So I am thinking about which brush guard i want to get and i am wondering what everyone else thinks. I got my eye on the Predator HD any one have any experience with this one? Here is a link of it. Predator HD Brush Guard

I appreciate any info and experiences on this.


Thanks in advance.

 

It's a very stout brush guard, but personally it leaves something to be desired... I think it leaves too much exposed... If your going for wow factor it is definitely in the top 5... But the realwheels over the hood is the cremedeladcreme, but that sucker is a couple grand...

 

If I needed a brushguard for an H3/H3T (don't need one because we have BA bumpers) I would opt for the Search & Rescue Brush Guard. But everone has their own opinions.

H3 Search & Rescue Brush Guard

 

I like both of the Predators, but I also have the BA Bumper so I don't need them.





I like pics.

 

The main reason I was looking at one is there are a lot of deer around my area and i have wrecked 2 cars from hitting them and i know the grill is plastic and breakable and a brush guard will save me the hassle of getting it fixed I hope.

 

I'm a fan of the OEM - still pretty solid, IMO. I liked the 'old' version of the predator guard which was actually from a company called SMA that went kaput awhile ago (06/07ish) - but to design the new ones they had a fab guy look at the old one and try to duplicate - and it never seemed to fit exactly the same. Here is old (left) vs new - currently available one (right).

 

My wife and I live in rural Michigan. She hit a deer with our 1st H3 (with the GM brush guard). It destroyed the upper and lower grilles and all the parts behind the grilles. I'd say the brush guard kept the deer out of the radiator, but everything in front of the radiator had to be replaced.

Even better story with our 2nd H3 (also with a GM guard). Following a vehicle at about 55mph and a 2' x 2' piece of plywood flew up from under the car in front of us. It hit the brush guard (scuff marks were evident) and flew over our H3. We had to replace the lower grille insert, but nothing else. I'd say the guard prevented much more damage from occurring.

 

OEM H2 brush guard (chrome, no less) + 60 mph + 6 point = dead deer/not a scratch.

 

I think it's fair to say that deer placement and speed are probably more important than guard girth and how many vertical cross-members there are...

 

If you want protection from a deer, you really want a full replacement bumper like an ARB. A brush guard is just that, protection against small light brush type stuff. Bolted on in two locations and a somewhat long vertical run from the mounting point to the top it's going to have some flex. Heck, in some circumstances if you hit something low it may cause more damage than having nothing. An ARB is a solid metal replacement bumper with much shorter vertical bars, and all 4 bars are welded to the bumper.

I run a brush guard, mainly for brush, small tree limbs, etc. on the trail, but I admit partly just for looks. If deer, trees, rock ledges or another big things were my primary concern I wouldn't even consider a brush guard. Nearly useless for that IMHO.