Offroad bumper vs stock bumper

[Jmz01]

Hello everyone!

Im having a tough time whether or not i should purchase a offroad bumper. I hear some things that a offroad bumper can be dangerous in the case of a vehicle on vehicle accident. I have a family and we only use 1 vehicle. I own a 2017 f150 supercrew. I was thinking a ARB bumper would be nice because their bumpers apparently are compatible with airbags(does not delay apparently). But unfortunately they don't sell one for my truck. Does anyone here know whether or not these bumpers effect the safety of vehicle during an accident? Thanks in advance!!

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[Rovertrader]

I hit a deer whilst I was riding my motorcycle years ago, and am a bit fond of the heavier duty bumpers- especially when traveling remotely, and at night. Also, I typically have a winch mounted, but trying something a little different this go:

https://www.roughcountry.com/ford-front-led-bumper-10770c.html?find=2017-ford-f-150-4wd-739446

One thing to note on brush guards- if they are not HD they will inflict more body damage than without.
Not sure this is the kind of feedback you are looking for, but in the end, car manufacturers obviously spend huge dollars designing these vehicles. However, they are looking at what best suits the majority of users, and meets all applicable regulations...

 

[Jmz01]

ARB, in particular claims to safety test and engineer their bumpers to distribute collision force the same way that OEM bumpers do for the same application, so that airbag deployment timing isn't thrown off in the event of a forward collision.

To what degree of precision this is done, and how much it matters is unknown but kudos to them for putting in the effort. It makes a good talking point for sales so I would imagine that if any other manufacturer incorporates similar engineering in their aftermarket bumpers they would want to boast about it as well.

There are other factors though, like if you raise the suspension height you may find yourself involved in an entirely different type of collision. If your vehicle strikes an immovable object or another vehicle and climbs it rather than catching it with the bumper that may affect the outcome of the collision for occupants of your vehicle or for occupants of the other vehicle. Trucks (including half ton pickups) often have structures below the frame in front for the explicit purpose of interfacing with automotive bumpers.
If you make tire or suspension changes that result in your vehicle sliding sideways instead of meeting a collision with the front of the vehicle again you've changed the outcome, maybe for the worse as there's less material to absorb impact on the side of the vehicle vs. the front.

Another factor to consider is whether an aftermarket bumper is even something you need. There are several reasons a person might install an aftermarket bumper; for example to increase approach clearance for rough terrain, as part of a mounting assembly and fairlead fixture for a winch, as a mounting point for auxiliary lighting, antennae or fishing rod holders (and bottle openers), to help reduce damage in the event of an anticipated animal strike or rollover, and of course for vanity. As you're considering the bumper take a look at whether those factors apply to you and whether the specific bumper you're considering actually addresses them. If the calculus works out? Go for it!

Overall I don't believe that aftermarket bumpers alone present a significant hazard in the context of vehicle ownership and certainly not carefully engineered premium ones such as ARB.

Very valid points. I appreciate the response. Its a very tough decision because safety is the most important thing to me. I wish ARB made a bumper for the F150. Is there any other brands that are similar?

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[Jmz01]

I hit a deer whilst I was riding my motorcycle years ago, and am a bit fond of the heavier duty bumpers- especially when traveling remotely, and at night. Also, I typically have a winch mounted, but trying something a little different this go:

https://www.roughcountry.com/ford-front-led-bumper-10770c.html?find=2017-ford-f-150-4wd-739446

One thing to note on brush guards- if they are not HD they will inflict more body damage than without.
Not sure this is the kind of feedback you are looking for, but in the end, car manufacturers obviously spend huge dollars designing these vehicles. However, they are looking at what best suits the majority of users, and meets all applicable regulations...

Yeah i get what you mean. It seems like they make it so that incase of a head on collision for example a small car wouldn't get completely demolished by a half ton truck. I do long drives in my truck and when it gets dark out its hard to see any deers runnin on to the road. I mean regardless its hard to see them forsure. Its tough because around my ranch there is just a ton of deers. If im on one of my long drives at night specially in more remote areas i wouldnt want to deal with having an animal damage my radiator or even so damage my vehicle to the point of it not being drivable.

