Deer versus Winch bumper

There are no coincidences, my friends. Wife’s Mustang was out of commission last night, so she took the Tundra into town. On the way home in the dark, she hit a doe. I’d installed a FabFours Matrix bumper earlier this year.

Protection from deer was the primary reason I got an aftermarket bumper. A contractor working for me hit one out here in his Tundra and it pushed the quarter panel back so far it went into the front door jamb… almost a five figure repair.

Can’t imagine what this would have done to the Mustang and her if she were driving it, ugh.

I decided I wanted the steel upfront, PreLander tube with extended sides that would allow my emblem sensor to work properly but still provide protection, mounts for lotsa light (thanks to @memario1214 ) and a place for a winch.

I was still worried about that PreLander tube not being high enough to hold the body of a deer back, but lo and behold, in this case it struck the bar and went down the angled plate on the bumper and under the truck, spit out the back. (Stock, 4x4 height on my Tundra).

Bumper (and truck) appear completely unscathed and wife got home safely. Go FabFours!

 

You sure it was a deer????

 

Pics

 

Of the deer right?

 

Do you have pictures of your bumper to share?

 

Did she bring home venison steaks?

 

I'm looking to move up near you, and was considering more protection up front... and now you have me terrified. Glad you let her drive your rig, and yes, things seem quite driven by synchronicity in some instances, especially where that statistical outlier runs into the love of your life in what could have been much worse. Glad she's okay, brother.

So is anyone out there in the 'damage multiplier' club? The only thing preventing me from going big up front is the thought of my wife hitting something bigger than a deer... and bending the frame.

Any engineers or mechanics out there want to add their thoughts? I have no idea what to believe here.

 

I get it and promise to take pics this week, guys. There’s one spot on the PreLander tube with fur and blood markings. Also, she said there was no mistaking the size of the animal going through the undercarriage grinder (this is her second deer strike - first one was on my previously beloved Camry).

This will be the second animal strike on the Tundra in under a year of ownership (~11,000 mi.). Something odd about trucks and blunt force trauma to wildlife…

 

I’m kind of old school, but I am a believer in more steel up front. When we moved out here from suburban living in town, I got the Aries police interceptor grill guard for our Explorer.
There are fab shops making aftermarket aluminum ones, but I’m sticking with steel.
The deer population issue is increasingly becoming a problem for motor vehicle impact around this part of the country, perhaps others. As I mentioned before, get the best lighting you can afford and the best protection you can rationalize to make you feel comfortable. I’d call Colton at HotShot Offroad and talk to him, he’s a wealth of info. There are always compromises at some level, but you have to make sure first and foremost that you’re comfortable with the safety aspect.

 

That's how my Camry died, too

 

Second on Hotshot off-road super helpful on figuring out lighting.

 

Growing up in Michigan, never had an issue with deer for the 1st 17 years of my life. Two weeks before I left for the military, I was in 2 trucks mangled by deer. My dad told me the state hired DNR sharpshooters after I left because it got so bad.

I'm probably going to armor up when we move, I think the data suggests I should in that area. Last dead critter I saw on the side of the road here was a gator, so I like my chances right now.

Any suggestions on towns to look at in our search? I'm so ready to leave this swamp!

 

I’ve heard those same stories about living in the UP. Will PM you about NWA communities.

 

Think baseball bat hitting baseball, the greater mass combined with momentum simply deflects the item of significantly less mass. There are trade off factors to consider, such as stopping distance will be reduced, fuel mileage, etc. That said I run with a Ranchhand summit series bumper and a front receiver by drawtite to grind shit up before it sees the undercarriage. Why? Because pulling a heavy trailer on the highway makes it difficult to stop or even significantly slow down quickly for wildlife or possibly a cow.

 

I wonder if/how aluminum would hold up.

 

Depends on the actual design, meaning how said aluminum is utilized. It's generally plenty strong and for that reason widely used in aircraft design. Simply too expensive to manufacture bumpers on a mass production scale to satisfy aftermarket buyers.

