Deer Hit at Speed

RonR

Recovering Sprinter Owner
With the California drought the locals are saying that a lot of the wildlife in the Sierras is coming down to the water on the ranches and farmland. One deer did not make it across 395 north of Reno. Came to a controlled stop in a ¼ mile and spent most of the night dealing with towing.
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A couple of comments
The bumper on the 2012 3500 is next to useless. The plastic looks OK in the picture but it was pushed completely into the engine taking out the radiator, turbo cooler, all the belts and pretty much everything else on the drivers side of the vehicle. Looking at it there is nothing holding the plastic in place except for the ends of the frame that sit at license plate height. Anything hitting above the license plate stops when it hits the engine.
A deer can do a lot of damage. We do a lot of night driving on rural roads for over 30 years, this is the first time we have hit a deer. This adventure has me thinking about that. Already looking for a front brush (deer) guard.

And questions.
This is being repaired but the process is incremental since more problems are being found as the repair progresses. My big question, to the group, is with both the radiator and turbo cooler taken out at the strike and taking a quarter mile to get safely stopped, what are the chances that the turbo or motor have been damaged?
My wife was driving at the time and we have had several discussions about how a 4 ton van is not an autocrosser and there is no chance you could safely dodge something that appears on the road. She kept is straight and we didn't even spill the coffee. Earlier that day an unfortunate gentleman did dodge, ran of the road and died.

Ron
 

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Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
The odds of engine damage from the coolant loss in that short of a period are fairly low.

The big concern would be oil loss if the filter housing was damaged. Even a few seconds without oil flow at speed would cause damage.

Most brush and deer guards provide limited protection from wildlife as they have far to little support. I would consider the aluminess bumper for some real protection.

If it makes you feel any better, I just barely avoided the same fate in my T1N a month ago. I a slight bump took out my headlight, fender, and airbox. 10 inches to the left and the vehicle would have been disabled.
 
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icarus

Well-known member
Sorry for you travail! The exact same thing happened to me about 5 years ago. $12k in body damage. Worst of all, after we fired it up again, the engine seized within a few miles, as the oil filter housing had been sheared off, and the engine ran long enough to blow every thing up! Tey didn't discover the engine damage until it was all put back together. Another $12k for a factory engine, all paid out of my $50 deductible comp! (If i steered away and hit a tree it would have been my collision with a $1000 deductible.

After getting it all squared away, I put a hefty brush guard on and a pair of Hella scorcher driving lights aimed at the ditches. I have no illusion that the brush guard is going to save anything in the event of another even, but it just might save something.

I think there is another member here who has totaled two Sprinters with deer...damn hoofed rats! What ever you do, make sure all is REALLY well before signing off on the claims. Two lessons here for me. Good towing insurance AAA platinum Rv, plus my State Farm covered alomst 500 miles if towing to the nearest "acceptable" repair faculty. The other is I drive a bit slower at dusk and dawn. The other thing is, the impact was severe, but I only thought I had " bought a new head light"! I stopped fairly soon after to inspect, only to discover all be oil, all the collant flowing onto the road. The van will take such an impact and to even miss a beat.

Good luck and keep in touch,

Icarus
 

Old Crows

Calypso 2014 View Profile
Condolences. Hitting a deer is not like hitting a post, pole other vehicle. The front end is made to destruct, bend, deform, and absorb energy to protect the occupant. That kind of damage is pretty common regardless of the type of vehicle.

Deer/antelope/wild hogs are a perpetual threat day or night in Texas. There's two kind of drivers here: those who have hit a deer/'lope/hog; and, those who will.

Yeah... lot's of folks have brush/gate/'roo bars here on just about everything. I'd check my insurance coverage. USUALLY, as in your case Ron, you are likely 100% covered (minus a deduct). But, consider this story. A neighbor got a new pick-me up truck. Proud of it. Shiny red. Insisted he needed a 'roo bar to protect his investment and minimize damage. OF COURSE ALL AGAINST THE WIFE'S sound advice. He prevailed. Sooooo, he pranged a deer (more likely an Atlas deer {Think a white tail on steroids..... with a coat like a baby fawn. Makes have a rack about 3+ feet tall and several feet wide. Handsome! But built like the proverbial brick house. You really do not want to hit one......) Neighbor goes to adjuster. Sorry about that!! Here's your coverage. Your insurance will cover the cost of your bashed headlight MINUS deduct. It DOES NOT COVER THE DAMAGE to you your 'roo bar because it is an ADD ON to the vehicle and not factory installed....... Pouring sea-salt in to the wound..... OK, the cost of repairing your fancy headlight is ~~700 clams.... your deduct is $1000. Just sayin'..... check your insurance coverage.....