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[llamalander]

When airbag sensors were housed in the nose of a vehicle, ARB"s claims may have made sense--in that they may have tested their bumper in crash simulations to see if it produced a different airbag deployment.
Most vehicles made in the last 10+ years use an array of sensors and accelerometers to activate the airbags, which do not depend on actually being struck to work. A repair manual for your Ford will list the various sensors in the airbag system, if none of them are altered or removed to mount a bumper, they will likely continue to work as engineered.

The stock bumper is designed to use the least material required to do it's job, to stay light and cheap. When you remove all the cladding, it will likely be a thin-walled square tube a bit wider than the radiator. It will endure a certain amount of force before it (and the frame it's bolted to) begin to deform to absorb the energy of an impact. Bumper is sacrificed to save the engine, with more force, all that and the body and frame sacrificed to preserve the occupants.
If you want to bolt a bigger, heavier chunk of steel to the same anchor points on your frame, you can expect it to deflect more (like deer) before the engine is damaged, but likely behave as required in a catastrophic collision.

If you hit a deer/elk/moose/bear and it flies over your bumper into your cab, all bets are off--the windshield will not protect you.
Likewise, if your angled bumper lifts you over the body of another car into its cab, you will bypass most of their safety measures.
This is likely the more important safety consideration, and what Shovel was talking about--you may be fine, who you hit very well might not.

You might notice box-trucks have a bar off the back that is only a few feet from the ground, even when the frame and deck are much higher. This is to prevent cars from getting under the frame in an accident, not to protect the truck.

 

[Jmz01]

When airbag sensors were housed in the nose of a vehicle, ARB"s claims may have made sense--in that they may have tested their bumper in crash simulations to see if it produced a different airbag deployment.
Most vehicles made in the last 10+ years use an array of sensors and accelerometers to activate the airbags, which do not depend on actually being struck to work. A repair manual for your Ford will list the various sensors in the airbag system, if none of them are altered or removed to mount a bumper, they will likely continue to work as engineered.

The stock bumper is designed to use the least material required to do it's job, to stay light and cheap. When you remove all the cladding, it will likely be a thin-walled square tube a bit wider than the radiator. It will endure a certain amount of force before it (and the frame it's bolted to) begin to deform to absorb the energy of an impact. Bumper is sacrificed to save the engine, with more force, all that and the body and frame sacrificed to preserve the occupants.
If you want to bolt a bigger, heavier chunk of steel to the same anchor points on your frame, you can expect it to deflect more (like deer) before the engine is damaged, but likely behave as required in a catastrophic collision.

If you hit a deer/elk/moose/bear and it flies over your bumper into your cab, all bets are off--the windshield will not protect you.
Likewise, if your angled bumper lifts you over the body of another car into its cab, you will bypass most of their safety measures.
This is likely the more important safety consideration, and what Shovel was talking about--you may be fine, who you hit very well might not.

You might notice box-trucks have a bar off the back that is only a few feet from the ground, even when the frame and deck are much higher. This is to prevent cars from getting under the frame in an accident, not to protect the truck.

I see what your saying. Would it actually effect collision sensors though? Someone brought that up to me the other day.

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[Regcabguy]

I'd just remove or trim that ridiculous air dam and keep the stock bumper. The ones that came with the early F-150's were just right.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I thought over my bumper decision a lot. I was going to build my own out of aluminum to save weight because the available bumpers for my rig ate up a good % of payload, but I too was very concerned with safety. I have a background in risk management so I took a clinical look at it to figure it out. Humans tend to be really worried about stuff that rarely happens, and that causes us to miss out on accounting for stuff that happens a lot and can be way more impactful, so this approach helped me evaluate that a bit.

Risks can be divided into two dimensions: How probable something is, and how impactful something is. If something is both super probable and highly impactful, you probably should spend time mitigating that. If it's not very likely to happen, and even if it does, it doesn't have a huge impact, you don't need to worry so much. There's also unlikely, high impact events -- these ones tend to catch us out -- and of course very likely, but not very high impact events. This is a simple risk matrix and using this approach, my process and research resulted in the following:

