Need Help with Deer guard front bumper design

[bc1]

Hello guys. Working on a design for Deer guard on the front bumper of my 2025 lightning flash with front sensors, camera, and adaptive cruise. I was reading Martin's thread about tow hooks on the rear bumper and noticed he looked at the front end from an engineering point of view. I am just wondering if he or anyone else has idea on how to attach a front deer guard? I'm figuring on 3/8" to 1/2" thick steel and drilling & bolting it to the frame with either 1/2", 5/8", or 3/4" bolts to bolt it up. Will also have some type of gussets on the corners going back to the frame and drilled and bolted there. It looks like the bumper cover is mostly vinyl so I'll probably just chisel out enough to fit the mounts through the cover and front trim.

Having totaled out a 2021 Subaru Forester hitting a deer head on driving to the farm at night, I am designing a deer proof front deer guard made from 1/4" or possibly 3/16" steel with the final design and style to be worked out. Most of what is out there are brush guards and may take care of a fawn if hit square on in the middle but any size deer hit on the corners is going to buckle that round tube back into the fenders and headlights. My designs have to allow for the frunk, adaptive cruise control device in front, and the front sensors. Between the price of new steel and my welder I can already do it cheaper than what they sell for anyway. I drive at night a lot on two lanes in deer country and the rut is just starting. I hit a coyote last spring with the Prius on the right front fender and it was 6000 in damages. There is just enough traffic out that most of the driving is on dims.

Right now I am looking at 4" steel square tube, 4"x6" rectangular tube on edge, and 3" square steel tube for cross pieces and about 4 uprights. Maybe some 3" round tube as some filler of lighter weight. The front would angle back at the same points the factory bumper does. Probably have a U shape in the front for the Frunk that is pinned and would fold down. Typical full sized whitetail deer is up to 250# and the body starts at 18" and can be up to 36" at the shoulder. I'm thinking a bar below the tow hooks, above the sensors & below the lights, and a third above the lights. I'm not quite to the point of a Kenworth west coast bumper some of the local bull haulers use but close. Down low the rectangular tubing would have more strength and maybe up high could be something round as long as it is all tied together and perhaps tapered to the rear somewhat. Most of the deer guards on the road now that have two front upright guards inside of each headlight are just made of 1/8" thick steel.

So any help is appreciate. I know it will be heavy and I don't really like those Ranchhand's and other bumpers that replace the front bumper and they don't make them for a Lightning anyway. Thank you.

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[GarrettBlake]

I have made several front receiver hitches. I use a clamping setup on the front tow hooks. You would need additional mounting points up higher also I would think. Not sure where to do that.

 

[21st Century Truck]

I also think the front tow loops are a good place to start.

FYI I have looked at the inside of my Lightning's front wall of the frunk, for an unrelated project. To me it looks that there's significant strength designed into the top half of that inner front wall... just an idea. Obviously, I'm not suggesting to cut into it from the outside, but it just might bear some weight as a brace, with careful design.

Yeah those of us who have had an encounter with a deer are not likely to forget it. I wiped out two deer on two different roads during my Army time in Germany... the BMW showed it.

 

[bc1]

Thanks. I took a screen shot from the guy who did a video from adding adaptive cruise control to his lightning. This shows the front end with the bumper stripped off. Might be room to create some type of insert into the frame opening above the tow hook. I'll see if I can post the picture.

 

[Bwanapete]

Would it be simpler to just add a snow plow? And if snow is not a concern where you drive, perhaps you could cut holes in the blade for headlights, etc. with an angle grinder.

 

[Jseis]

Eh, having hit two 100 pound deer at 45 mph (separately..). Each one did $4k+ damage. But I really worry about those 550-1200 pound elk… which would likely total a F150 if hit head on at 55 mph. My only solution are extremely bright driving lights (all past rigs had Hellas). Or stay off the throttle where the forest is dense & tight to the highway. Can’t think of a guard that would help other than a long nose Kenworth or Peterbuilt.

 

[bc1]

Eh, having hit two 100 pound deer at 45 mph (separately..). Each one did $4k+ damage. But I really worry about those 550-1200 pound elk… which would likely total a F150 if hit head on at 55 mph. My only solution are extremely bright driving lights (all past rigs had Hellas). Or stay off the throttle wear the forest is dense & tight to the highway. Can’t think of a guard that would help other than a long nose Kenworth or Peterbuilt.

I don't have to worry about elk so much and it's rare for cattle to get out anymore but I would like to know more about the Hellas. I've thrown good money after bad trying to find driving lights that had any distance to them. Been trying to figure out how to mount a light on the right side of a vehicle that always looks down the right ditch that I didn't have to dim except maybe on curves.

