Mr. Rawles:
In this article you state that “…large crash bars in the front, a removable cable cutter post that is as tall as your truck’s cab,” Do you mean BRUSH GUARDS, because I cannot find any large crash bars! Can you help?
JWR’s Reply:
To my way of thinking, a proper “crash bar” for a truck is just a very heavy duty bumper + brush guard with the addition of an extra piece of heavy steel stock welded on vertically (parallel with the radiator) in the center of the brush guard. It should extend from the bottom of the brush guard (or grille trim, whichever is lower) to a height where its top end is parallel with the top of your truck’s hood. (BTW, I don’t recommend extending anything below your front grille trim, because it would degrade the “approach angle” of you truck. That could cause a nasty hang up when crossing narrow gullies off road.) A piece of very heavy gauge (Schedule 80) 4″ diameter pipe works fine as the actual impact-dealing/bearing “crash bar”. (So does a section of railroad track, but IMHO that is a bit too obvious for pre-TEOTWAWKI times.) Your local welding shop should be able to handle the welding mod for you. OBTW, I believe that the cable cutter should be removable (bolted on rather than welded on), because, again, they look incongruous under pre-TEOTWAWKI circumstances.)