brush/deer guard

[Larry93]

what brands fit and look good on 02 body style??? tube steps who makes the frame mount type? 500 miles on truck now Wow is it awesome..

[txguppy]

The only Brush/Deer Guard to consider is the Ranchhand, IMHO. :D They're made down here in TX, don't know if they are available in your neck of the woods, but it'll be worth it looking into it.

txguppy

[copperhead]

I was told recently by an accessories dealer that carried ranch hand and others that they were not made in Texas anymore but were built in Asian and shipped in, never able to verify though.

[DMAXDiva]

Hi Larry93:

If you want real protection for that front-end, definitely go with the Ranch Hand. I've got the front-end replacement on my truck (see signature pics if you'd like to see what it looks like on an '02). I don't know of anything short of a Sherman tank that will leave anything more than a scratch on this thing! ;) They also make bolt-on bumper guards if you aren't interested in the full replacement. Web address: www.ranchhand.com.

Copperhead:

It's my understanding that all RH products are built in Shiner, Texas, and that they have plowed rhino-bucks into computerized robotic welders, so I can't imagine that they actually farm the work out overseas...but hey, regardless of where it's manufactured, it's one hell-for-stout bumper!

[TXDMAX]

Copperhead, I was told that they were made in China now. At first made in Boerne (I think), then Mexico and now in the far east.

[TxDoc]

Ranch Hand was formed in 1986 and is currently the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty truck and sport utility vehicle accessories in the U.S. Our 100,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility is located in Shiner, Texas and our four retail stores are located throughout Texas. Ranch Hand is privately owned by Kaspar Wire Works. Kaspar has been in business since 1898.

[imported_]

Larry,

I am holding out for the ARB bull bar. They currently don't have one for the chevy but ARB tells me hopefully this fall. I have two of there products on Land Cruisers and love them. Check them out at

http://www.arb.com.au/

Cheers

Brad

[ 08-30-2002: Message edited by: Big Blue ]</p>

[JimWilson]

Ruenel (Reunel?) makes good stuff too. Might want to check them out as well.

[TXDMAX]

TxDoc, All I can say is WHEW! I had heard the rumor about y'all from 2 different sources and am very glad to know that they are still made here. I guess you work for them? I give you kudos on a well built good-looking line of products. ;)

[TxDoc]

No, I don't work for them. If I did, you would see some very ugly weld beads. The kind that would tear thru snake-proof chaps.

[Larry93]

Thanks for the feed back. the ranch hand looks like the one. any idea how much?? Larry

[GBurton]

Larry93

The biggest cost factor is shipping from Texas however I have a suggested dealer. Call Todd at Auto Trim Design in Montana. The number is 800 391-1668. If you pick up the unit at his shop there are no shipping charges. When I ordered my front end replacement, he had it dropped shipped from the factory. He figured that the shipping costs were about equal to ship to him or to my location so I did not pay shipping charges. Every other dealer that I called wanted to add shipping charges.

Be sure to have a fork lift available or several friends to help get it off of the truck as it is about 250 pounds.

Would I buy another one for another truck, YES! It is very well built, good fit, good welds and a good black paint job. I used a fork lift to hold it when I installed it. That was very easy but you can use anything to hang it from or if you trust a couple of friends thay could hold it for you while you bolt it in.

George

[dontxs]

I don't know if they are all made in China,but 2 years ago I stopped by their location on Bingle in Houston and picked up a grill gaurd for my 99 Powerstroke, it was still in the original packaging straight off the freight truck. I thought it was kind of weird the cheap chinese cardboard box/packing, but that was not it, I get it home and cut off the cardboard to find what else, a small made in China sticker on the bottom crossbar. Just my story..... so much for made in the USA.....Ranch Hand can't lie to me anymore!!!!

[jjgmc]

I have smittybuilt outland brush guard stainless steel. I thougth about ranch hand but they are not stainless. Up here in wisconsin the salt eats right though the black power finish that is why I bought stainless steel.