You are technically more likely to hit a deer than you are to hit another car, based on the data I found. Car-on-car is something like 1 in 300; car-on-deer is something like 1 in 120. So, that's our probabilities, but Impact is the other consideration. The potential impact in a typical Overland context is much bigger in a car-on-animal strike versus a car on car strike. Animal strikes for overlanding usually happen in remote areas, and often on medium- to high-speed roads (i.e. 80 KPH or more). However the forces typically involved mean that you probably won't need airbags to deploy -- a 6000 lbs 4x4 striking a 300 lbs deer will create a lot of carnage, but it won't bring the vehicle to a sudden stop (which is what airbags are good for - when occupants keep moving after the vehicle has suddenly stopped). Without front end protection, even if you are totally safe in the actual collision and walk away unscathed, your vehicle might be dead leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere. If there are injuries or the weather changes or a travelling companion gets a bee sting and is allergic or any number of other factors bubble up, this can become a life-or-death scenario very quickly. So it's likely, but also highly impactful.

A car-on-car incident usually happens at city speeds (below 50 kph), so less energy in the typical crash, but sometimes the forces involved mean you do want airbags to deploy -- a 6000 lbs 4x4 will be stopped pretty suddenly by another 4-6000 lbs vehicle. Thats why airbag compatibility is important. But, most car-on-car accidents happens in populated areas (which makes sense) so not only are there slower speeds involved, but you typically are closer to things like hospitals, tow trucks, etc. which makes the impact potentially actually much less than an animal strike for my use case.

(Note these are ALL probabilities -- it is of course totally possible to have a car-on-car in a remote area with no help around, just as its possible to hit a deer or moose within Edmonton city limits -- but it's rare.)

But there are other risks that are way more likely than a deer strike, and yet have a similar impact. Getting stuck is a big risk, and it can have the same impact as an animal strike -- being properly bogged might mean your vehicle might as well be dead, and you are stranded. Again, weather can change, someone might injur themselves in the recovery effort, etc., all of which can dramatically increase the impact of this event.

A well-designed bumper is the most effective way to mitigate these risks. An animal strike with a good bumper makes it more likely that your vehicle can drive away. Getting bogged is always a problem, but a good bumper allows you to mount a winch to effect a recovery, and will often have other options like jacking support or recovery points. A good bumper can prevent your vehicle from excessive damage in a car on car incident as well if the other guy's car and crumple zones are 'forced' to absorb more of the crash energy. His car might be a bit messed up, but yours might be fine. Without a bumper, all other things being equal, both cars will need the body shop.

The odds of getting into a car-on-car accident, or even a car-on-BIG-animal accident, where the bumper would mess with the existing safety equipment of the vehicle enough to change the outcome for your passengers is pretty small, but its still a risk. You can make it smaller still by going with an ARB, because they do test for exactly this.

So, I have an ARB on order*. Thank you for attending my TED talk.

*(Technically I'm gambling a bit -- the bumper I ordered is for my truck's twin, the Colorado, but I'm going to see if I can make it fit my Canyon (which it should). This might reduce that airbag compatibility but I don't think it will because of how similar the Twins are, but either way I'll be the guinea pig for Canyon owners who want the ARB Bumper!)

 

[llamalander]

Ha ha--that's what you get for asking!
Buy the bumper you want, understand it will not protect you from all the events beyond your control.
Drive like the world's a dangerous place and you love your truck, and of course--enjoy it.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

Ha ha--that's what you get for asking!
Buy the bumper you want, understand it will not protect you from all the events beyond your control.
Drive like the world's a dangerous place and you love your truck, and of course--enjoy it.

You used a lot less words than I did. No fair

But yes -- the bumper absolutely will not protect you from everything. I believe for most remote travel, a good bumper is better than the stock plastic stuff, but a sensible foot on the pedals, eyes on the road, and hands on the wheel are probably a much better guarantee of safety!

 

[Jmz01]

I thought over my bumper decision a lot. I was going to build my own out of aluminum to save weight because the available bumpers for my rig ate up a good % of payload, but I too was very concerned with safety. I have a background in risk management so I took a clinical look at it to figure it out. Humans tend to be really worried about stuff that rarely happens, and that causes us to miss out on accounting for stuff that happens a lot and can be way more impactful, so this approach helped me evaluate that a bit.

