Well, I finally got it cleaned up and here's a couple of shots of my truck with it's new Manik brush guard and my Revos....





It's hard to believe that just a couple of months ago, the brush guard looked like this....



But after a little handy work by our plant's welders and Andy's (Bamachem) paint, it looks awesome. I think the Revos have finally "settled" out also after a rather lengthy problem with vibration. What do ya'll think? Later.

Matt

 

That looks good man, I like the monochrome look you got going. Very nice

 

Revos look good. I'm not liking the grille guard, though.

 

Looks good. The guard looks good painted the same color!

 

Looking Good.....But has anybody noticed all the other vehicles in the neihbourhood.
Its like the subdivision has a rule that you can only drive big 4x4 & pickup's.
Is it called truckville ??

 

first pic looks like you have a light post mounted to the corner of the grill guard. Looks like one heck of CB antena!

 

Looks nice. Really matches the color of your rig.

George

 

Don't forget that in a minor accident that brush guard will fold back causing big damage to your hood, head lights, grill etc. it has happened to other board members in the past. Considering most brush guards cost nearly as much as the base TJM it's makes me wonder why people still buy them?

It does look much better color coded though.

 

yes yes, very nice!! I like how it sits...kinda low and the paint is a good color, along with everything matching. Looks great to me.

 

Maybe some people

-likes their airbags to work when it's needed to keep: their face, life..etc....

-likes the look of brushguards better

-likes to keep their warranty

-likes to get the most value out of the rig when they sell it

-don't like to cut the front frame to mount TJMs or ARBs

-doesn't offroad or live in Australia

I guess you don't really need to understand, just accept it as it is. People do know that they cause more damage to your truck. But I'd rather let the truck hurt than have possible injury/death of the driver.

 

Thanks for the compliments guys. And yes, I do know that brush guards tend to cause more damage in accidents, but that's why I pay my insurance a nice hefty chunk every 6 months. As for the cost, it's hard to argue free. Andy got in a wreck with that brush guard on his truck and it was damaged pretty bad, so he gave it to me. His insurance gave him enough for him to get an ARB bumper so all worked out well. I definitely realize that the guard doesn't have a whole lot of uses, but I love the way it looks on my truck and the way my truck looks with it on it.

Matt

 

If it makes you happy, that's all that matters. Everyone has a different style and I think his truck looks very nice for what he was going for.

 

Looks good. What kind of brackets do you have mounted on the lower part of the brush guard? Pics?

You need to update your avatar now.

 

Those brackets are part of Manik's new and improved mounting kit to aid in vibration prevention. They work. If I hit a large bump or go over a rough railroad track, I notice the guard shake a little, but not a lot at all. With those guards in place, there is no way that it would ever vibrate enough while driving to hit the truck or anything like that. Well worth the $50 that the kit cost, but then again I guess I couldn't have installed it without it.

Matt

 

Well, I wish they would have had them before I paid to have these made:


But, they are stainless steel and cured my shakes just fine. I am getting rid of the Manik before too too long anyway.

 

nice to know about that kit. love the paint job, truck looks great.

take it easy on us brush guarders, guys, not everyone offroads every day. mine came on my runner when i bought it.

anyway, looks great -- one question: did you have to do anything to mount the skidplate? i hear its tough to mount if you have a brush guard. whatd you do?

 

Does it get any easier than this?

I pointed out (in case he didn't know) that typically brush guards cause more damage than they prevent. I then pointed out that they are almost as expensive as something that offers way more protection. And finally I complimented the "look" of the color matched paint.

I don't really see how that's harsh at all...

 

Lee,
Thanks for the compliments. As far as the skid plate goes, you are right that you can't just mount it back as it was with the brush guard on the truck. What I did was this. I got some longer metric bolts (I can't remember how long, I'd have to measure them) and made some bushings out of scrap aluminum tubing that our welders were going to throw out at work. I can't remember the length of them either, but I could measure them if you'd like. Basically, the aluminum bushings drop the skid plate down perfectly so that the front curved portion of the skid plate is about 1/16" from the brush guard. It maintains the stock look and I only lost a little over an inch in clearance from the ground. My brush guard is a Manik and I don't even think they make an adapter kit for the Toyota skid plate. Waag does and it totally repositions the skid plate (lowers it and pushes it forward significantly) and it doesn't look right at all. Plus they charge way too much for it. I'm not sure which brand of guard you have or if you have the skid plate, but if you do I could take some measurements and pics for you tomorrow. Later.

Matt

 

I'd love to add a set of Xtreme White Piaa 540 driving lamps to the front (and maybe have them painted to match the color of the brush guard), but I can't justify spending $200 on a set of lights that will never get used. I turn my 1000X Piaas on pretty much all the time, and I catch hell from everyone coming into work in the morning because they say that my truck looks like a UFO behind them with 6 lights on. They really gave me hell when I had my HIDs on the truck. If anyone has a set of Piaas they are looking to get rid of for a decent price, let me know.

Matt

 

thanks for the offer on the measurements & pics, but i wouldn't want to put you out just yet. when i get my hands on a skid plate and am ready to go, i'll send a PM your way.

i have hella optilux's on my brush guard and like you keep them on almost all the time. i love the look and people compliment them all the time -- when picking up my roomate one time he goes "man, those fog lights are so distinctive, i can pick you out coming down the road like a mile away". i dont know about that, but im just glad i can use them!