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Why Do I Need a Grille or Bumper Guard For the Front of My Truck?

A trucker's path is fraught with tight turns and obstacles. We discuss how frame-mounted grille and bumper guards effectively protect the front of your truck from costly damage.
Why Do I Need a Grille or Bumper Guard For the Front of My Truck?
Semi Truck Outfitted With Grille Guard

Grille guards and bumper guards offer serious protection for the front of your truck. In this article, we'll discuss features and benefits of both guard types along with a few recommended examples we offer.

Note that all guards we sell are vehicle-specific, created with the contours and dimensions of your exact make and model in mind. To take advantage of this and find available products that fit your truck, just use drop down boxes in the "Select Vehicle" heading to define your year, make, and model. If grille guards we offer aren't made for your truck or do not apply to it, they won't show up as choices. Vehicle info can also be supplied later after entering an individual page.

Heavily Damaged Semi Truck Due To Collision With Large Animal
On the road, livestock and other large animal hits can cause costly damage and loss of driver control. Grille guards deflect such threats similar to the way "cow catcher" attachments on trains do.

What Are Grille Guards & Bumper Guards?

Semi Truck Outfitted With Grille Guard

Grille guards are designed to cover your truck's front fascia with a beefy first line of defense against damage to bumper, front grille, and body panel areas.

Bruch Guard Attached To Truck's Frame
Because brush guards bolt right to your truck's frame, impact energy is transferred directly there - sparing softer "crumple zone" bumpers, hoods, and fenders from damage on many occasions.

Crafted with a series of metal tubes designed to match the contours of your truck's front fascia, grille guards will not compromise airflow into the engine or obstruct illumination from headlights at night. Beefy stainless steel tubes also span the full width of your front bumper, essentially serving as a second bumper in front of your OE one.

Semi Truck Grille Guard Hinged To Pivot Downward
Semi truck grille guards we sell are hinged to pivot downward out of the way when hoods are opened.

Larger, "full grille guards" feature more extensive coverage with bars running higher up to protect more of the grille. Most often, full grille guards offer extended protection over headlight areas. In contrast, slimmer "bumper guards" use beefy tubes to protect the front bumper only.

Why You Want A Guard On The Front Of Your Truck

Semi Truck Performs Tight Turn
A truck driver's path is fraught with tight turns and obstacles. Grille guards effectively prevent costly front end damage from low-speed mishaps.

Grille guards and bumper guards bolt onto your truck's frame. For this reason, they transfer impact energy away from bumper pieces and hoods by channeling it directly to the frame itself. After a frontal impact, the guard may or may not be bent, but it definitely won't suffer as much deformation as softer body panels engineered to be part of front end "crumple zones" would have.

Grille Guard Saved Semi Truck From Serious Damage On Highway
This truck hit a fully-grown cow at highway speed. Some minor damage still occurred, but the driver credits the full grille guard for saving his life, cargo, and truck.

As a trucker, you're likely to have impacts with animals that stray into the road. This is when a grille guard is worth its weight in gold. Veteran police officers who've filed many accident reports involving deer, moose, livestock, or other large wild animal collisions say trucks with grille guards usually fare better than those not so equipped. The guards themselves may bend a bit, but they'll usually prevent a large animal from causing radiator damage by entering through the grille. They also tend to prevent front wheel damage or dislocation that creates loss of steering control and greater crash risks.

Installing Grille Guards On Semi Truck Might Be Useful On Construction Site
Construction sites are filled with debris and materials for truckers to collide with, especially when wet unpaved surfaces cause slides.

Many in the industry have found using grille guards can minimize damage costs. While results vary, it's no coincidence that grille guards are often found on trucks used in agriculture and construction fields where uneven muddy terrain and crowded environments tend to result in low-speed body damage.

Truck Stuck In Tight Parking Area
If you're a trucker, you know how easily mishaps can occur in tight parking areas.

If you're assigned one particular rig to drive for a trucking company, purchasing a grille guard or bumper guard on your own can make sense - especially since they start at only a few hundred dollars. Considering out-of-pocket costs for property damage you're liable for after the most minor of frontal mishaps, a guard is worth every penny. Even if the trucking company's insurance covers damage, the stain of an accident on your record can cost you financially through job loss, lower wages, and less desirable assignments.

