Hey guys. Was thinking about dropping some cash on either a grille guard or bull bar. Which is better? What do you guys think about each? What are the pros and cons of each. Function. Reliability. looks. Thanks guys.

 

well it just depends on why you want it and what its gonna be used for. if u want looks, fucntionality, etc.....

 

i love the look of a bullbar with lights, but i also like that same look with the grille guard, but the grille guard covers up a lot of the front end.

 

in my opinion the bull bar for the rangers is too ugly and doesnt do well at all in the event of a front end crash. the full brush guard is the way i would go, just incase i happen to get the idiot that pulls out 30 feet in front of me at 30mph where i dont hurt my truck too much. but its all on what you want. it doesnt really matter what anyone else says looks good on your truck, its all about what you think looks good on it and what you want.

 

Neither the bull bar or the grille guard will help you much in a crash.

 

ive seen both in a crash and the bull bars are like aluminum foil compared to the brush guards.

 

I have a bull bar, I would recommend it for push over tall grass and holding lights...lol
but it looks good!

 

I prefer the bull bars... to me brush bars look best on older trucks

 

Bull bars are just glorified valence protectors. the protect nothing except your valence. everything higher, is vulnerable.

 

Winch mount grille guard! My warn is beefy the mounting plates go back a solid 12in along the front frame rails and the whole truck moves with it lol.

spam it happens to be for sale
https://www.ranger-forums.com/f54/wa...mper-wa-99641/

 

Neither really do much when in an accident, grill guards can actually cause more damage in a small accident because they can bend back into the hood and fenders.

But that said I like grill guards better than the bull bars

 

I'm going to disagree with the "won't help you in an accident" comments.
I had a 1995 Tacoma 4x4 in college and an older couple ran a stop sign, short of it is I got on the brakes as fast as I could and I hit him in between the driver and rear passenger door. Right in the middle of their car, couldn't have nailed him more in the center of their vehicle, it was either that or swerve into oncoming traffic.Their car was a mid 80's Buick 4 door. The posted speed limit was 25 and I hit them going around 20. Their car was totaled. My grille guard merely shifted to the left approx 4 inches and didn't snap off from the frame, everything was still intact and had no problem driving it away from the scene after some minor banging on the lower valance to keep it from rubbing the front tire. Airbags did not deploy and the damage was mostly cosmetic. In that instance I'm glad I had a grille guard, had I not the airbag probably would have come out and I would have had much more damage. The elderly couple was shaken up and minor cuts/bruises.

 

Bull bars are really more cosmetic, but can help if you rear end a small car. The big plus to a bull bar (at least a Westin brand) is that it is stainless steel, and if it ever rusts, they will replace the whole thing.

I love grille guards, but I didn't like the chrome ones I saw, and I didn't want black, as it would eventually fade, chip, or rust. Just my two cents.

 

The Bull Bars look like they take away some ground clearance. Is that just how it looks in the pics, or do they really take some away?

 

I like grill guard the best... I have a black one on my red 05 edge. but as mentioned above - mine has begun to rust and chip in one spot. I am not sure if its because I bought a cheap no name one off of ebay or if thats common.. .either way - I like the grille guard better. But not I want to do a body lift and guess I will need to figure out how to get my hands on some new brackets so that the guard will still cover the grill!

 

The Westin is 2.5" tube. So, in essence, you would loose some ground clearance and approach angle. I'll try and get pics tonight of how it fits on my Edge, and what kind of clearance I have.

 

Bull bars are smaller and suit the small Ranger better then a full brush gaurd but they are good for holding lights and that's it. I was in an accident and my Westin bull bar was crushed like a straw. It just added to the front end damage. I don't know how the full bars hold up, but the bull bar doesn't do anything for you.

But I'd rather have a small bull bar then an oversized full bar. They just are too large for the Ranger.

 

How are you gonna say, "I like grill guards better than the bull bars", When you have a custom built front bumper???

 

well if I didn't and had to choose between the two. I had a grill guard on my old ranger