About 3 months ago we were heading home and on the State Highway about 1/4 mile from our turn out. I was passed by a lady in one of those cute little Chebby Sonics still sporting dealer tags. I think she was on her cell. From the right came two AXIS deer... in leader and wingman formation. They were making knots!!! Right across the little open space and straight across the highway. Leader made it. Wingman managed to collect the right front fender of the little Chebby. He flipped antlers over teacups and hit the ground on all fours. Without a pause.... he accelerated between two more cars and caught up with his leader heading up a grade on the opposite side of the road. Faster than the time it takes to tell it..... AXIS are really tough..... it was like nothing ever happened. The little Chevy.... sort of like a bomber over Germany just slowly decelerated trailing sparks, dust, rubber and fender bits for about 1/4 mile......
 
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sailquik

Well-known member
Icarus,
That would be me I suppose.
The vans weren't completely totaled, but since the van is my only powered transport I just traded in the wrecked Sprinter on something they
could get me quickly.
Wrote off my 2006 T1N 158" WB in a 50-55 mile per hour collision with a BIG east coast Whitetail.
Totally wiped out the front end on my 2012 NCV3 in a 68 mph crash into a smaller whitetail over in Virginia on Rt 17.
Sure glad the air bags did not deploy of this crash as I was heading around a high speed bend in the road with a big guardrail on
the outside to hopefully prevent me from going into a gully full of oak trees. I was able to simply steer to the side of the road.
My current custom ordered NCV3 had a lot of damage from a 40 mph crash that didn't damage more that the front bumper,
but the deer kicked in the rocker panel behind the driver's side door.
That cost $3500 or more and they had the van for a couple of weeks.
Looks better than new now and it has been clear coated in the areas were they repaired the paint.
But, as noted in the above posts, the front ends of our Sprinters are very "soft".
It's by design to protect pedestrians that are hit by Sprinters, but being soft sure makes a mess when you hit an animal.
The Bi-Xenon headlight package/close in fog lights/front cornering lights all help to keep me more aware of animals in the
road these days.
Roger
 
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RonR

Recovering Sprinter Owner
Thanx guys. All good advice. Seems like I'm in good company.
I think I may go for a brush guard. I don't expect that it would prevent damage but it may limit it to the point of still being drivable or repairable on site. It was hard enough to get a tow on 395 only 50 miles north of Reno, I would probably still be there if this happened near Edison Lake or some other more remote location.
Ron
 

230321a

Member
With the California drought the locals are saying that a lot of the wildlife in the Sierras is coming down to the water on the ranches and farmland. One deer did not make it across 395 north of Reno. Came to a controlled stop in a ¼ mile and spent most of the night dealing with towing.
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/images/attach/jpg.gifRon
Bummer Ron. Good news is the deer did not go through the wind screen.
I won't win a beauty contest but that is not the intent. Here is what I did with a
$300. brush guard: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Horse...le-Brush-Bumper-Guard-Fog-Light-/251405261971
 

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Cheyenne

UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
My big question, to the group, is with both the radiator and turbo cooler taken out at the strike and taking a quarter mile to get safely stopped, what are the chances that the turbo or motor have been damaged?
With that amount of oil and coolant on the ground and taking a quarter mile to stop you really do need to get the motor inspected for damage and fired up to check for any problems before going any further with the body repairs.

And don't forget to check the transmission! Did the trans cooler lines survive or did they get ripped out as well?

Keith.
 

RonR

Recovering Sprinter Owner
Good call on the transmission. Now I'm even more disappointed about the front end design. I'll call to see what the shop has found.
Ron
 

NBB

Well-known member
Love to see some anecdotes about the effectiveness of nailing a deer with a $$ brush guard. Seems to me you're going to the body shop either way, questionable if it would even keep the vehicle drivable. I've thus far gone without - rely on clean and buffed headlights + a reflex to lay on the horn + as soon as I see 1, there's more, time to slow way down. Knock on wood...
 

