# Bump gate damage



## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

Many years ago I was with a friend on an unfamiliar ranch he had been to. Never been through a bump gate before and he told me others at the ranch would make fun of me if I didnt bump through. We were in my nice Suburban. Well of course it hit me in the left rear, broke the taillight and did a little damage to the corner. Then I saw the ranch fleet of trucks and all of them showed evidence of being hit. Well the story has been resurrected and I am being laughed at again. 

My opinion is that bump gates are for rough and tough beat up scratched up ranch trucks and not for your street vehicle...unless it is your ranch and you are completely familiar with the particular gate and how your vehicle works with it. 

So, fess up. I want stories from others who have been hit...preferably with picture.


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## ksk (Aug 9, 2008)

Have not been through one in years but I remember a old timer telling me to pull my truck up and gently touch the gate with my front end.Once touching and from a stop position he told me to give it the gas and go through. Never was hit in the rear end.


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## TxDuSlayer (Jun 24, 2006)

Went to a ranch out in Uvalde with a friend of mine. There were 10 bump gates to go thru! The second gate crashed midway's into the side of his new truck!!! Gate #8 took out his back tailight on drivers side!! When his wife saw the new truck she was piiisssttttt!!!!!!!!!!! Not to mention when he showed her the ticket from the wonderful folks at Sealy PD for the broken tailight!!!!


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Ask State Vet...LOL

We have 3 on our ranch road and I have never had a problem with going thru any of them in 25+ years. I don't drive old trucks either


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

Well usually it doesent hit the seasoned veterans. Now it mite get the trailer they are towing if they dont do it right.

Charlie


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## mywifeshusband (Nov 19, 2006)

*bump gates*

My wife has no problems with the bump and run gates. Six years and nary a scratch.Awesome armor front and rear and yes she has a still nice avalanche 200,000 miles plus maybe its a girl thing. she drives and i ride. mwh


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## B_Bop77 (Dec 3, 2008)

I nearly broke an arm trying to save my ranger. I followed through behind a truck and trailor, punched it but had to slow due to the trailor in front of me. Had the window down and thought I'd save the truck, I did, but my left elbow still crackles every once in a while.


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## Bucksnort (Jun 29, 2004)

You really need to be sober when going through a bump gate


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

I never bump those gates in my truck.....
I always get out and tie them open or have one of my boys hold them..
Bumpin them with my four wheeler has never been a problem though.


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## txdougman (Jul 12, 2005)

*This 1 will take the laughs away from ya!*

Lemme tell ya...I didn't get just the ol dent in the truck!

Learned a valuable lesson in "bumpgateology"! Here I go...Ignorant 1st timer...

Was moving to Juno lease 9 yrs ago pulling a trailer load of stands,fdrs,etc. Was happy to be makin a short drive from Bracketville. Had 3 bumps to go thru. Eased thru the first, no problem...came to the 2nd and...well it swang a tad bit faster than the 1st. As I was thinkn O CHIT, I hit the gas to get thru quicker. BAD idea. The gate caught in front of the trailer wheel and crunch there goes the gate! Im talkn wooden 2x12x24's! So...we call the lease honcho...he lets the landowner know.
The next morning we get up and first thing head down the road to take another look at the gate and decide we need to fix this pronto.
Found a board we could use in the lease storage shed and did a purty nice splice job, used a bunch more stove bolts,though...finishn after bout 3 hrs. Well, here comes the owner pulln a trailer with a bobcat welder. He thought we damaged the third gate which was metal. Relieved he says..." wow, who engineered that repair job?" Needless to say I thought my ar$e was gonna get a different kinda ol West Texas welcome. That gate still stands, but I learned a valueable lesson wth bump gates and trailers for sure. AND BTW, that rock in the middle of the road near the end of the gates swingn radius...well... DOH! :headknock

Now...Ya feel better?


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## State_Vet (Oct 10, 2006)

Haute Pursuit said:


> Ask State Vet...LOL
> 
> We have 3 on our ranch road and I have never had a problem with going thru any of them in 25+ years. I don't drive old trucks either


I thought I was smart and asked Blake to hold it open:rotfl: Let's just say his timing on releasing it was way off (I could have swore he was pointing at the "pretty butterfly"):wink:


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*But...*



Haute Pursuit said:


> Ask State Vet...LOL
> 
> We have 3 on our ranch road and I have never had a problem with going thru any of them in 25+ years. I don't drive old trucks either


If you went to an unfamiliar ranch with bump gates differently constructed from your familiar ones.....didnt know the unwind/swingback speed, etc. would you be confident in your wife's brand new Caddy Escalade to try it?


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

The only problems I've had with bump gates are scratching up the front bumper.


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Johnboat said:


> If you went to an unfamiliar ranch with bump gates differently constructed from your familiar ones.....didnt know the unwind/swingback speed, etc. would you be confident in your wife's brand new Caddy Escalade to try it?


I would try it if she wasn't sitting next to me  Most people I've seen who have problems with the bump gates hit them to close to the pivot point. The closer you hit to the pivot point the faster everything happens. My ex stepmother bashed in the rear of her Caddi Fleetwood's wing more times than I can remember... she always kept trying though LOL


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## chad (Sep 7, 2006)

I have only seen bump gates when we hunted the King Ranch years ago. Didn't have any problems, but I don't get it.....what's wrong with cattle guards? On our ranch we have cattle guards instead of gates on all of the internal fences. Don't have to worry about vehicle damage.


