Close Up of RIGGUARD Grille Guard on Volvo Truck

What Are the Different Styles of Semi Truck Grille Guards?

Do you need a grille guard to protect a commercial truck? When you start your search online, you may be overwhelmed by the number of brands and types of grille guards available — but maybe we can help. While the types and names of grille guards may vary based on the manufacturer, a better understanding of the different styles of semi truck grille guards and how they each provide added protection can help you find the right fit for your truck.

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Guide to Different Styles of Semi Truck Grille Guards

What style grille guard is the right fit for your truck? It is an important question to ask when you make the decision to purchase a semi truck grille guard. When you explore and examine different styles of grille guards, you will find that the styles are based on three primary categories — coverage, mounting type, and industry-specific. 

Here is a better look at different styles of grille guards for semi trucks:

Coverage Style Grille Guards

White Western Star Truck in Warehouse with Black RIGGUARD

This style of grille guard is defined by the amount of coverage it provides for the grille and headlights of your truck. With added coverage, you increase protection from animal strikes and can prevent expensive repairs to key elements of your truck, like the radiator and headlights.

  • Full-Coverage Grille Guard: A full-coverage grille guard covers the width of the grille and is maybe the most common style for commercial trucks. With full-coverage, you protect the center of the grille, the bumper, and the headlights with designs expected to protect from large animal strikes.
  • Center-Only Grille Guards: Another name for a center-only grille guard is a push bar and push bars are lighter and more aerodynamic than full-coverage grille guards — but only provide protection for the center of the grille.
  • Modular Grille Guards: Modular grille guards are grille guards that can be pieced together, providing you with the ability to add or remove sections of the grille guard to improve the level of protection it provides.

Mounting Styles for Grille Guards

When looking at styles of semi truck grille guards, a key category is the different mounting types for grille guards. How you mount your grille guard is an important piece of the puzzle and critical for you to understand when you decide to make your purchase.

  • Fixed Frame Mount Grille Guards: This style of grille guard is bolted directly to the frame of the truck. This provides incredible strength in its construction, but it can be a challenge to work around when you need to get under the hood.
  • Fold-Down and Tilt Mount Grille Guards: This is a type of grille guard that features a hinge mechanism that allows you to fold down or tile the grille guard for improved access to your engine.
  • MagLatch and Pin-Lock Grille Guards: These types of grille guards are specific to different grille guard brands in most cases, but they employ release pins or magnetic latches that allow the grille guard to be tilted down for maintenance.

Industry-Specific Styles of Grille Guards

When you live or operate in different parts of the country and different parts of the world or you drive a specific brand of truck, you may discover industry-specific styles of grille guards. These grille guards may be built for strength and premium protection or for enhanced aerodynamics based on the truck brand or usage.

  • Moose Train Grille Guards: This style of grille guard is also known as a Road Train grille guard in some parts of the world and is built for strength. These four-post grille guards are popular in Australia and Canada where you may encounter massive animals and they employ extra-thick tubing for serious protection.
  • Aerodynamic and Contoured Grille Guards: Are you looking for a grille guard that will improve the aerodynamics of your truck? This style of grille guard is often designed and developed for specific trucks like the Freightliner Cascadia and Volvo VNL.

READ MORE: Are Semi Truck Grille Guards Worth It?  

Interested in a brand-new grille guard for your truck? You may be asking — what are the different styles of semi truck grille guards? We may be able to help with this style guide created by the RIGGUARD Team.

Contact the RIGGUARD Team for more information on our grille guards!