Road Train bumpers anyone?

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A friend here in AK is asking me about the possibility of building a "Road Train" style bumper for his Kenworth. They don't look all that complicated and I can easily get lots of pics and measurements to go by, I just have to determine material dimensions at this point. They are all aluminum and are supposed to be able to take a highway speed moose hit without being destroyed. This is an example of what he is looking for - Herd Road TrainAnyone ever tried building one?Miller Dynasty 200DXMiller 252 Miller 250xMiller Syncrowave 250Miller AEAD200 LegendMiller 375 Xtreme plasmaLincoln WeldPak 100Victor O/A
Reply:LOL, until I checked out the URL, I was envisioning an old "cow catcher" style (like they had on steam locomotives) on a KenworthI cannot, however, imagine any structure that would avoid damage hitting a moose at 65 mph.   You remember the old thing about an "irresistible force and an immoveable object"?
Reply:Originally Posted by k45LOL, until I checked out the URL, I was envisioning an old "cow catcher" style (like they had on steam locomotives) on a Kenworth
Reply:This is what you want then
Reply:Wow!!!!!!
Reply:I would think,considering an impact with a moose that Steel would be the material of choice for something like this. Find out the dimensions of the aluminum for that bumper and get the same sizes in steel instead to build that unit. It seems that, that would be way stronger than one made from aluminum. As a side note, you could add 1"x24" spikes to the front so if he hits a moose it will be skewered to the front of the truck and he can take it with him(without stopping) and skin it when he gets where he's going. No need to have to stop to load it up. Build him a grill(cooking type) to mount behind the cab and he's all set. Moose steaks anybody?Last edited by Bistineau; 09-05-2013 at 05:04 PM.
Reply:I remember seeing some pictures on the web of a big Chevy SUV that hit a moose and it went all the way through the SUV front to back.  Not something I would like to hit at speed. Here is on of a small Chevy and a moosehttp://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/moose.asp
Reply:This is commercial trucking and weight is everything. hence prob the reason for aluminum...Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Originally Posted by OxfordI thought the same exact thing.  I was actually wishing that was what I saw when I clicked the link.
Reply:Pretty much all the prime movers over here have this style of bullbar on them. I have had a couple come in for repairs in the past after hitting cows out west. The bars over here are usually made out of fairly heavy aluminium. The best way to describe the uprights are a fabricated 'I' beam then they are boxed in on the sides if that makes sense. The biggest problem with them is when they kit Kangaroos they can bounce off and into oncoming traffic but that is rare.This is one that hasn't had the side plates put on for whatever reason. Last edited by D1cko; 09-05-2013 at 09:46 PM.
Reply:that bar in the link over here would only be a highway bar roadtrain bars are alot more solid than thatHerd use to be an aussie companyLast edited by wello; 09-05-2013 at 10:37 PM.Creative metal Creative metal Facebook