[Me4OSU]

I had a "Brown" on my Dodge. It was stout and pretty good looking. I think they are made somewhere around Fredericksburg or New Braunsfuls (Texas). That was a front end replacement and lord a mercy, it was heavy.

Went with Ranchhand grillguard on this Duramax. Its much lighter but built better than most.

[copperhead]

Anyone have a Diamond-B mounted on their truck, full front replacement?

[Little_Wiley]

I wanted a RH for my 2500HD but They don't currently support 12000-15000 lb winches. Hope they rethink this and maybe offer something in the near future.

[imported_]

Little_Wiley

Sorry off topic,

How do you like RCD lift, what back spacing did you have to go with on you tires?

Cheers

Brad

[Pizza Man]

I got the warn trans4mer. It bolted on pretty good with lotsa extra heavy metal.
check out my pics....

[ 09-09-2002: Message edited by: Pizza Man ]</p>

[Little_Wiley]

Big Blue,

I like the RCD liftkit. Only problem I had was some rubbing of the Brake lines and that was fixed quickly by rerouting and zip strips. The wheels are WELD Racing with 4 5/8 Backspacing.

[Alli-max]

OKAY... HERE is the scoop on Ranch Hand! It is NOT NOT NOT made in China. It is Shiner. That is a funny rumor. the way I heard it started was from that 'texas accent'! Say it like you were from Texas... Shiner. Now say China. Now say Shiner. Now say China. :D :D Seriously..

Brown Welding makes excellent products as well. They are located in New Braunfels, TX. Now website, but you can search their phone number on the net and they will send you a free brochure. I have been to Browns, RH, and other manufacturers in my line of work (flame resistant clothing, welding gloves, etc.). I actually bought my bumper in Nueve Laredo Mexico on a sales call. It is made by a company with 33 or so welding stations now, and do excellent work IMO. Pullinpower has one as well. Ask him about the strength of these! I also bought the pipe bumper as well from them.

See pics below... Another note... if you call RH directly, they have some 'seconds' every now and then. Nice discounts. It will have a scratch on it or something, but not a poor weld.

[Mike Colville]

I work in airbags...I calibrate the system for light trucks (1/2 tons, suv's...mostly F***'s)...so bear with me! They may look good, but the affet the ability for the vehicle to deploy an airbag at the right time during a crash. Unless you have a utility for one, Id say astetics is not a good enough reason for me. ARB "tests" them, thats a hunk of horse crap. One crash can't certify a design! Sorry...the engineer in me had to come on out for a minute!

[TxDoc]

I tried to find info on this a year or so ago. If the trigger is the accelerometer, how much difference does it make if it is behind a different bumper. Does the accelerometer detect movement by being moved, itself or what?

[Mike Colville]

I think these trucks use the older technology called single point sensing. THere is just one accelerometer in the car, usually on the center tunnel, under the dash or under the seat. The sensor "triggers" per say (actually its a bunch of calculations and thresholds) by acceration, velocity, and crush. So, one could see that with a very stiff bumper (like alot of these "bull bars" that "short out" the crush cans on the front of the car, the vehicle would crush alot less, yet the severity of the crash would be much worse for the occupant. The occupant now would need an airbag sooner in the crash, yet by the module calculations, it would happen later, and oh my Im going crosseyed. Newer vehicles (i.e. the new Expedition, 2003.75 F150, Taurus...) have an FCS (front crash sensor). This is the accelerometer you are talking about. These are much better systems. Anyhow, the old "ball and tube" sensors (just little inertia switches) were quite sensative to these vehicle modifications, as they are purley acceleration based sensing. There is not time element to there activation.

On top of that, these vehicles are above the 8500 GVW rating. So just like they are not as regulated from a fuel economy standpoint (no MPG on the window stickers!), same from the crash perspective. The FMVSS standards are much less strict for these big trucks. This is because they are "heavy duty". With heavy duty comes very stiff components (very large, strong frames being the root cause). These stiff components make the occupant see more energy in a crash. So, moral of the story, because we got kick a$$ trucks that are strong as hell, some of the saftey in crashes is lost. Mind you, this is all in relation to hitting a Pole or a brick wall. Id definately rather have my HD against that rice burner that sounds like a snapper lawn mower in a vehicle to vehicle crash!