Risks can be divided into two dimensions: How probable something is, and how impactful something is. If something is both super probable and highly impactful, you probably should spend time mitigating that. If it's not very likely to happen, and even if it does, it doesn't have a huge impact, you don't need to worry so much. There's also unlikely, high impact events -- these ones tend to catch us out -- and of course very likely, but not very high impact events. This is a simple risk matrix and using this approach, my process and research resulted in the following:

You are technically more likely to hit a deer than you are to hit another car, based on the data I found. Car-on-car is something like 1 in 300; car-on-deer is something like 1 in 120. So, that's our probabilities, but Impact is the other consideration. The potential impact in a typical Overland context is much bigger in a car-on-animal strike versus a car on car strike. Animal strikes for overlanding usually happen in remote areas, and often on medium- to high-speed roads (i.e. 80 KPH or more). However the forces typically involved mean that you probably won't need airbags to deploy -- a 6000 lbs 4x4 striking a 300 lbs deer will create a lot of carnage, but it won't bring the vehicle to a sudden stop (which is what airbags are good for - when occupants keep moving after the vehicle has suddenly stopped). Without front end protection, even if you are totally safe in the actual collision and walk away unscathed, your vehicle might be dead leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere. If there are injuries or the weather changes or a travelling companion gets a bee sting and is allergic or any number of other factors bubble up, this can become a life-or-death scenario very quickly. So it's likely, but also highly impactful.

A car-on-car incident usually happens at city speeds (below 50 kph), so less energy in the typical crash, but sometimes the forces involved mean you do want airbags to deploy -- a 6000 lbs 4x4 will be stopped pretty suddenly by another 4-6000 lbs vehicle. Thats why airbag compatibility is important. But, most car-on-car accidents happens in populated areas (which makes sense) so not only are there slower speeds involved, but you typically are closer to things like hospitals, tow trucks, etc. which makes the impact potentially actually much less than an animal strike for my use case.

(Note these are ALL probabilities -- it is of course totally possible to have a car-on-car in a remote area with no help around, just as its possible to hit a deer or moose within Edmonton city limits -- but it's rare.)

But there are other risks that are way more likely than a deer strike, and yet have a similar impact. Getting stuck is a big risk, and it can have the same impact as an animal strike -- being properly bogged might mean your vehicle might as well be dead, and you are stranded. Again, weather can change, someone might injur themselves in the recovery effort, etc., all of which can dramatically increase the impact of this event.

A well-designed bumper is the most effective way to mitigate these risks. An animal strike with a good bumper makes it more likely that your vehicle can drive away. Getting bogged is always a problem, but a good bumper allows you to mount a winch to effect a recovery, and will often have other options like jacking support or recovery points. A good bumper can prevent your vehicle from excessive damage in a car on car incident as well if the other guy's car and crumple zones are 'forced' to absorb more of the crash energy. His car might be a bit messed up, but yours might be fine. Without a bumper, all other things being equal, both cars will need the body shop.

The odds of getting into a car-on-car accident, or even a car-on-BIG-animal accident, where the bumper would mess with the existing safety equipment of the vehicle enough to change the outcome for your passengers is pretty small, but its still a risk. You can make it smaller still by going with an ARB, because they do test for exactly this.

So, I have an ARB on order*. Thank you for attending my TED talk.

*(Technically I'm gambling a bit -- the bumper I ordered is for my truck's twin, the Colorado, but I'm going to see if I can make it fit my Canyon (which it should). This might reduce that airbag compatibility but I don't think it will because of how similar the Twins are, but either way I'll be the guinea pig for Canyon owners who want the ARB Bumper!)

This forum is awesome thanks to guys like you! I appreciated the tedtalk explanation lol. If only i was lucky enough to get a ARB bumper too bad they don't make them for F150's. I'm trying to find a similar company that puts as much effort into detail when making their bumpers. I hear Road Armor and Ranch Hand are good. Any others brands with a good reputation or any other suggestions?

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[ChasingOurTrunks]

This forum is awesome thanks to guys like you! I appreciated the tedtalk explanation lol. If only i was lucky enough to get a ARB bumper too bad they don't make them for F150's. I'm trying to find a similar company that puts as much effort into detail when making their bumpers. I hear Road Armor and Ranch Hand are good. Any others brands with a good reputation or any other suggestions?

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Thanks for the kind words friend!

