Deer Damage

Friday night while on my way to a ww2 reenactment in Kentucky, I topped a hill to find a small deer standing in the middle of my lane. I swerved as much as I could, but his head/neck clipped the passenger side of my '95 1500 4x4. He must have spun around & hit the leading end of the running board which squeezed some deer poop all over the door. At least the poor guy was looking the opposite direction & never saw me coming.

Fortunately, no sheetmetal got damaged, but the headlight is busted, the top of the front bumper is slightly twisted & the clips of the plastic trim caps are broke. The air dam is also cracked.

We carry a large deductible to get in on cheap rates (read I have too many cars). I'm thinking I can buy the parts to fix it (since no painting is involved) much cheaper than the 1300 estimate a body shop gave me this morning.

I found the lower bumper trim on ebay for 65, the upper at LMC for 80 (60 plus a freakin' 20 dollar "oversize package" charge), headlight assy for 40 on ebay. I figure I can fix the split in the air dam. The only part I'm not sure about is the bumper itself. I don't know how well I can get the twist out of it, rather than replacing it.

I think I'll check some junk yards tomorrow to see if they have any decent front bumpers.....might be a better way to go.

Mike Sal

i had a small family of deer stop at the shoulder and stare at me the other day in the dark. glad i saw them. slowed way down to a complete stop. sat and watched them back. reved the engine, beeped the horn, flicked the lights. they looked both ways then still proceeded to cross slowly right in front of the truck. i felt like a crossing guard!

I live in the country & am surrounded by critters. The local deer are so used to me honking my horn at them that they just mosey to the side of the road to let me pass when I come along.

I've found another issue.....the radiator must have gotten enough of a shock that I must have a crack. I can smell coolant, but don't really see a leak. It has used a little coolant. I looked on ebay & see the cheap radiators are advertised as "1 inch / single row" or "1.25 inch single row". I've seen prices from 90 bucks to 176. Any advise on who has decent quality replacements?
Mike Sal

dont want to hijack the thread but I got a real quick thread since I have been away from the website for a while. KRC was bought by Watson. Is watson still in buisness? if so whats the website. Also is Sean still tuning for Hemifever? whats his website? Is there anyone better for tuning?

Thanks All

Damn Bambi should have Dodged it. Sorry had to throw that pun at you. I hope ins picked up the complete tab.

I could buy the parts for less than my deductible. The bumper was only twisted & I was able to pull it back with a come-along chained to a tree. The headlight assy was only 45 dollars & I cut some small pieces of plastic from the broken headlight base to use to shore up the bumper trim where the clips were broke off. I was just lucky no sheet metal got bent. The side running board took the impact rather than the door when the deer spun after initial impact.
Mike Sal

Super thankful no one was hurt but Bambi.

This makes the 5th time we've had a run in with a deer. All but one of them were very minor damage. One time a deer came running out of a corn field and broadsided my J10 Jeep pickup & caved the whole door in. It was a Laredo model & I was just sick about it.

Yes, there is always the risk of personal injury when a deer decides to cross the road.
Mike Sal

Yea.....deer can be a problem on the highway. I smacked a big doe while travelling through Oregon early in the morning. She deflected off my left front and spun into the median......I hope she made it.

I've gotten way more damage at work from "certified" drivers running into my truck. One with a forktruck backed into my grill while he was looking,,or so he sayed to the company safety guy. Next one was a company pickup backed into my rear box on HIS drivers side,claimed he never saw it. I know it's only a heavy duty three quarter ton that stands well over six feet,,,but still..... I've had three deer so far catch a ride on my grill,with very little damage. One time a had to re-align the bumper by adjusting the mounts,but that's it.

I hit a deer in a basically new car(less than a year old). Dark deserted road coming back from the Jersey shore. I saw Bambi, Bambi ran, I tried to stop in time but hit smack in the middle of the front of the car. Happened in a split second. Can't seem the forget seeing his head bounce off the hood then roll in front of the car. Front end was history but the car was still drivable. Not a fun experience! And fatal for Bambi. So far it's been my only run in with deer and hopefully the last.

Junk yard is gonna be the best bet but could also check the classifieds here and craigslist for parts. Ill never swerve to miss a deer. 90% of the time you wind up doing more damage. My buddy totaled his jeep doing this a few months ago. He never hit the deer but the rear broke loose and he lost it and landed on his roof. I pay 50.00 for deer damage so im not worried at all if I hit one plus that means I can get a offroad bumper lol

we need pics

Plus roadkill can be pretty tasty sometimes!

Originally Posted by Mike Sal

Friday night while on my way to a ww2 reenactment in Kentucky, I topped a hill to find a small deer standing in the middle of my lane. I swerved as much as I could, but his head/neck clipped the passenger side of my '95 1500 4x4. He must have spun around & hit the leading end of the running board which squeezed some deer poop all over the door. At least the poor guy was looking the opposite direction & never saw me coming.

Fortunately, no sheetmetal got damaged, but the headlight is busted, the top of the front bumper is slightly twisted & the clips of the plastic trim caps are broke. The air dam is also cracked.

We carry a large deductible to get in on cheap rates (read I have too many cars). I'm thinking I can buy the parts to fix it (since no painting is involved) much cheaper than the 1300 estimate a body shop gave me this morning.

I found the lower bumper trim on ebay for 65, the upper at LMC for 80 (60 plus a freakin' 20 dollar "oversize package" charge), headlight assy for 40 on ebay. I figure I can fix the split in the air dam. The only part I'm not sure about is the bumper itself. I don't know how well I can get the twist out of it, rather than replacing it.

I think I'll check some junk yards tomorrow to see if they have any decent front bumpers.....might be a better way to go.

Mike Sal

Which World War II battle happened in Kentucky?

The event was "Mariongrad", an eastern front ww2 event held near Marion, Ky. It's kinda like civil war reenacting, but we have cooler toys. The area we play in has trenches & barbed wire. Since it was an eastern front event, it was only german & russian reenactors. We dress in period uniforms & only use period equipment & tactics. We have a blast.