[gregmican]

Ranchands are made in Shiner Tx. I live 10 miles from the factory and I even worked there for 3 years. They are probably the best grill guard on the market. The robot welders make for smooth nice welds. They are a little pricey but on a $35,000 dollar truck, why buy junk like Manik, or any of those (bolt together grills)! :eek:

[TxDoc]

Here's the air bag sensor, it's the black thing in the middle on the lower side of the radiator:
http://chevy4x4trucks.com/photos/bliftinstall/images/P3241165.JPG

Here is the info I posted (without much interest), in an attempt to gather some more information.

"a supplemental restraint system designed to detect vehicle deceleration and, based on the deceleration data, provides an appropriate amount of air bag inflation. The dual-level air bag system senses the severity of crash and determines whether to deploy the air bag with primary or "lower" amount of inflation or with primary and secondary "higher" amount of inflation. Sensors located in the front of the vehicle work with the sensing diagnostic module (SDM) to measure the severity of the impact. The SDM uses the data to make a determination on the type of air-bag deployment (first stage or second stage) or non-deploy. Dual-stage air bags are designed to help reduce the occurrence of inflation-induced injuries by deploying the air bag less forcefully in lower -speed crashes."



In the thread about what happens to your airbags when you add an aftermarket bumper, it got me interested in what happens, how it happens and why. So, I am making inquiries and will try to post it as I get it. Feel free to add anything and the source here.

The greatest demand for the micromachined accelerometer is in automotive air-bag systems. In this application, the sensor is used to determine exactly when the bag should be deployed to prevent injury to a driver or passenger. When an impact occurs, it results in vehicle deceleration, which is sensed by the accelerometer in the form of a change in voltage. This fluctuation is monitored by electronic control unit, which sends a signal to trigger the air bag.

The ADXL50 Accelerometer

Analog Devices' ADXL50 accelerometer, introduced in 1991 and in volume production by 1993, distinguished itself as the first commercially available device to employ surface micromachining. Other firsts of this truly breakthrough device include:

The first surface micromachined accelerometer to be manufactured in high volume
The first micromachined sensor with the motion sensor element, extensive signal conditioning circuitry and self-test circuitry on a single chip
The first micromachined sensor IC whose moving part moves in the plane of the chip
The first surface micromachined sensor
The first micromachined accelerometer sensor of its size
For the automotive industry, the $5 ADXL50 was revolutionary, supporting the monumental cost reductions in airbag electronics from several hundred dollars in 1990 to $30 in model year 1998. Its combination of high performance, reliability, small size, and low price made record-breaking waves in the industry with "single point sensing" in a low-cost, highly reliable airbag system.

The New ADXL150/250/202 - For More Than Airbags

While others were still working on their first commercial device, Analog Devices introduced the ADXL150 and ADXL250 during September 1996. Complete with added features, improved performance and reduced size, they are more general purpose devices than their famous predecessor. The ADXL150 now resolves signals as low as 10 mg, while still providing full-scale measurement to

[GMC-2002-Dmax]

Hey everyone.....

SORRY :rolleyes: .....This is not really on topic but I am looking for a '01 or '02 CHEVY Front bumper for my '02 GMC.

I would like to put the PIAA dam on my GMC, only problem is the bumpers are different drom the Chevy's and PIAA does not make one for my truck :mad: .

I figure one of you Chevy owners that put a Ranch Hander on your truck might want to sell yours :eek: .

If you are email me.

Thanks

GMC ;)

[Pizza Man]

I guess I must have gone off topic cause my brush guards was not bought as a brush guard but simply as a mount for the winch. If I hit brush or a deer with it... who knows what will happen but since its bolted together maybe it will fall apart. smile.gif

[TxDoc]

Pizza Man--your Warn TransFormer system bolts to the frame. It's not going anywhere. I momentarily stalled mine out with a snatchblock and an M8000. No worry.

[Pizza Man]

smile.gif