Pickup Sports Heavy-Duty Deer Guard And Tailgate

Pickup Sports Heavy-Duty Deer Guard And Tailgate PICKUPS Accessories 22-4-11 "Factory-built deer guards are mostly for looks, but I built one heavy enough to pre-vent damage no matter how hard you hit a deer," says Don Moss, who put the deer guard on his 1988 Ford F-250 truck. Area farmers were so impressed with the Tallula, Ill., repairman's design, he's custom-built a half dozen others for sale. He started with two uprights running from the bottom of the bumper up to the hood. He cut them out of 1/4-in. thick steel and covered them all around with 1/8-in. thick steel plate. Horizontal bars, bent on each end to con-form to the contour of the front end of the truck, are made of 1-in. dia. Schedule 40 pipe. He sells the deer guards for $500. He also made a heavier-built tailgate for the truck which allows him to work on the tailgate without bending it. "Original tailgates are pretty flimsy," he says. "You can bend them simply by standing on them." He built a frame out of 1 1/2-in. sq. tubing, 1/8-in. thick. He covered it with expanded steel to let air pass through. The tailgate handles heavy weights and still keeps its shape. Cost about $500 to build. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Moss, R.R. 1, Box 27, Tallula, Ill. 62688 (ph 217 634-4158).

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