Brush guard question

[Ghost]

I have an 04 TB ext and iv been looking at this for a few months now trying to figure out how it mounts because my bumper isn't the same well I dont see holes for it and does it also have upper supports?

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=120988508531&index=3&nav=SEARCH&nid=33142355221

 

[Sparky]

It wraps around underneath the bumper and attaches to the radiator support. Yeah, not really a good place to mount a guard, and yes it does cut your front ground clearance/approach angle. It is only for looks it seems.

 

[The_Roadie]

Excellent questions for the vendor to answer.

 

[CdnGMan]

It mounts from underneath to the frame...

 

[Ghost]

Excellent questions for the vendor to answer.

Why not ask real owners on a forum rather than some vender ?
9 out of 10 iv asked venders about there product and there response has been ( ask the manufacturer).

 

[The_Roadie]

Why not ask real owners on a forum rather than some vender ?

By all means ask here as well, but realize that maybe zero or one person here will have that exact product, and that person may only read the forum once a month and miss your thread. I don't think any of the regulars have that product.

9 out of 10 iv asked venders about there product and there response has been ( ask the manufacturer).

And that is very, very valuable information to have about a vendor. If they won't deal with getting you the information you need from the manufacturer to make an informed decision to buy something, and they are a low-price Ebay vendor, that should be a HUGE clue that they aren't going to intercede on your behalf if you have problems. Bottom feeding rock-bottom price distributors aren't always the right place to buy things. At the risk of getting into economic politics, it contributes to the Walmartization of the country. Discern and patronize the *good* distributors who care about customer (and prospect) service.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I have an 04 TB ext and iv been looking at this for a few months now trying to figure out how it mounts because my bumper isn't the same well I dont see holes for it and does it also have upper supports?

2006 Chevy Trailblazer Grille Brush Guard Bar 02-09 | eBay

It is a Hunter brand and is junk IMHO. I owned one. It vibrated, it started rusting, is was cheap. I had it a year maybe. The company is Chinese and impossible to work with. I was supposed to get extra supports to fix the vibration and after several months got two pieces of thin metal and could never figure out where they might attach.

Hunter Brushguards...Run away.

 

[Ghost]

It is a Hunter brand and is junk IMHO. I owned one. It vibrated, it started rusting, is was cheap. I had it a year maybe. The company is Chinese and impossible to work with. I was supposed to get extra supports to fix the vibration and after several months got two pieces of thin metal and could never figure out where they might attach.

Hunter Brushguards...Run away.

Hi what is a good brand ? I can spend up to $500 I atleast want one that can be used to push small vehicles and protect the front end

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Hi what is a good brand ? I can spend up to $500 I atleast want one that can be used to push small vehicles and protect the front end

The only one that may be strong enough for that is the Waag, but I had no desire for another brushguard after the Hunter experience and seeing some of the other brands people have. I really doubt any would hold up to pushing a car considering the low slung thin bolt together mounts. The Waags mount differently, but I had no actual experience with them. People seem to stand up for them and their strength.

I went to an actual bumper. MDBFab makes some really nice stuff.

 

[tbuckalew14]

I have a hunter brand one...before they changed the grill style that seems to slope up a little too high. I've had mine for at least 7 years. Mine started to rust after the first year or so...i repainted it and it worked out okay for a while. Needs to be redone again. It does vibrate a little since the support brackets they gave you did not fit where they were suppose to(I think they stopped sending them eventually). I don't do any crazy offroading, but do use it to mount some lights. It's saved my headlights a couple times(I have a large dent in one side of the brackets now though). I think i've gotten my money out of it. Ideally a steel bumper would be great...but too much money for me to spend on something I don't really need yet.

 

[Ghost]

I guess waag is a little too high in $ for me hmm there is another brand I know of...westen...? Well maybe I can buy the one for $200+ s/h and make my own brackets ? I do absolutely 0% off roading and 100% street driving and need something to protech the front end ..just last week some dumb ford driver in a explorer cut me off and I had to take some sidewalk so I wouldn't t bone her suv.:what:

 

[The_Roadie]

IMHO all a cheap one will do is spread the damage to additional sheet metal than not having one.

Pushing cars is overrated because of liability.

 

[bore_pig]

I have a chrome one and have saved 3 insurance deductibles with it. I live in some serious deer country and have had 3 incidents. The first two hits were small deer that the brushguard knocked down and I drove over them with a little damage to the bottom mounts below the radiator. The third was a larger deer that hit the headlight guard. I got lucky with that one and it somehow did not spin around into the fender. The headlight guard did bend up and back, but not enough to contact anything.

This is definitely a cheap brushguard, but where I live, a cheap brushguard is better than no brushguard. Also, the top mounts are a joke. They will start to rattle and squeek like crazy if you do take a hit, and I would not expect any real protection in an accident that involves anything larger than a whitetail deer.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

As a WAAG owner, I can tell you that it too mounts to the radiator supports. The only difference seems to be if it mounts under the bumper, or through the tow-hook holes. However... I did use my waag to push my wife's '97 Blazer a few blocks when the fuel pump died, and it worked very well for that. It is a well-made product and was rock-solid until I hit something.

Last Winter I hit a pile of snow in the road and was thrown up on the curb, where my brush guard caught a small tree and spun the entire truck around. Because of how it is mounted, the twisting of the brush guard pulled the radiator into the fan, and the guard itself was pulled about 6" off to the side. By using a come-along, I was able to pull the brush guard back to a relatively straight position, which in turn straightened the radiator mounts. There was no permanent damage to the radiator or fan.

I got about 2 years out of my $400 investment, but I think having the guard in place minimized the damage to my truck. Of course there's really no way to know for sure, it may have in fact made things worse. My opinion is that they are good for any direct head-on situations, but they are bad when hit at an angle.

Of course if you have metalworking tools and the skill, you can make one for under $100 that is stronger than anything you can buy... assuming you have some knowledge of proper mounting techniques and applied forces.