Troy Corbin
New member
how resistant to scratches/tears is the wrap? if you bump into a rock does it get jacked up?
Expedition Overland 2013 Tacoma Build
- Thread starter ExpeditionOverland
- Start date
how resistant to scratches/tears is the wrap? if you bump into a rock does it get jacked up?
ExpeditionOverland
Supporting Sponsor
The Wrap is great for scratches etc. It does protect the paint well. However, we dont really do it for this purpose. Its all in creation of the look of our show. Frankly it looks cool.
john101477
Photographer in the Wild
No kidding huh?
I am not sure there are enough hours in the day for him to shoot, edit, drive, produce, and star in the show lol.
Boost Creep
Adventurer
if the discovery channel got ahold of it they'd just ruin it anyways
noJeepshere
Adventurer
Good point! Before long the show would get away from the rigs and the over landing and focus on the drama, kind of like some shows I used to watch, like American Chopper, or Deadliest Catch.
I keep waiting for Ewan McGregor to do another trip and make a mini series.
ExpeditionOverland
Supporting Sponsor
We share your same concerns. This season you will see a lot more focus on the travel and lifestyle of Overlanding and the people you meet along the way!
ExpeditionOverland
Supporting Sponsor
ExpeditionOverland
Supporting Sponsor
2013 ARB Bull bar and WARN 9.5 XP winch install.
When it comes to front protection, there is IMHO not a single better front bar than the ARB bull bar. Most people place a bar on their rig with the mentality that its going to be great for trail protection. Without a doubt it probably will despite how slick or hideous it may look. However, what you don't hear a lot of people talking about is occupant safety. In newer vehicles equipped with Airbag safety systems this should be important to you! Airbags are regulated by sensors and if the trigger force is detected then the airbag will deploy. OK so big deal. Well your add on bumpers can alter how the frame translates forces and could trigger a delayed deployment OR a premature deployment! Now imagine you do something small at slow speeds but hit something and your airbag punches your face most likely totaling your rig in the process. All of these "possibilities" could have grave consequences. Injuries, Insurance issues etc...
ARB Front Bull Guard: http://store.arbusa.com/ARB-Deluxe-Bar-Toyota-Tacoma-2012-13-3423140-P22769.aspx
ARB Bull guards are AIRBAG certified and tested (Which by the way is no small task). Beyond their great looks and rugged design with a bazzilion years of research and development behind them on bazzilions of models all over the world ARB has gone the extra mile to accommodate trail concerns and occupant safety as well as the ability to place many different types of winches, lights, antennas you name it on them. Overall you cant beat them, and many times the price is not that far from the other bumper you might be looking at. Now couple that with great customer service and you have a no brainer.
Install. The factory bumper is to be removed and cut down so that you can provide a finished edge out to the bumper. Some people gripe about this, but in my opinion its a great look and ARB did what they had to do to get us a bumper that functions properly. Cutting it is not a big deal. Mask out your cut line ( make sure to cut further down by a inch or two from what the ARB instructions say. It looks a little better when the bumpers on.) and cut your line. we used a cutting wheel at first but moved to a air saw. Fog lamps wire direct to fog lamp wires. Over all a pretty straight forward install.
WARN 9.5 XP (S):
(synthetic)http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/95xp-s_winch.shtml
(standard Line)http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/95xp_winch.shtml
WARN as sent us a second 9.5 XP for our Tacoma. We are super stoked on this! Last year in our travels we really found out how great and fast and burly this winch is. We asked for it straight up for the Tacoma. We are sponsored by Masterpull who makes fantastic top end synthetic lines so we installed their basic line on the drum, but have the Superline XD in the shop to go on before the trip. The WARN 9.5 XP has a great controller, waterproof sylinoids and all features you want in a winch that you know you will be able to rely on no matter what.
Install of the winch: The install of the winch is also fairly straight forward if you are running the normal cable. However we ran into an issue with the Synthetic line fairlead lining up with the ARB bumper. When the fairlead was placed on the bumper the metal of the fairlead hole covered half of the WARN fairleads gap for the line. To make it all work we had to make a drop cut into the fairlead hole on the ARB Bar. With this minimal cut we were able to mount up the WARN synthetic fairlead and have the proper clearances for the line.
Here are some install pics:
Clocking the drum.
The Cut out for the fairlead clearance.
All finished! KILLER!
When it comes to front protection, there is IMHO not a single better front bar than the ARB bull bar. Most people place a bar on their rig with the mentality that its going to be great for trail protection. Without a doubt it probably will despite how slick or hideous it may look. However, what you don't hear a lot of people talking about is occupant safety. In newer vehicles equipped with Airbag safety systems this should be important to you! Airbags are regulated by sensors and if the trigger force is detected then the airbag will deploy. OK so big deal. Well your add on bumpers can alter how the frame translates forces and could trigger a delayed deployment OR a premature deployment! Now imagine you do something small at slow speeds but hit something and your airbag punches your face most likely totaling your rig in the process. All of these "possibilities" could have grave consequences. Injuries, Insurance issues etc...
ARB Front Bull Guard: http://store.arbusa.com/ARB-Deluxe-Bar-Toyota-Tacoma-2012-13-3423140-P22769.aspx
ARB Bull guards are AIRBAG certified and tested (Which by the way is no small task). Beyond their great looks and rugged design with a bazzilion years of research and development behind them on bazzilions of models all over the world ARB has gone the extra mile to accommodate trail concerns and occupant safety as well as the ability to place many different types of winches, lights, antennas you name it on them. Overall you cant beat them, and many times the price is not that far from the other bumper you might be looking at. Now couple that with great customer service and you have a no brainer.
Install. The factory bumper is to be removed and cut down so that you can provide a finished edge out to the bumper. Some people gripe about this, but in my opinion its a great look and ARB did what they had to do to get us a bumper that functions properly. Cutting it is not a big deal. Mask out your cut line ( make sure to cut further down by a inch or two from what the ARB instructions say. It looks a little better when the bumpers on.) and cut your line. we used a cutting wheel at first but moved to a air saw. Fog lamps wire direct to fog lamp wires. Over all a pretty straight forward install.
WARN 9.5 XP (S):
(synthetic)http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/95xp-s_winch.shtml
(standard Line)http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/95xp_winch.shtml
WARN as sent us a second 9.5 XP for our Tacoma. We are super stoked on this! Last year in our travels we really found out how great and fast and burly this winch is. We asked for it straight up for the Tacoma. We are sponsored by Masterpull who makes fantastic top end synthetic lines so we installed their basic line on the drum, but have the Superline XD in the shop to go on before the trip. The WARN 9.5 XP has a great controller, waterproof sylinoids and all features you want in a winch that you know you will be able to rely on no matter what.
Install of the winch: The install of the winch is also fairly straight forward if you are running the normal cable. However we ran into an issue with the Synthetic line fairlead lining up with the ARB bumper. When the fairlead was placed on the bumper the metal of the fairlead hole covered half of the WARN fairleads gap for the line. To make it all work we had to make a drop cut into the fairlead hole on the ARB Bar. With this minimal cut we were able to mount up the WARN synthetic fairlead and have the proper clearances for the line.
Here are some install pics:
Clocking the drum.
The Cut out for the fairlead clearance.
All finished! KILLER!
killahaas@gmail.com
Adventurer
looks great! i just installed a 2012 ARB on my tacoma aswell. i have to ask though. does your shake when you hit a good bump? all my bolts are tight nothing loose. maybe its just the way the bumper works? but it seems like it jumps around a bit to much.