I know ARB just released their Summit series for the Ram trucks - have you tried e-mailing ARB USA to see if they have an F-150 bumper in the works?

The Aussies have rules about bull bars -- I've always been told that they are required by law not to interfere with the operation of the vehicle's safety systems like airbags. That means you could go with a TJM bar instead of an ARB bar and, in theory, it would have to pass the same safety muster. The big problem in your case is that F-150s just aren't common in Australia so none of the major manufacturers from there probably offer one, limiting you to state-side stuff.

I'm not aware of any domestic company that matches ARB's efforts in design and construction and testing, but that doesn't mean that there are not excellent bars available for your rig. For example, you can get an Aluminess winch bumper and they are very well regarded -- strong, winch-capable, but also very light because of the aluminum construction. If Aluminess made one for my machine, I'd actually go for it over the ARB only because the ARB is so heavy, and that eats up a lot of payload for me (midsize truck). I know quite a few people have Aluminess mounted on Tacomas and love them. They provide decent protection in an animal strike but I've always been told (no personal experience) that the Aluminess is likely a "one deer bar" -- i.e. if you hit a deer, the bar will need to be replaced, whereas a steel bar can sometimes take a few licks and keep going. Like everything else though, that's luck of the draw. It looks like they only go to 2016 at this time so it may not work on your 2017 (Not sure if the models are different on the fords):

Aluminum Winch Bumpers, Roof Racks, Tire Carriers | Aluminess

Aluminum winch bumpers, roof racks, tire carriers, storage boxes, and off-road accessories for Ford, Chevy, Toyota, and Dodge trucks and vans.

www.aluminess.com

As far as which bumper would be good in the steel bumper market, I really don't know. I think it's a case of 6 of 1, half dozen of the other -- the differences between, say, the Fab Fours bumper versus the Addictive Desert Designs bumper is likely mostly aesthetic as opposed to functional. So, rather than suggest a brand, I'll suggest a few things to keep an eye on as you're evaluating your options:

1) A lot of 4x4 fab shops seem to go by the ethos that "thicker = stronger", but in fabrication that's just not true -- your truck bumper will get way more strength from the design (i.e. internal gusseting) than it will from the thickness of steel. So, don't be woo'd by "this one is 3/16th steel so it's stronger than that one that is only made of 1/8". That may be true, but not because of the sheet metal -- the strength is from the structure. Look for lots of bracing and gussets and supporting angles.

2) A steel bumper without a hoop to protect your radiator is not as good as a bumper that does have a hoop. Ideally find a hoop that extends to the sides around the lights (not just in front of the rad) for maximum protection. Some steel bumpers have no hoop at all, and honestly I just can't see that being worth the cash if your interest is front-end protection.

3) Keep an eye on how they attach things like recovery points (and be wary they sometimes look like recovery points but are actually just d-ring mounts). Are they welded on the sheet metal? Probably weak. Are they through-welded in the sheet metal to, say, the winch plate? Better. Are they bolt on as part of the bumper mount? Best. Do they advertise them as "Rated" recovery points, or are they simply calling them "shackle mounts" or "D-Ring mounts" or even "Tow Points"? If it's not clear in the marketing, ask them. A rated recovery point means it's been engineered to a specific load -- those other terms may not be as strong; lots of guys will machine out a d-ring shackle mount, surface weld it to a bumper, powder coat it and sell it -- but it's not been tested in any real recovery, and while it's probably OK most of the time it's still higher risk.

4) Take a look at this ARB "A Bull Bar is Born" video. It's not meant to make you pine for the ARB more than you already are haha -- it just shows some of the features you can look for in the construction of the bar. Things like internal frame to reinforce the bumper, the crush cans inside the bumper or even the crumple zones on the mounts -- I don't know of anyone who does it like this but ARB, but it can give you a sense of what to look for.



Honestly, I think if you have to go with a Made in America steel bar, the aesthetics of it are a big part of it -- I think most of them are probably engineered "good enough" for safety (or at least as good as each other), so the main element is what you like on your rig as @llamalander said.

 

[Jmz01]

Thanks for the kind words friend!

I know ARB just released their Summit series for the Ram trucks - have you tried e-mailing ARB USA to see if they have an F-150 bumper in the works?

