Cowcatchers

[gkidsdlite]

I installed a brush guard/cowcatcher on my pickup to protect it when animals ran in front of me and it has saved me expensive repairs several times! So my question is do they make them for motorhomes to protect the front of them? Sure would save a lot of money in repairs!

[mpierce]

slickest1 wrote:
Most of these Moose bumpers are made out of Aluminum,so they remain light. They are hinged on a half inch bolt on each side. Strong???
They may stand up to a deer hit but in my opinion they are there for looks. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,because I think they even look dumb.
I went to work for a company and the truck they gave me had one of those things on it and it was a huge pain in the --- when you wanted to lift the hood. First you had to let that thing down and then put it back up after, and oh did I mention the rattling that drove me to cut the thing off.

Have one on my Peterbilt the last 800,000 miles. Have hit 5 deer in that time. NO DAMAGE AT ALL. Before that over 400,00 hit three deer, and damage varied from 3k to 10k, EACH TIME.

Don't tell me they don't work!

Now, hitting a 1000+ lb animal at 60mph+, there may well be damage. But, it will most assuredly be LESS than without the guard.

Mine is aluminum, NO RATTLES either.

However, compared to MH's, there are FAR fewer front end designs to try to match up on commercial vehicles. And, the arguments about how to attach, and working around the front benny, are VERY valid points. I do not believe very practical on MH's.

Also, most commercial vehicles run over 100k miles a year. Average MH's, less than 10% of that. So, the odds of a hit are much less. And, most hits occurs evening and AM, very early. Not typical MH travel hours.

[MrWizard]

just buy one of these, its already built in

[hershey]

Some states it is illegal to butcher road kill. Its a shame but a necessary law I guess.

[slickest1]

Most of these Moose bumpers are made out of Aluminum,so they remain light. They are hinged on a half inch bolt on each side. Strong???
They may stand up to a deer hit but in my opinion they are there for looks. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,because I think they even look dumb.
I went to work for a company and the truck they gave me had one of those things on it and it was a huge pain in the --- when you wanted to lift the hood. First you had to let that thing down and then put it back up after, and oh did I mention the rattling that drove me to cut the thing off.

[lunch_surfer]

considering the price of beef don't leave the carcass behind. Pick that dude up and quarter him out. It will pay for a lot of diesel.

[RayChez]

This is the worst topic I have read. You hit a full grown thousand pound bull with your motor home, cow catcher or not, it is going to do some damage.

[jwmII]

Tom/Barb wrote:

jwmII wrote:
Class A motorhomes in particular are so poorly supported and reinforced on the front end that you would need a carload of steel to build a decent structure far enough back to find support for anything that could even pretend to perform like a cow catcher. The best approach is to double drive defensively and definitely don't follow to closely. In addition to all that it would probably be necessary to install additional springs or airbags to hold all that junk up. And then what would all that do to the GVWR?

I don't know which motorhome builder you are referring to, but my Spartan chassis has frame rails within 12" of the front cap. Both sides of the gen/set 8" U channels, but they are 4 feet off the ground, kinda hard to use as carrier or guard attachment points.

but they are there.

All of'em as evidenced by your Spartan. A carload of steel would help on all of'em.

[rolling_rhoda]

DS has a moose guard on his pickup. He's hit 7 deer in the last four years without as much as a cracked headlight, and we grow big deer around here. BIL was driving semi at night and hit part of a group of horses that were on the road. The moose guard took a beating on one side, and one side of the truck and trailer needed repairs. It was mostly cosmetic. Structurally the truck was OK.

[gkidsdlite]

Thanks for all of your comments the serious and the funny! I know they couldn't protect you from everything but I would think it would save you some cash and yes defensive driving would help whether you had one or not! I had never seen one on a motorhome so I asked! Maybe some will and some wont want one!

[rolling_rhoda]

From "Big Bang Theory", too-smart Sheldon is explaining,,,
"This is commonly called the cow catcher, but I prefer the more accurate 'cow exploder'".

[hone_eagle]

Again - google 'moose guard " common in Canada, only fastened to the frame because they must swing down so the hood can be opened for service.
Heavy but it can be done.
I doubt a motorhome version is fesable but it is possible.

[down_home]

Surely there is a design engineer her or out there than can calculate forces of a deer, or a big Elk and how much metal structure is needed to save the front end. the frame rails on ours is a couple feet back from cap or less.
Hitting a steer or locomotive will still mess things up pretty bad but not a deer.
Maybe a real cow catcher design that we use to see on trains. Instead of adsorbing all the energy shed it to the side.....maybe not.

[Tom_Barb]

jwmII wrote:
Class A motorhomes in particular are so poorly supported and reinforced on the front end that you would need a carload of steel to build a decent structure far enough back to find support for anything that could even pretend to perform like a cow catcher. The best approach is to double drive defensively and definitely don't follow to closely. In addition to all that it would probably be necessary to install additional springs or airbags to hold all that junk up. And then what would all that do to the GVWR?

I don't know which motorhome builder you are referring to, but my Spartan chassis has frame rails within 12" of the front cap. Both sides of the gen/set 8" U channels, but they are 4 feet off the ground, kinda hard to use as carrier or guard attachment points.

but they are there.

[pkunk]

We have open range just N of us with elk, deer, and wild horses on the road day & night. My buddy hit a horse with his 3/4T pickup with a substantial bumper/grill guard at 70 mph (speed limit 65)and totaled the 2014 Dodge 2500. I don't believe you could fabricate something strong enough to protect a MH.