Truck Performs Typical Alley Dock Parking Maneuver
Grille guards can take a lot of stress out of the typical alley dock parking maneuver.

Full Guards With Maximum Protection Around Grilles & Headlights

Retrac Mirrors ProTec Edge Grille Guard / ProTec Grille Guard
The Retrac Mirrors ProTec Edge Grille Guard (left) and ProTec Grille Guard (right) both offer extended coverage for grille and headlight areas.

If you prefer a grille guard with more bars and better coverage for grille and headlight areas, we recommend the Retrac Mirrors ProTec Edge Grille Guard and ProTec Grille Guard - both of which are available for a wide variety of heavy truck makes and models. Note that these taller guards can usually be seen from the driver's seat, providing a precise visual cue about front bumper location.

Guards With Partial Grille Coverage

Retrac Mirrors Tuff Guard Grille Guard
The Retrac Mirrors Tuff Guard Grille Guard.

If you prefer the more discreet look of bumper protection with smaller amount of grille coverage (no headlight protection), we've got a few choices for you. First, the Retrac Mirrors Tuff Guard Grille Guard (choose polished or black powder coat) provides a straight and upright profile with a smaller amount of grille coverage.

Retrac Mirrors Tuff Guard II Grille Guard / Tuff Guard XT
The Retrac Mirrors Tuff Guard II Grille Guard (left) and Tuff Guard XT (right).

If you're interested in bumper protection with a grille bar that covers more of the grille, Retrac Mirrors offers the Tuff Guard XT with an equally upright profile. Or, choose the Tuff Guard II Grille Guard with a less upright angled bend at the bumper area.

Bumper Guards (Bumper Protection Only)

If bumper protection is all you need, consider a slimmer bumper guard for your truck. Similar to full grille guards, bumper guards are constructed from a series of tubular metal bars and bolted onto a truck's steel frame underneath. Low-profile designs ensure they won't come in contact with front-hinged hoods that are opened.

Retrac Mirrors MileStone Grille Guard With LED Light Bar
The Retrac Mirrors MileStone Grille Guard with LED Light Bar.

Even though they don't cover as much area, bumper guards are still very effective at protecting front bumper integrity during tight maneuvers when mishaps tend to occur. This small, one-time expense will protect truck owners from damage and devaluation costs, and it will protect regular drivers from job loss in the event of body damage.

Because of its high levels of form and function, we particularly recommend the Retrac Mirrors stainless steel MileStone Grille Guard with LED Light Bar offered for a number of truck makes and models. Available in polished stainless steel or black powder coat, it can be ordered with an optional 30-inch horizontal strip of LED lights and other bolt-on lights. This amount of quality illumination from a low-mounted position can truly be a lifesaver during low-visibility driving and parking situations.

Guards Equipped For Winch Mounting

Some of the guards we offer include a heavy duty bolt-on tray that's designed with necessary bracing and strength to support a powerful winch. Remember since the guard's base is bolted to the truck's frame, no stress is ever put on the bumper during winching.

Guard Equipped For Winch Mounting

If your truck runs on an isolated unpaved route where snow and mud are prevailing factors, odds are you may come across other disabled vehicles (or trucks even) which have skidded partially or completely off the road. With a winch mount front guard, you can pull them out and continue on - something you may have to do if their disabled position blocks your path.

Warn Gen II Trans4rmer Winch Mount System On Sterling Truck
Sterling trucks, a division of Freightliner, sold rebadged Dodge Ram chassis cabs under their own name. For these, we have the Warn Gen II Trans4rmer Winch Mount System.

Sterling trucks, a division of Freightliner, offered rebadged Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 chassis cabs as their own "Bullet" model. For these, we have the Warn Gen II Trans4rmer Winch Mount System featuring built-in holes and mounting points for winches - a must-have if you use your rig for towing and recovery.

Semi Truck Grille Guards Variety

This concludes our look at grille guards and bumper guards for trucks. Note that in our Exterior Accessories main section, we also offer winches, custom grilles, truck-mounted tool boxes, mud flaps and more.

We also encourage you to check through other sections of our website where you'll find great products such as aluminum wheels, tires, interior accessories, backup cameras, seat-top mini organizer desks, LED headlights & bulbs, other LED lights, mechanical repair parts, audio electronics, tire chains, and so much else! If you have questions about anything on our website, we'll be happy to help on the phone seven days a week!

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