LR3 Front bumper options

[StreetsofCompton]

Hey guys,

So Im close to finally ordering a front bumper. It seems the main 3 options are ARB, Tactical and RTE. Price is comparable for all 3 ($$$). For those that DIY, which one did you go with and why? Any significant pros/cons after installation and overall satisfaction with the product?

 

[dsm02c]

LR3 Front bumper options - DIY

I like my tactical bumper, looks good, feels stout, shallower than the ARB/ better approach angle. The cons are: you get to figure out your windshield fluid tank relocation(not a big deal but your gonna be making a bracket and going to a smaller tank), trimming fender flares is slow and kinda hit or miss (at least the lr3's aren't painted!), can't get headlights out due to bull bar, no locations for high lift jack points.

If I had to do it over again I'd still buy the Tactical... also, don't even think about a warn zeon, it's been a PITA fitting in the tactical winch tray.

 

[Ray_G]

Mike-
When you say DIY, you mean DIY install-yes? (Vice building your own bumper).
From what I've heard from a buddy who has an ARB on both his 3 and 4 they are finicky to get on right. Similiar issues to what dsm02c notes about trimming and such. Oh, and accessing the winch is very difficult-would highly suggest a remote.
r-
Ray

 

[ColoDisco]

I love Rays bumper but not willing to have the shop in the UAE build and ship. My second favorite is the TR bumper. Really well built but has the pitfalls listed above. I have the ARB which came with my rig. Pros of the ARB are that you can get the headlights out with some creative wrangling and I believe I removed a mount. You do not need to relocate the WS reservoir. There is decent access to the winch. Mine was powder coated I guess to match but the color is off and the powder coat is peeling and starting to rust. I will be looking to strip and respray or replace. Have not decided yet.

 

[DiscoNels]

My vote is for the Tactical 4x4 front bumper (I've also got the rear bumper). For me it came down to the ARB or T4x4 and I chose the Tactical bumper because of the open access to the winch tray and because you can simply roll out the headlights to do maintenance (with the ARB you need to remove or partially remove the bumper just to get the headlights out, no thanks).

I installed the front bumper 100% on my own with no outside hands helping. It's not too bad a job to do yourself. For me I almost didn't need to trim the 1/2" of metal off the fender, but I did per the instructions (I could have just pushed in the metal and it would have fit). I also stuffed a 12K Smittybilt X2O winch in there and it's a very, very, very tight fit and needed to fab a metal plate to mount the winch controller so it could clear the bumper and also had to bend metal to clear the winch clutch lever as I rotated it. All very easy. Access to the mounting bolts on the hawse and bumper mounting bolts was ridiculous with this winch and took about 15 minutes on each side just to thread the bolts by heavy use of a magnet. I'm officially a finger contortionist now! :ylsmoke:


Working with Eric at Tactical 4x4 he was able to help spec out a washer bottle with bracket for me so mounting that thing was easy and pain free.

I also went W/O the front bumper parking sensors to save myself an estimated 2 hours on install time and ongoing headaches with false readings. All quiet here.

 

[ColoDisco]

You can take the headlights out with the ARB. I've done it.

 

[mpinco]

Does anyone make a winch bumper without the bull bars? Prefer the cleaner look but do see an advantage of a winch bumper over a hidden winch tray.

 

[perkj]

My vote is ARB as well and what I have. I can also confirm the headlights CAN be removed with the ARB...I've done it several times. Some people have said access to the winch engage/disengage lever is difficult on the ARB, I have not found this to be the case....the lever is very easy to access with my WARN 9.5 XP.

 

[DiscoDavis]

If I did it again I would also do ARB. I liked it very much. However I am amazed you could get the headlights out with the bumper on, it just did not seem possible with mine!

@perkj, did you remove the plastic grill piece, to make space to remove the headlights?

 

[StreetsofCompton]

Thanks for all of the feedback guys.

Ray - Yeah, I realized the title was worded poorly last night. Couldnt figure out how to edit a title via the Tapatalk app. Sorry for the confusion.

For you ARB bumper guys, which winch are you using? I see one Warn 9.5XP.

 

[ColoDisco]

I'm still winch less however I helped put Krickett's 12k warn on.

 

[Ray_G]

I'm running Superwinch all around; my 3 and my D1 both have the Tiger Shark 9500 synthetics. I just rebuilt my old EP9 that had been on my D1 for years.

Warn gets a lot of brand recognition for the red W...but to put a fine point on it, my best friend was staff at the 36hrs of Uwharrie...the only winches that failed during the event were Warn's...and he has two broken Warns sitting on a shelf right now waiting for me to rebuild them. That is anecdotal observation of course, but is meant to highlight that don't mistake good marketing necessarily for good value for your dollar.
r-
Ray

 

[StreetsofCompton]

Great reminder Ray. Truth be told, Warn have been the only ones Ive looked into. Guess their marketing is better than good.

 

[krick3tt]

I have the ARB front with 12K Warn winch. Yes, did have lots of help putting it on, it took three of us but went rather quickly considering. I have the 4X4 Tactical rear and Eric and his wife came to Denver (called it a vacation road trip) to put it on after the first one did not get built correctly. Great customer service.
I have had the head lights out and in with little trouble with the bull bars on and used the top bar to mount the HiLift.
I might have ordered the Tactical front bumper but did not have an issue with the ARB.

 

[Warn Industries]

If anyone has any questions about our products, don't hesitate to reach out here or via PM. And Ray_G -- have your friend call our Customer Service team at 800-543-9276 if he needs help troubleshooting his winch.

-Andy