Grill Guard Protects Family Van

Grill Guard Protects Family Van FARM HOME Cars 30-2-19 "It might not look pretty, but it's a cheap insurance policy," says John Hintz, who built a grill guard for the family's minivan. He built it after his wife, Charlene, who has an early morning rural paper route, hit a deer on two different occasions with their 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. Repairing the bumper cost about $1,700 in parts alone. He thought a grill guard would do the trick but couldn't find anyone who made them for vans. "So I cut three holes in the bumper, bolted and welded some steel tubing to the frame and started building on the outside what I wanted to cover," he says. He used 1 1/2-in. sq. tubing for the 72-in. wide guard. "I welded it together for durability, not looks." Hintz says he spent about $50 on material. He's tested it too. "A month after I put it on, I was with my wife and a deer shot out. I hit him with the right front of the guard and crippled him. But he didn't do any damage to the van." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Hintz, 41065 S. 134th Rd., Wymore, Neb. 68466 (ph 402 696-4386; johhin@alltel.net).

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