i just bought a 1st gen 4runner (89) and eventually want to get a brush guard for it (or as my hillbilly roommates like to call it, a "deer bumper"). any opinions on best brand and/or type? and about how much they'll run me?

 

Try a search on grill (or grille) guard and you'll see how popular they are on here

EDIT:
I have WAAG - I think they take more care into designing the guards to go with the lines of the vehicle.

 

Westin, WAAG, Manik are the popular few. prolly around $4-500 front and back ones

 

Toyota makes the best looking Brush guard IMHO, but none of the brush guards are "run over a deer" strong like an ARB or TJM bull bar.

 

can you list some web pages i should look at?

 

Here are the strong "run over a deer" bull bars:
http://www.tjmproducts.com.au/master_frameset.asp

http://www.arbusa.com/

If you just want a brush guard, look for a used Toyota factory brush guard at the junk yards or in the Private Party-For Sale section of this site.

 

what's the difference between a bull bar, brush guard, or whatever else they might be named?

 

I just picked up one used for my '97 for $200cad. I saw one for the 2nd gen 4runner for sale used and they wanted $350cad. It would be pricey to ship such a beast accross the border.

 

The bull bars are a strong and heavy replacement bumper. A brush guard is a guard that attaches to the stock bumper at the top and the frame at the bottom. A brush guard looks strong but does very little to protect the front end. Some will even argue that they cause more damage in a wreck.

 

Yup, generally speaking brush guards tend to cause more damage in an accident. ARBs, TJM are real bumpers and I'd bet they don't weigh that much more than a stock bumper + brush guard. Here's an xterra which sustained more damage because of the brush guard, the hood and side fenders got bashed. The driver even had trouble opening his door to get out.

 

BTW the name "bullbar" comes from the land-down-under where the ARBs and TJMs were designed and are manufactured. The big kangaroos are called bulls and the bullbars were designed to help protect a truck or car from being totally disabled in the outback by a collision with the jumpy marsupials. Most of the 18-wheelers I saw in Australia have massive bullbars.

 

yea im torn. my truck came with a brush guard (westin) and i like the look, but the whole 'it causes more damage' argument bothers me. on the other hand, many times ive parked in spots on the street here in the city and ive seen some nicks on the front of my guard from jerks who cant get out of spots without bumping each car, which would otherwise have been on my front bumper/valence/grill area.

im keeping it on because i dont own my truck expecting to get into an accident. thats what insurance is for i guess.

 

is it safe to assume that GENERALLY speaking bullbars are more expensive?

 

I used to have a brush guard on my expedition. When I crashed the X, the brush guard took a good beating. It was a bad accident, so I am not sure if it made things worse.

I know for sure though, I don't want another brush guard. It is heavy (50+ lbs) and it weighs down the front end by about 1/2". It lowers your approach angle and clearance height.

If you do go with one, I suggest going with a ONE-piece. I had trouble with my modular guard. The screws holding them together kept backing itself out causing the guard to scratch against my car. The modular guard is not as strong as the one-piece either. one-piece probably cost more for shipping, though.

 

That's a very safe assumption. Sometimes you can find a used one or a new one that was scratched in shipping. There was an ARB listed in the Private Party-For Sale a few weeks ago that I think would fit your 4-runner. here it is https://www.yotatech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29158

 

hello
on my 98 4runner i have a go rhino sumatra brush guard (its the one with the step in it). i love it. if your friends call it a deer bumper then i have a true one..not too long ago bambi decided to commit suicide. stupid thing jumped right in the middle of the road and did quite a bit of damage needless to say i killed the stupid thing on impact( broke his neck so it was touching his butt). the police man said if i didnt have a brush guard there would have been much more damage. i just like how it looks but it was kinda pricey around 500 bucks. i guess it all depends on personal preference what you think looks nice
amy

 

you killed bambi. MURDERER!!!!!













just kidding

 

I have a Go Rhino on mine as well. I like it for the most part. I don't think it would offer much protection in a collision of significant force though.

It was a spur of the moment thing, and I'm not too sure I would buy one if I could do it over. Especially if I had found this site first.

If anything though, it was a good mounting spot for my Hella 500s, which really look good on the brush guard.

One of my biggest gripes I have is that you have to remove the tow hook to mount the brush guard. The truck shop where I bought the brush guard mounted mine for free-well kinda. They kept my tow hook. I didn't realize that until about a month later. I never went back to ask for it. I probably should have.

 

your right i killed bambi....if bambi is dumb enough to jump out in front of me when i was driving the deer deserved to die...dont get me wrong i didnt intentionally tried to kill the thing. i was soo mad at the deer when i hit it...i didnt even see it coming until it was too late.....i can say one thing i would have chased the stupid thing in the woods if it wasnt dead lol.....i wanted to take it home to eat for my bf....he loves deer meat why waste it...but the meat wasnt good to eat....before i hit a deer i wouldnt eat it but now i will....its good eatin lol...i have the bambi slayer 4runner hehe

 

One of my biggest gripes I have is that you have to remove the tow hook to mount the brush guard. The truck shop where I bought the brush guard mounted mine for free-well kinda. They kept my tow hook. I didn't realize that until about a month later. I never went back to ask for it. I probably should have.[/QUOTE]




i have a go rhino like you saw above...i still have my tow hooks