Mounting a brush guard

I recently bought a quadratec (by warn) grille guard for my 03 tacoma on Craigslist. Here's the problem, it's not wide enough to mount where my tow hooks are (the guard is 29" from mounting point to mounting point but my tow hooks are 32" +- 1" apart) is there a bracket I can use to make up for the distance? Don't suggest getting a new guard, I managed to get this one for under $100.

 

What it means is if you hit something the guard is pushed into the front of the truck most likely causing more damage then if it was not there .

Making brackets to bolt this to your truck should not be a major issue .

If you can`t fabricate maybe a friend ??

If you have to pay someone to make brackets it very well might be cheaper to buy the correct guard

Have you checked Warns website because it looks like you did not get the brackets with the guard .

Just what did this guard come off of do you have any idea ??

 

Thank you for the good answer, I wasn't aware of the potential these had, to make damage worse.

I'll check warns website in a bit. I know it came off a Ford ranger.

 

I don't have the skills to fabricate anything. Maybe I'll just get a buddy to weld it directly to my frame.

 

I failed to find a decent way to attach my own Craigslist find brush guard without brackets for who knows what model. After considering welding brackets and looking at everything there isnt enough good places to mount such a heavy thing on my truck (If your DYI welding junk for your truck) and I am really not interested in this thing falling off while Im on the freeway and ruining my truck or killing another motorist. So I scrapped the project. Best of luck OP I have a feeling your taco has a lot better access behind/below the bumper to mount stuff like this

 

Those grill guards are called damage multipliers for a reason.

I like what @Dr. Sleep did with his.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dr-sleeps-build.64157/#post-1192003

 

I have a manik one on my truck (the company went bankrupt in the early 2000's) and I found it on Craigslist for a 100. Needed a new coat of paint, but it did have the mounting brackets.

The guy had no clue what vehicle it came off of. I took a gamble and bought it. When I test fitted it initially, it didn't fit at all because of the tow hooks in the way. I said screw it and bought it.

I took it home, removed the tow hooks, and somehow and by some miracle it bolted up perfectly.

I was fully planning on fabricating a new bracket or contacting a different grille guard company for their bracket.

I know it's a damage multiplier, but damn I do like the look of it.

 

I was hoping mine would fit where the tow hooks are but it ended being too skinny. I mistakenly assumed that brackets would make up the gap. I.e. bolting brackets where my tow hooks are and then bolting the guard to the bracket.

I get it, they're damage multipliers, I don't care. I like the look.

I guess I'll have to design my own bracket and ask if a local machinist can make them, or try to find a scrapped tacoma and take theirs.

 

One could build a brush guard that won't bend or break going through anything less than tree trunks, but it won't stop the brushed-aside brush from scraping the $hit out of the sides of your truck. And those decorations on the sides of the guard are usually held on by two bolts. They'll bend or snap off, allowing the "protectors" to ding the area around your headlights and turn lights.

I know. I've seen the damage they cause first-hand. And once your paint is scratched or marred, nothing you can do short of repainting will make those scratches or marrs com out.

 

Well, I'm looking for protection but I don't want to spend a ton of money before I get the frame checked. I anticipate needing my frame replaced but also not being able to get it replaced.

 

The best protection is parking your truck in the garage and leaving it there.

Unless you live in a tornado-prone area, that is.

 

Yup.

But if you do want to take your truck out having grill protection does help. My old truck (and hopefully soon my current one) had an ARB and I would seek and destroy shopping buggies at the supermarket.

I don't recommend you do that with these grille guards, though.

 

The ARB is a little spend for me. Thoughts on something like this...

https://m.summitracing.com/parts/pm...AiqPql-zKz3WxK58DZ3nukQM2Vp2SJNfG8BoCIgzw_wcB

 

Yeah, the ARB isn't cheap. But for what it is the price is actually I think reasonable enough. I considered others and if I still had my old truck I probably would have gone a different way, but having air bags in the new (to me) truck I just felt the ARB (they crash test them and claim they won't change the air bag timing) was the right way for me to go.

Something like that rock crawler bumper is OK. Depends on what you're after. IMO a heavy duty bumper needs to also provide significant protection for the radiator and headlights. So a bumper like you show really doesn't help me. It's great for carrying a winch and letting you slide over stuff on trails without adding a lot of weight, if that's your intention.

You'll still be exposed to animal strikes (although definitely better than a stock bumper) and rubbing stuff on the side. I still like having a solid place to rub so the inevitable bumps are just superficial and don't actually hit anything crucial.

Take a situation like this, the ARB or similar bumpers that put the extra hoops need to be rigid. If they are there then IMHO they need to be substantial because having something just for looks that won't take a real hit (such as these grill guard) is just going to bend in and do more damage that not having it at all.



You'll never really fully protect your fenders and door sides unless you build an exoskeleton cage or at least put bars along the sides.

 

I had a brush guard on a 04 ranger. Two of the biggest pos!

 

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Mostly I'm looking for protection from animals. There are a lot of suicidal deer iny area.

 

Same here, deer & elk. Nothing short of a train cow catcher is going to make you immune to a strike with zero damage. There's anecdotal evidence that ARB (or similar full front protection) can hold up to a smaller deer strike with minimal damage but I wouldn't count on zero.

And if it does there's a fair chance it will tweak your frame even if it protects your sheet metal. The energy has to go some place.

I just don't want to be personally killed or stranded if it happens. I'm OK if my hood is dented and it tracks sideways as long as I can drive to some place after. That's sort of the reasoning I think behind ARB, hitting a dingo or kangaroo in the outback and taking out the radiator, steering or something critical would be a major problem since you're days away from any help, if there's any at all.

I do know from personal experience that an ARB can hold up to a traffic rear end accident. I escaped major truck damage hitting someone at about 30MPH (she slammed on her brakes and I didn't react fast enough). It bent the bumper and left a small dent in the fender, but the frame and rest of the truck was fine. I sold that ARB to a guy who was able to cut it apart and remake it into more of a rock crawler bumper since it bolted right onto his frame, so obviously it didn't hurt my frame or the mount.

 

Nice, I guess ARB is the way to go then. I just have to see if they're street legal in the People's Republic of NY.

 

I like the leave the truck in the garage idea more every day.

The 2 deer that ran into me both hit the side of the truck

I need to check for fresh bullet holes before dark