The Aussies have rules about bull bars -- I've always been told that they are required by law not to interfere with the operation of the vehicle's safety systems like airbags. That means you could go with a TJM bar instead of an ARB bar and, in theory, it would have to pass the same safety muster. The big problem in your case is that F-150s just aren't common in Australia so none of the major manufacturers from there probably offer one, limiting you to state-side stuff.

I'm not aware of any domestic company that matches ARB's efforts in design and construction and testing, but that doesn't mean that there are not excellent bars available for your rig. For example, you can get an Aluminess winch bumper and they are very well regarded -- strong, winch-capable, but also very light because of the aluminum construction. If Aluminess made one for my machine, I'd actually go for it over the ARB only because the ARB is so heavy, and that eats up a lot of payload for me (midsize truck). I know quite a few people have Aluminess mounted on Tacomas and love them. They provide decent protection in an animal strike but I've always been told (no personal experience) that the Aluminess is likely a "one deer bar" -- i.e. if you hit a deer, the bar will need to be replaced, whereas a steel bar can sometimes take a few licks and keep going. Like everything else though, that's luck of the draw. It looks like they only go to 2016 at this time so it may not work on your 2017 (Not sure if the models are different on the fords):

Aluminum Winch Bumpers, Roof Racks, Tire Carriers | Aluminess

Aluminum winch bumpers, roof racks, tire carriers, storage boxes, and off-road accessories for Ford, Chevy, Toyota, and Dodge trucks and vans.

www.aluminess.com

As far as which bumper would be good in the steel bumper market, I really don't know. I think it's a case of 6 of 1, half dozen of the other -- the differences between, say, the Fab Fours bumper versus the Addictive Desert Designs bumper is likely mostly aesthetic as opposed to functional. So, rather than suggest a brand, I'll suggest a few things to keep an eye on as you're evaluating your options:

1) A lot of 4x4 fab shops seem to go by the ethos that "thicker = stronger", but in fabrication that's just not true -- your truck bumper will get way more strength from the design (i.e. internal gusseting) than it will from the thickness of steel. So, don't be woo'd by "this one is 3/16th steel so it's stronger than that one that is only made of 1/8". That may be true, but not because of the sheet metal -- the strength is from the structure. Look for lots of bracing and gussets and supporting angles.

2) A steel bumper without a hoop to protect your radiator is not as good as a bumper that does have a hoop. Ideally find a hoop that extends to the sides around the lights (not just in front of the rad) for maximum protection. Some steel bumpers have no hoop at all, and honestly I just can't see that being worth the cash if your interest is front-end protection.

3) Keep an eye on how they attach things like recovery points (and be wary they sometimes look like recovery points but are actually just d-ring mounts). Are they welded on the sheet metal? Probably weak. Are they through-welded in the sheet metal to, say, the winch plate? Better. Are they bolt on as part of the bumper mount? Best. Do they advertise them as "Rated" recovery points, or are they simply calling them "shackle mounts" or "D-Ring mounts" or even "Tow Points"? If it's not clear in the marketing, ask them. A rated recovery point means it's been engineered to a specific load -- those other terms may not be as strong; lots of guys will machine out a d-ring shackle mount, surface weld it to a bumper, powder coat it and sell it -- but it's not been tested in any real recovery, and while it's probably OK most of the time it's still higher risk.

4) Take a look at this ARB "A Bull Bar is Born" video. It's not meant to make you pine for the ARB more than you already are haha -- it just shows some of the features you can look for in the construction of the bar. Things like internal frame to reinforce the bumper, the crush cans inside the bumper or even the crumple zones on the mounts -- I don't know of anyone who does it like this but ARB, but it can give you a sense of what to look for.



Honestly, I think if you have to go with a Made in America steel bar, the aesthetics of it are a big part of it -- I think most of them are probably engineered "good enough" for safety (or at least as good as each other), so the main element is what you like on your rig as @llamalander said.

Awesome ya i will definitely do my research. I didn't really have an idea on what to look for exactly. What you provided for me is really helpful in making my decision. Very much appreciated! Hope you enjoy that ARB bumper. I think having a steel bumper is still better not having one.

