Bull Bars & Grille Guards

Bull bars and grille guards: what they protect and what they don't

A bull bar is a tubular hoop across the lower front, usually with a skid plate under it. A grille guard is the fuller structure that wraps the grille and headlights. Both bolt to the frame and both are there for low-speed impacts: an animal, a gate post, a fence rail on a two-track.

Neither is a substitute for a proper steel bumper on the trail, and neither improves the approach angle. What they do give you is protection for the grille and lights, plus a place to mount auxiliary lighting where it sits below the hood reflection line.