brush guard + tow hooks

[trouttrooper]

Soooo my deer vs Impala has spurred my desire to put a brush guard on the truck. I'm having difficulty finding one that still allows the front tow hooks to remain attached. I use those things quite a bit and won't loose them just to install a brush guard. Which guards out there will fit my needs??

 

[Unit453]

My Westin retains the tow hooks...

 

[Grendahl]

For good solid front end protection versus deer it is tough to beat a full replacement front bumper with attached grill guard. I really like the Buckstop one on my truck. It still has front tow hooks plus a receiver hitch to attach a separate clevis connection or even a portable winch. There are a few pictures of mine in my garage.

 

[HemisAreSlow]

shoot me a pm and I can get you some prices on a replacemet bumper w/ guard....you won't retain your factory tow hooks but you will have a nice set of shackels in the front insted...

 

[83GMCK2500]

I know on a couple of Buckstop models you can keep the hooks

I REALLY like how they look, one of these days when I'm rich and famous I will be getting one.

 

[HemisAreSlow]

buck stop makes a good bumper....but for the money, fitment, and quality of product I would def go with iron bull....not just saying that as their sales rep..but as a customer too....

 

[07HDClassic]

i second the idea of a buckstop bumper if at all possible!

 

[trouttrooper]

Oh, a buckstop or similar would be nice. But wayyyyyyyyyyyyy out of my price range.

Thanks for the help guys.

Unit, what model is your westin?

 

[07HDClassic]

I know what you mean about out of the price range. I would love to have a pair of buckstops for my truck, but..... I do think that Nick's bumper guard is one of the better looking ones of its kind.

 

[83GMCK2500]

buck stop makes a good bumper....but for the money, fitment, and quality of product I would def go with iron bull....not just saying that as their sales rep..but as a customer too....

From what I've seen I can appreciate the quality of construction and how well Iron Bull's fitment is. That being said...there is something about the angular/faceted nature of Iron Bull (and others, of lesser quality) that does not appeal to me. With the rounded and streamlined nature of modern trucks (particularly GMCs:thumbsup that faceted design doesn't quite look right. I will say this, they look better on GMT-900s than on GMT-800s.

 

[83GMCK2500]

I know what you mean about out of the price range. I would love to have a pair of buckstops for my truck, but..... I do think that Nick's bumper guard is one of the better looking ones of its kind.

Agreed. That Westin on Nick's truck looks damned good. It really adds something to the truck.:thumbsup:

 

[trouttrooper]

well, now that I'm not having to buy a replacement car I might just have to spend some of that tax return money on something ridiculous, like a westin

But then I'm also looking for a junker Jeep Cherokee with the right axles to do a swap with mine. Kinda my stress reliever after work. Nothing better than getting your hands covered in auto grease and oil.

 

[07HDClassic]

Yeah for the nice and greasy Jeeps. What axles do you need for the jeep?

 

[trouttrooper]

'91 or newer Dana 30 and Dana 35 with 3:55 gearing. Doesn't matter if the Dana 30 is vac-disconnect or not.

All the 4.0/auto combo came with that gearing so from that aspect it's not hard to find them. I'm just picky on the price I'm willing to pay. Some had the Chrysler 8.25 in the rear, but the rock crawlers grab those up quick. The salvage yards around here and Spokane want a fortune for a set of used axles. I've seen a couple entire Jeeps for sale that's less than what they want for axles alone. I just want to get rid of the 3.07 gearing in mine as cheaply as possible. It just doesn't like all the hills between home and Moscow. It use to get 25mpg where we use to live, I'm lucky to get 15mpg around here. Drove to Orofino the other day and from Lewiston to there and back I was back up to 25mpg so I know it's not something else. Lower gearing should help it a little, at least I shouldn't have to drop 2 gears to get over them.

Plus the right junker I could scavenge some other parts too, then take whatever is left over to one of the junkyards.

 

[Unit453]

I'm not exactly sure what model it is but I like how its contoured to the front end. Some people claim that they're cheap and"get a real bumper" but I dont care. Its more lingerie for the truck than anything else. Hell, I've mainly used it to mount lights on. And living in northern NY state on the border, it was certainly deer country. And up there, deer are the size of a dump truck.

You can see the difference in how I mounted my lights as time went on. Each kinda has a unique look.

 

[Unit453]

Some of you guys may remember my 04 GMC...I ran a Westin bull bar on that. I think those look better on the GMC's than on the Chevy's. You have to remove the tow hooks though which I did not like. Had I known, I would've never bought it way back when.

And in the second picture, you can see how tight it is between the cross bar and the hood. I think I got a really early model because that cross bar didn't compensate for the rounded hood lines. The *newer* ones have since been updated.

 

[trouttrooper]

I'm not exactly sure what model it is but I like how its contoured to the front end. Some people claim that they're cheap and"get a real bumper" but I dont care. Its more lingerie for the truck than anything else. Hell, I've mainly used it to mount lights on. And living in northern NY state on the border, it was certainly deer country. And up there, deer are the size of a dump truck.

You can see the difference in how I mounted my lights as time went on. Each kinda has a unique look.

Ya, I'm not looking to transfer my truck into a tank. Just want a little more protection for the plastic pieces/parts. If I hit a moose it won't matter what kind of bumper I have. It's going to cause damage.

Do you by chance have any closeups of your tow hooks??

 

[Unit453]

Taken with my Blackberry.

 

[HemisAreSlow]

aren't you fancy....

 

[trouttrooper]

hey thanks. Is the cross bar in the way for a straight pull from the tow hook? Doesn't look like you could get a chain around the hook.

When I mounted the winch on my old truck the kit came with tow hooks that mounted to the sides of the winch mount bucket. Very easy access and strong mounting location, I wish I could find something similar just without the winch bucket part.