy into the occupant cabin defeating the entire purpost of crumple zones to save lives?

Sky11

I do not expect a grill guard to magically transform a 1/2 ton truck into an armoured personnel carrier, but my goal is to ensure that the truck is drivable after impact. If I am in the middle of nowhere at night, that usually means I family onboard and we doing a long trip away from home.I got lucky this time - radiator leak was small enough for me to drive home. Next time I might not be so lucky...

Regarding severe impact - since this grill guard is only mounted to the tow hook mounts, it will likely to fold and will absorb some of the impact energy. This is the difference between off road bumper with extra protection that will not crumble, and bumper guard that does have weak point.

Buccaneer82

Here's a pic of mine that just got installed, they had to cut a bit of the lowest plastic to install the brackets. Looks pretty good to me, glad I did it even though we have tiny deer in FL :p

isthatahemi

Well a Ranch Hand isn't the solution, a Steel craft or Westin HDX, that attaches properly with 4 points. The Ranch Hand is a big lever waiting to smash into the front of the truck, while bending at the mounts. It's a brush guard only, and probably fine for that.....except it doesn't even have proper headlight protection.

Now I will get the ire of those who own them and defend them like it's their first born.

jcnorton

no ire, but I will say that for a Ford 4 mounting points is over. With all the shutters and other garbage behind the grill there is no place for upper mounts. I have resisted the urge to rip the shutters out and fab upper mounts, this one is way less solid as many I've had in the past. Jim

isthatahemi

Incorrect, the 2 I listed, both have upper bumper assembly mounting brackets. An order of magnitude more robust.

Please don’t post inaccurate / incorrect info.