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Recommendations for a heavy-duty grille for cross-country travel.

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JimKIII

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I'll be taking a long road trip through Montana, Wyoming, most all the mid-west and central states to Alabama and back this Sept. Unless one has a heavy-duty front bumper/grille setup it's recommended to stay off the highways during dusk and at night to avoid hitting deer and antelope. I've done that in the past (early stops at motels) and in the morning upon hitting the road I usually see one or several road kills that semi's must have hit during the night and kept right on going.

Please let me know thoughts on a good grille to get without spending too much money. Thanks.
 
I’m assuming you mean grill guard instead of different grille. We put a Ranchhand Legend on our 3500. If you have the front camera or front bumper sensors, you need to make sure your choice accommodates them. Check out the Ranchhand or Luverne websites.
 
I bought an Iron Cross commercial brush guard for that same reason. Very happy with it, girlfriend bumped a car with it and dam near totaled the car and only scuffed the paint on the guard. I think I pair $600 for it back in 2021
 

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I think it depends on where you hit the animal. Buddy at work with a Tundra hit 2 deer one night on his way home. Only left a small bend in the lower bar of the ranch hand… and TONS of blood. His truck was lifted so most of the impact was near the frame mounts, I’m sure that helped.

Father’s buddy with an F250 & ranch hand T-boned a car that pulled out in front of him. It rolled the car and pushed the top of the guard just a little into his fenders. No other damage.

I have one but that’s the extent of my personal experience with them. Both were guards without the additional steel bumper.
 
It definitely depends on where, how, and what you hit. Assuming you’re putting on a Ranch Hand style bumper, or something the same quality at least, if you clip a small Texas whitetail and it mostly hits the bumper part the truck will probably just need a bath. If you hit a big Colorado mountain deer and it hits mostly on the top bar of the grille guard then the bar is probably going into the hood and possibly the radiator. If you catch an elk or a moose then all bets are off.

Just avoid the little bolt on the tow hook mount grille guards entirely. Those are pretty much decorative only.
 
My view is that no matter what you hit, the grille guard is sacrificial and will reduce the damage to body parts below what it would have been without the guard. In some cases, no damage or minimal damage to what otherwise could be a trip ender.

We clipped a small deer with an Acura RDX on the right front corner. Luckily it was still drivable. Fixing was 5 months and $12,000 for the insurance company. You wouldn't have a grille guard for that vehicle, but a truck with a grill guard would most likely have been unscathed. On our 3500, the guard attaches with a 5/8 and two 1/2 bolts to the frame for the primary mount and with a 3/8 bolt to the frame for the secondary mount - for each side. That should help a lot. I don't know what the 2500s have for mounting, but isn't the 2500 frame about the same as the 3500?
 
Check out Ali Arc. Many hi-way tractors run them up here in Canada. They don’t even lift for deer. On a somewhat related note I saw a Sidekick yesterday that hit a medium sized moose. It caved the windshield and A pillars back to seating position so hopefully they were ok. It faired better than a small car… they are turned into convertibles every time.
 
If a 2019+ I recommend the Rancher, if 2018-, the Ranch Hand.
I have that combo and have been very satisfied.
I haven't hit anything but my brother did with a Rancher. He had a new Ford F250 cut in front of him hitting his Rancher. It destroyed the Ford's side from the rear door to the back, The Rancher headlight guard was only paint-smudged
 
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