sailquik

Well-known member
NBB,
Good Point.
I was working on getting the "Smart Bar" high impact plastic brush guards from Australia, but they would not ship
to the USA due to all the crash test regulations that their product might compromise.
Of the 3 deer I've hit, the air bags have never deployed as the front of the Sprinter has absorbed the forces and
kept them at a level that has not deployed the airbags.
One wonders if "hardening" the front of the Sprinter with a heavy duty brush guard might not INCREASE the forces
and perhaps endanger the occupants riding in the cab of the Sprinter.
Also, the front end is designed to "fold under" in a front end crash and one also wonders to what extent adding a
brush guard compromises the passenger and pedestrian safety features designed into the Sprinter.
Having the air bags all deploy at the wrong time (driver can no longer see to drive/take evasive action) could result
in more injuries/ more severe injuries to drivers/passengers in cab of the Sprinter, and all of the pedestrian safety features
designed into the front of a Sprinter would be defeated by a substantial front brush guard.
Roger
 

RonR

Recovering Sprinter Owner
Sailquik
I agree on all your points (no airbags in our collision, didn't even spill my coffee), but I think MB may have gone overboard on softening the front end. In my collision the deer only stopped when it hit the left side of the engine, destroying pretty much everything on that side. In my view the perfect "brush guard" would only bend enough to hit the body sheetmetal leaving the essentials undamaged. Clearly if you hit a person it would do more harm but people usually don't jump in front of you while you are doing 65 on a highway. If you hit a car it will all crush no matter what you do. So the Alumness type may be too stiff but the guard Slem showed may be just right. A little give but enough protection to get home.
Ron
 

NBB

Well-known member
Good point about messing with the crash engineering that's already there, esp air bag deployment. The other issue I see is the large lever arm these things make on a Sprinter - again, love to see one post collision and whether it helped anything. Most are kind of ugly to my eye, too...
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
The accelerometers for the air bags are normally under the drivers seat. Any reasonable bumper or brush guard will not have much of an impact in the event a serious accident (with another car or building). The single biggest thing a bumper or guard can do in this case is to prevent the animal from penetrating the engine compartment and crushing the cooling pack. Ideally the bumper would deflect the animal down and under the vehicle.

What the bumper or guard will affect is pedestrian survival in an accident. The sprinters front end is designed to meet pedestrian safety laws in Europe. Hence the soft crushable front bits.
 
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RonR

Recovering Sprinter Owner
So 12k later I have a new front end and I'm back on the road. I had great service at Jafbros and Mercedes of Reno.
I decided to get a brush guard from Steelcraft that is also sold under several other trade names. The 2011 model fit my 2012 perfectly. You do need to drill two holes.
During the install it becomes clear that the sprinter front end is very soft until you get to the motor or the forward end of the frame. It's all plastic or bendable metal in front of that. That leaves no hard points to mount the top of the brush guard. The bottom is bolted to the frame.

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It seems a similar deer hit would take out the driver headlight and push the brush guard back until the top hits the hood. The hood would then help support the guard. I'm guessing that, for the deer hit I had, I would have lost the head light and crumpled the hood but would have saved the radiators and belt leaving me with a drivable vehicle.

There is an unexpected issue.

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The lower mounting hangs down to about 7 inches above the pavement, the lowest point on the van. The next lowest point is the differential at about 10" above the pavement. So I lost a little ground clearance. Probably a good thing that will keep me out of trouble.

Ron
 

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Tooth Fairy

Away with the fairies.
NBB,
Good Point.
I was working on getting the "Smart Bar" high impact plastic brush guards from Australia, but they would not ship
to the USA
You saved some money as they are basically next to useless unless you hit a cloud or some fog, havent seen one on the roads for many many years now.
 

Tooth Fairy

Away with the fairies.
It seems a similar deer hit would take out the driver headlight and push the brush guard back until the top hits the hood. The hood would then help support the guard.
Pointless bar, if a deer/roo is hit and it folds up on impact as they do, it will go straight through the radiator.
Whats the point of a bar that relies on damaging the bonnet/hood to gain strength?

Here is what you need.
 

RonR

Recovering Sprinter Owner
No argument but not available in the US.
My goal was to be able to drive back to civilization. Cosmetic damage is a non issue compared to getting towed out of 30 miles of dirt after camping out for a day or two because there was no cell coverage where you were disabled by a deer.
Ron
 

mikesprints

Active member
The last I knew our State Trooper vehicles utilized "Deer Whistles" two very small venturi like horns that emit a tone to alert deer. Dunno if they work but I installed them on my next Toyota pick up after a modest speed collision with a modest sized deer flattened the front end rendering it un drivable. That was a long time ago. I'll be looking into them again.

Hope things work out for you.
 

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