 

Well, a couple days later and I couldn’t stop for the road splat where I think she was (two lane road and traffic). Near a creek crossing. Didn’t see a carcass, but lots of places for it to be dragged off to.

Very little evidence on the truck, sorry but I’m ultimately not sorry! ;-) Saw a little blood spatter on some bolt heads underneath (bolt pic is at rear driveshaft U-joint) and some heat shield damage. Don’t think it’s all visible with there being so much black under there. Got a a pic of one small ding on the heat shield. She said rear tire(s) went over the carcass in the back and after she stopped, got out and saw the animal’s head unmoving in the road. She ended up driving away… I guess that’s all you can do.
Neighbors told us a long time ago if a deer/animal pops out in front of you on that narrow road, plow it and don’t swerve to avoid crashing.
Good news is, she felt bad and cleaned the interior for me. Got a good one, there boys!

 

Glad all is well.

 

My buddy hit a deer one night in the middle of nowhere when it was about 5°F outside. (No cellphone reception either.) Luckily the truck was still driveable. I just had to duct tape one headlight in place to get back home.

Had we hit it a little more squarely and busted the radiator it would have gotten quite cold waiting on rescue. If the temperature had also been below zero or colder that deer strike could have created a pretty dangerous situation.

I know most people are never in that kind of situation, but if you ever are you'll prefer driving out with a bent frame over sitting there in the cold and hoping someone drives by.

Just make sure your insurance will cover it and it won't matter. You'll pay your full deductible either way whether they fix it or replace it.

 

Been thinking about getting something up front for this simple reason...

EDIT: Anyone know if there is already a "Show off your cattle guard / brush guard / bull bar / cow catcher" thread? Not sure the proper name, seems everywhere calls them something a little different.

 

Well OP, you might want to install some warning devices on the Mustang and explain to your lady that she needs to keep the bugs out of them. Not sure if they work, but I do know that I drove hundreds of thousands of miles with them in place and never had a deer problem during all of those miles, most being in Eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas.

 

Do you have any pictures of the front with the hitch? I purchased a summit ranch hand for deer, and was disappointed that it isn't one that works with a winch. I looked at the drawtite as well, but it didn't look like it stuck out far enough for a hitch mounted winch.

 

This is higher up on my bucket list given your experience here.

With the added 165lbs hanging off the front end did you notice a change in stance, rake, or handling after the install?

 

I built my own meat plow for my '07 and added a winch with steel cable. I'd guess around 250lbs. I can definitely feel it when driving, but the difference is not that drastic. Lost about 0.5 mpg. It's worth it IMO. The suspension is feeling it too though and is noticeably lower, but i have a lift kit for it that is going on. If you are stock, you might want to go with a bilstein 5100 shock or something to help.

 

Pics maybe tomorrow. Yes, heavy, I run Fat Bobs Garage vated coilovers set at +3", bump stop extensions, sway bar drop blocks, diff drop, etc. Draw tite hitch is tucked in a bit. You can buy or fab an extender to get the tube closer to the front. Not sure why you cannot fab up a winch mount inside behind the bumper, lots of space in there on my truck. I have industrial floor grating covering the gap to keep roadkill from getting to the radiator. You can see in photos. Personally, I think the Ranchhand would be too big on a stock height truck. Just my .02! I would use a hitch winch anyway to have both front and rear capability if I was a winch person. However, I am cheap and have a 3 ton good quality come along, plus strap on traction blocks to basically create a half trac in bad situations. Winch is only good with an anchor point, traction blocks work everywhere.

 

Here you go. I almost got one of those gorgeous midnight series bumpers from Ranch Hand, but I got stuck on wanting a winch and to keep the emblem sensor in front operational in place. So, this narrowed my search to just the right height PreLander bumper. Little did I realize what a stroke of absolute dumb luck that angular pre-skid plate would be in managing the head-on strike.

 

That is nice. Best gen guys are F'ed on aftermarket bumpers. I finally ordered a weld it myself. Now I'm looking at the back. Crap...

 

Just so you all are aware, I can confirm the Ranchhand summit series bullnose doesn't interfere with the front emblem sensor for adaptive cruise or any other safety features, everything is functional on my truck.