Haven't looked on the Lightning yet to see how to access them, but on most vehicles I can raise the hood and start pointing the headlights up a couple turns at a time till people start flashing me on dims and then back it off. Also go a couple turns to the right for the oncoming drivers and get more on the right ditch. I make a note so I can keep track of the adjustments. The older I get the worse my vision is at night. Brown Deer + brown ditches = trouble. Deer whistles didn't help the last two times but I'll probably add them although I think they are more of a signal telling them it's time to cross.

On the good side, I hope front end damage with a Frunk would be limited since there is no engine there to get damaged. It would still be in the thousands.

Around here we seem to have more trouble with rock chips either on the windshield or the hood or now the Subaru just got a big one on the top right at the edge of the windshield. Haven't taken it in yet to get it fixed. I'm such a good/regular State Farm customer at the body shop that they offered to mix me up some paint for it in a paint pen kit next time I come in. No way you can drive around here without having Zero deductible on Comprehensive. My hope is that a bumper guard would deflect some of those rocks up and over as we have a lot of rock haulers on our roads around here as well.

From the picture of the frame it looks like it would take a whole lot of frontal force. I guess I should also try to figure out a way to make it so it would absorb some shock. Just now realize I saw some 1"+ rubber spacers that would fit the bill for that.

 

[MountainAlive]

You could also look into what Ford offers for the police interceptor package for the Lightning. It might be at least a head start on what you’re aiming for.

https://www.designdevelopmenttoday....-f150-lightning-pickup-truck-built-for-police

 

[Jseis]

These: With my past rigs I aimed them slightly shoulder friendly. I mounted them to the grills, bumpers, wherever I could fasten a simple “L” bracket. Ran a relay off the high beams so I they operated with high beam stalk. I’ve not dived into the Lightning’s system yet but I’m sure someone has taken a 12V tap off an empty circuit and added a relay to a high beam circuit.

While rated for 55W H3 bulbs, I ran 100W bulbs. That 100-150 yard distance super important. These are very good out 200-300 + yards. Light reflective signs up a mile away. Have to be careful with oncoming traffic.

https://myhellalights.com/product/550-halogen-driving-lights/

 

[bc1]

These: With my past rigs I aimed them slightly shoulder friendly. I mounted them to the grills, bumpers, wherever I could fasten a simple “L” bracket. Ran a relay off the high beams so I they operated with high beam stalk. I’ve not dived into the Lightning’s system yet but I’m sure someone has taken a 12V tap off an empty circuit and added a relay to a high beam circuit.

While rated for 55W H3 bulbs, I ran 100W bulbs. That 100-150 yard distance super important. These are very good out 200-300 + yards. Light reflective signs up a mile away. Have to be careful with oncoming traffic.

https://myhellalights.com/product/550-halogen-driving-lights/

Thanks. Which bulbs did you get? All kinds of options on the market. I hate the purple ones.

 

[Oafy44]

There was one at SEMA about 3 years ago that has never made it to market. Basically looks like you just would make the model a latch system with hinges on bottom and the middle could open downward to access the trunk. I was always wondering why ranch hand wouldn’t just do that - I’m sure a good welder could do it - and all the driving /sensors on an f150 ICE should be the same as a lightning ? I did put a rear bumper from ranch hand that was designated for an ICE f150 and they had to fabricate a few minor things so I guess the trucks could be a bit different.

 

[bmwhitetx]

Been trying to figure out how to mount a light on the right side of a vehicle that always looks down the right ditch that I didn't have to dim except maybe on curves.

Have you tried the glare-free mod? It might help keep the brights on the right while dimming on the left. Many report it helps in deer country.

 

[Jseis]

Thanks. Which bulbs did you get? All kinds of options on the market. I hate the purple ones.

H2 standard (clear no tint). The H3s were so bright that the reflections off mud puddles, reflective signs, etc. were eye searing. The best beam
pattern is a wide beam out about 500-600 feet. Say two football fields.

 

[Runaway Tractor]

Been trying to figure out how to mount a light on the right side of a vehicle that always looks down the right ditch that I didn't have to dim except maybe on curves.

Ditch light brackets for an F150. Among the many things I've done.
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...witches-and-canbus-integrated-controls.19633/

 

[WXman]

I totally get it. I've hit a deer too, and it sucked. But whatever design you come up with, make sure it doesn't defeat the safety engineering already designed into the frame of the truck. One day you might hit something other than a deer....

ARB is the only company I'm aware of that has advertised their steel bumpers to be tested with airbag systems and crumple points for safety. That's also why they are pricey. It takes a lot of R&D to do it correctly.

Good luck. I hate deer.

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