- Jun 15, 2013
- 33
Driving everyday in "Deer Alley" I need something that will hopefully protect the front end from highly likely deer hits.
So, I recently added a grill guard to my XUV. The guard was made out of some 1/4" plate and decent sized tubing but the mounting points were way to thin to keep this guard from collapsing into my front end. Yes, I did remove my crumple zones, but this vehicle is getting to the age that a deer hit could total it and I really need to drive her a few more years.
To start I needed to beef up the bottom supports which bolt to the bottom radiator supports. To do this I added some 3" x 1/4"
gussets between the radiator supports, along the frame to the front lower A-arm structure. Yes, you may admire my fantastic
welding ability now.
This should keep me from snapping off the bottom of my radiator, if I can burn off enough of the XUV's tremendous speed before hitting a deer.
Area to beef up:

Gusset installed:

Next, I added some 3" x 1/4" flat bar from each of the main uprights of the guard to the bumper. This should keep the guard from
rolling forward and smashing into the front end ... at least in the center section.

Last, I decided to add some 1/4" deck plate along with a 1" x 1/4" angle for stiffening to the bottom of the guard to help protect the bottom of the radiator from creek crossings and rocky roads I travel from time to time.

I don't have a good pic of the finished product yet but below is a picture of the guard on the XUV before the mods:

So, I recently added a grill guard to my XUV. The guard was made out of some 1/4" plate and decent sized tubing but the mounting points were way to thin to keep this guard from collapsing into my front end. Yes, I did remove my crumple zones, but this vehicle is getting to the age that a deer hit could total it and I really need to drive her a few more years.
To start I needed to beef up the bottom supports which bolt to the bottom radiator supports. To do this I added some 3" x 1/4"
gussets between the radiator supports, along the frame to the front lower A-arm structure. Yes, you may admire my fantastic
welding ability now.

Area to beef up:

Gusset installed:

Next, I added some 3" x 1/4" flat bar from each of the main uprights of the guard to the bumper. This should keep the guard from
rolling forward and smashing into the front end ... at least in the center section.

Last, I decided to add some 1/4" deck plate along with a 1" x 1/4" angle for stiffening to the bottom of the guard to help protect the bottom of the radiator from creek crossings and rocky roads I travel from time to time.

I don't have a good pic of the finished product yet but below is a picture of the guard on the XUV before the mods:
