I was looking at bull bars and wondered where they attach to. I looked u der my Dakota and I can't see where the heck they'd bolt down to.


Also, I know that they're merely cosmetic, but would a bull bar withstand an impact with a deer at around 20 mph? I drive some dark roads slowly and I've had some deer run ins...or would it just crumble and do more damage to the truck?

 

Hey,
There are mounts located (supposed to be anyways) under the lip of the under-side of your bumper. Bull Bars come with four mounting brackets; two upper brackets get bolted in behind the bumper, in front of the radiator and two lower L-shaped brackets that bolt to the under the lip of the under-side of your bumper. It's kind of a pain in the @$$ to install the tabs/brackets (especially the upper ones) but once you get them installed, the rest is cake.

As far as how it would fair against a sudden deer collision, I dunno...I'm confident that you would fair better with the bar but I don't know how much better.
I will say that using a bully bar to reposition work site dumpsters has been working out very well for me but that's not like a sudden thing like hitting a deer.


I hope this helps. If you need more pictures or have any more question, hit me up and I'll take a few more pics for you tomorrow.

 

Thanks a whole lot, that helps tremendously.

Are there bolts that I'll need to remove prior to installing the brackets? I'm just trying to figure out what I'll need for this as I'm away from home at school and have very limited tools here...

 

You're very welcome - glad to help out.

I had existing mounting bolts (4 total) where the upper tabs/brackets go but I'm not sure if that is typically the case. They didn't serve a purpose - they weren't actually bolting anything down, they were just there to fill the bolt holes.

If you buy new you should have hardware included with the bar.
If you buy used (like I did) you may want to pickup new hardware; unless the provided(?) hardware is still usable.

I forget the size bolts I bought for the uppers, I had to go to Pep boys for those.
This is what I used for the lower hardware and it worked-out perfect:

* 3/8" nylon lock nuts Home Depot UPC code: 3069929102 (it's a 10-pack but its not expensive). Nylon lock nuts are a must for this install!

* Four 1" or 1 1/4" bolts - bought them individually at Home Depot (I don't have a UPC code for these).

* eight 1 1/4" (washer diameter) X 3/8" (hole size) washers.

* I also bought a mixed pack of flat and lock washers. Home Depot UPC code: 3069900519. This pack also comes with 3/8" nuts but don't use them. If you don't use nylon lock nuts, your bull bar will eventually vibrate loose and that's bad news.

Two of the upper bolts in my Dakota were seized and I had to torch them out. If you have to go that route, Be very careful; your coolant reserve is RIGHT THERE on the driver's side and you do not want to burn a hole into it.

You will probably have a challenging time trying to get the upper tabs bolted in - it's tight and even my skinny fingers had a tough time with it. The lowers are are not exactly a cake walk either but I found them less maddening compared to the uppers.

I'd suggest the following tools (sorry I do not remember the sizes at the moment - maybe 3/4", 1/2" or in that neighborhood):
open end/ box wrenches
Ratchet & Sockets
Penetrating oil spray
Vice grips (these came in handy as a third hand for me with the uppers)

Hit me if you run into any problems or have any questions.

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

when I built mine I just made it wrap around the bottom of the bumper and bolted it next to the frame and just used the same holes that my bumper mounts used and just put longer bolts in it. I can try to get some pics a a little later today if you would like.