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## Levelwind (Apr 15, 2005)

IMO the people who have trouble with them are too cautious. First and foremost, square up to the gate and don't be all the way to one side or the other. Ease up and then give it a good push. Don't let up and darn sure dont try to "squeeze through" at an angle. That's what gets most newbies. Good idea to make sure there isn't a calf or an old muley that might jump in your path at the last minute. I almost got hit once cause I had to manueuver around a dang cow that decided to be in the middle of the road about the time I was committed to the gate.


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## Levelwind (Apr 15, 2005)

chad said:


> On our ranch we have cattle guards instead of gates on all of the internal fences. Don't have to worry about vehicle damage.


Have to worry about leg damage.


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## LongRodMaster (Mar 5, 2005)

hell we go through our bump gates 2 trucks at a time you just get closest to the end of the gate easy up till you are touching it and commit to getting thru it. Our gates are heavy and made of steal pipe they swing slower the heavier the gate also. I dont bump them in my dodge but thats only because of the plastic painted bumper.


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## uncle dave (Jul 27, 2008)

Several years ago we were hunting out of campwood and the road into the ranch had a double bump gate, well one of the guys was over served and tried to go thru the inbound gate while heading outbound, not a pretty sight.


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## bobber (May 12, 2005)

They called me Bumpgate Bobber after I took a brand spankin new Chevy co truck through a Kingranch Gate that slapped me for 350 bucks.


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## Reel Aggies (Nov 30, 2007)

thats why usually every bumpgate on the King ranch usually has a manual gate right next to it.... You get a trailer caught in one and your fired!


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## regulator (May 21, 2004)

I Was told it was a bump gate, and to hit it hard, it was not a bump gate and I did hit it hard........ get the picture, .....still get **** for that one... his black eye was worth it though... back to the poster that said you need to be sober when going through them.... or don't listen to you drunk friend.


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## Pablo (May 21, 2004)

I've been through a few. However, I tried to go through one with a 20ft gooseneck and it caught my trailer marker light on the tailend. Took it clean off. My sister lived in Sonora for a while and she never got the hang of them. LOL


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## BigBuck (Mar 2, 2005)

*Bump gates*

Well, there are two types of bump gates, single swing (easy) and double swing (not so easy). We hunted on a ranch out of Barksdale that had 14 gates to go through, every one of them double swing gates (this was in the 70's). They eventually changed out 10 of them for single swings, then we got off after 7 years. Lots of stories on people hitting those things wrong, sometimes even me.

My best story (my friend related to me) was a doctor got on the lease and was riding with the lease manager (Buster Jamail). He had a new suburban pulling a brand new jeep. Pulled up to the first bump gate, a drill-stem pipe monster. Buster asked the doc if he had ever been through a bump gate before. The doc hesitated 3 seconds and then said "yes". Buster knew that was a bad sign. The doc stopped about 20' from the gate, Buster thought he was going to ease up there and touch the gate. The doc then guns the suburban, hitting the gate at about 20 mph. Crushed the left bumper and fender. His momentum carried him through the opening, the end of the gate caught the front bumper of the jeep. Crushed the front bumper of the jeep, and ripped the tow bar and a bunch of stuff out from under the jeep. This stopped the suburban in the danger zone. The front of the gate then caught the suburban at the driver side door. Caved it in, it was completely useless. Did $2,800 damage to the jeep and over $3,000 dollars damage to the suburban. Did not even dent the gate. This was about 1976 or so.

Funniest I saw was a guy was having trouble with his small toyota truck. We followd him out in case he had any trouble. He came to a large double swing and bumped it hard. His truck stalled right in the middle. The gate hit him in the rear, knocked him about 4' forward. Sound of the motor grinding as he furiously tried to start it. Bump gate hits him in the front bumper, knocks him about 3' backwards. Sound of motor turning over but not starting. Bump gate hits him in the rear, knocks him about 2' forward. We finally stopped laughing long enough to get out and hold the gate for him. Instant Karma, my buddy caught his rear bumper with the next gate in his Blazer, pushed it straight out into an L shape. 
Lots of stories.... no pics
BB


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*Thanks, I feel much better*

For those who've never seen one. Here is a new one on an oilfield lease.


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## texanlegend (Dec 9, 2004)

we were pulling a trailer once down a ranch road not moving too fast and a fella in a a small truck i want to say a ranger was riding our butts for a while beign really impatient well we hit the bump gate and went thru without a hitch but he pulled up to the gate before it was through swinging and he didnt have a brush guard all i saw was his air bag go off the trucked stopeed and his passenger got out and ran around to check on him didnt look too fun i still laugh when i think of that one


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## Ckill (Mar 9, 2007)

LOL only place I ever saw one was in Sonora.....never got the concept around here we do cattle guards. As a kid it was always cool to go through the bump gate though. I do remember an uncle with a new crew cab, that destroyed one side of his truck. And another uncle that hit it to fast drunk...ect. It seemed like it was broken as much as it worked.


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## srmtphillips (Oct 3, 2007)

Growing up in Sonora, a buddy worked at one of the local bodyshops after school. Every deer season there would be a few bumpgate dents in the rear quarter panel. It usually involved alcohol, but was always good for a few laughs for us locals!


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

texanlegend said:


> we were pulling a trailer once down a ranch road not moving too fast and a fella in a a small truck i want to say a ranger was riding our butts for a while beign really impatient well we hit the bump gate and went thru without a hitch but he pulled up to the gate before it was through swinging and he didnt have a brush guard all i saw was his air bag go off the trucked stopeed and his passenger got out and ran around to check on him didnt look too fun i still laugh when i think of that one


Oh man that is priceless!


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## boom! (Jul 10, 2004)

We have everybody keep the pretty trucks at the camp and drive one of the hunting trucks on the ranch. If our gates don't get you the mesquite will give you what we call Texas pin striping.


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