Maybe you've heard of girl math, well tonight I worked out some man math.

I hit a deer with my truck last weekend and thankfully only damaged the steel bumper. Coincidentally, hit the same spot with a small dent from the last deer I hit, but this one did a little more damage.

I actually had to tie it to a tree and pull the bumper back into alignment so it was driveable. Luckily I hit the deer less than a couple miles from my house and only had to make 1 turn.



My insurance company quoted me around $1,200 for the repair. So I could either pay my $500 deductible and let the body shop do the repair or they would pay me to do it myself, minus my deductible amount. I took the check for $700 when I saw I could get a new bumper and fog lights for $300.

So I've got $300 of the insurance company's money and 3 hours work into it so far and figure I probably have another 2 hours to put it back together. Not bad considering the insurance company quoted 4.5 hours of labor. Plus, with the other $400 I'm going to pay the dealer to replace my CV axle. I did one of those myself last year on the other side and swore I'd pay someone to do the next one.

So instead of paying $500 to have someone replace the bumper and still having to pay $400 out of pocket for the CV axle, I get $700 worth of repairs for just a handful of hours of my time and sweat.

Here's hoping tomorrow's reinstallation goes a little smoother than the teardown.

I think I would have went with a heavy after market off road bumper like a TX ranch hand so the next deer you hit will not require any work. But it's always satisfying to save m I ey doing things yourself and the upgrades would have cost more and added weight to the truck.

I thought about a heftier bumper briefly until I saw the prices. It just wasn't in the cards this time around. I'd rather the bumper crumple than the frame.

I know those Ranch Hands have saved my son a ton on money on repairs. Don’t know what it adds to gas mileage though. I swear he hits a deer every other week it seems like.

Nice big open shop! Installation will definitely be easier. All bolts and tabs are freed up now.

She was an adult doe. She was pretty healthy right up until the end

Left her there though. I hit her in the middle of the night and I was in no mood to process a deer that was likely already hamburger.

That's why I have a brush guard on it the front of a ram cost thousand to fix.

Hope it looks good installed

Dang I wouldn't know what to do with that much room to work. Will be waiting for after assembly photos.

Mac

"Never Forget Which Way Is Up!"

Wear and tear on the front end components also increases it won't just be the bumper weight but winch also if it's me replacing it.

It's not perfect, but I got what I paid for and it's good enough for who it's for.

Took 6 hours in total, one of the bumper brackets was a little bent and needed some persuasion in the press, that's why the drivers side appears to be sagging. But I'm happy with it. Still need to get some new clips to reattach a couple plastic pieces but it's good for now.

Not bad and you don't want to get it perfect, that would just make you more irritated whan you hit the next deer with it.

Looks good to me!!!