A while ago i was looking at this bullbar:

AdvantEDGE 5-1/2" Black Aluminum Bull Bar with Lights, Select Ford F-150

Making your truck stand out from the rest isn't just about adding more truck accessories. It's about selecting truck accessories that complement your vehicle and can stand up to harsh jobs and wild trails. Give yourself the aftermarket advantage with the ARIES AdvantEDGE™ 5-1/2" bull bar with...

www.ariesautomotive.com

It looked like it had great protection for the radiator but the damn bar installs onto the tow hook it seems like. Recovery from the front of the vehicle would absolutely suck if i ever needed to be pulled out of a ditch(tons around my place) in the winter or in other situations.



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[ChasingOurTrunks]

Awesome ya i will definitely do my research. I didn't really have an idea on what to look for exactly. What you provided for me is really helpful in making my decision. Very much appreciated! Hope you enjoy that ARB bumper. I think having a steel bumper is still better not having one.

A while ago i was looking at this bullbar:

AdvantEDGE 5-1/2" Black Aluminum Bull Bar with Lights, Select Ford F-150

Making your truck stand out from the rest isn't just about adding more truck accessories. It's about selecting truck accessories that complement your vehicle and can stand up to harsh jobs and wild trails. Give yourself the aftermarket advantage with the ARIES AdvantEDGE™ 5-1/2" bull bar with...

www.ariesautomotive.com

It looked like it had great protection for the radiator but the damn bar installs onto the tow hook it seems like. Recovery from the front of the vehicle would absolutely suck if i ever needed to be pulled out of a ditch(tons around my place) in the winter or in other situations.



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That looks good, but I've never been a huge fan of push bars like that for my needs in the backcountry -- I've looked at them but they miss out on a lot of the advantages of a full bumper. Police are very fond of them because they can effectively turn a rig into a battering ram (hence why many call them push bars; bull bar is another term but Bull Bar in North America = push bar; Bull Bar in Australia = Full Bumper near as I can tell, so it gets confusing in terminology).

As for what they are missing, a push bar usually can't mount a winch (depends on the brand), and will provide really limited protection to your wheels and the sensitive steering components attached to them (control arms etc.). Some don't even come high enough to protect the rad area. They also often mount, as you have identified, to the tow hooks and they leave the existing plastics, air dam, etc. in place so they don't give you an advantage in approach angles like a full off-road bumper (but you may not need that).

A step above a push-bar in terms of protection would be a full Grill Guard. These are a bit of a better compromise because, like the push bar, they allow you to keep your vehicle mostly stock, but you can also get them with winch mounts, like this Westin: https://www.westinautomotive.com/hdx-winch-mount-grille-guard/2017/ford/f-150

However, they are "one deer" products. I've been in deer strikes with vehicles with these mounted, and the bar is usually a write-off, and there's usually some body damage to the vehicle. However, they also usually give enough protection to allow the vehicle to drive still, so if you're worried about an animal strike leaving you stranded, this might be a bit better than a push bar. There is an argument on the web that bars like this are "damage modifiers" but I've never seen that be legitimately tested to confirm so I look on it with doubt, but what is absolutely for sure is that a grill guard is not the equivalent of a proper off-road bumper.

The advantage of both push bars and grill guards is that they allow you to keep your vehicle mostly stock, and if you take them off your rig is back to the way it was as Ford intended. They are also a lot cheaper usually than a full steel. I have a grill guard on my Silverado and that was a good balance between front-end protection and keeping the vehicle "stock" (which I wanted to do as much as I could).

I think Warn have a series of bars and mounts for winches as well, and while you will pay a premium for the name, the brand is pretty bulletproof.

 

[Jmz01]

That looks good, but I've never been a huge fan of push bars like that for my needs in the backcountry -- I've looked at them but they miss out on a lot of the advantages of a full bumper. Police are very fond of them because they can effectively turn a rig into a battering ram (hence why many call them push bars; bull bar is another term but Bull Bar in North America = push bar; Bull Bar in Australia = Full Bumper near as I can tell, so it gets confusing in terminology).

As for what they are missing, a push bar usually can't mount a winch (depends on the brand), and will provide really limited protection to your wheels and the sensitive steering components attached to them (control arms etc.). Some don't even come high enough to protect the rad area. They also often mount, as you have identified, to the tow hooks and they leave the existing plastics, air dam, etc. in place so they don't give you an advantage in approach angles like a full off-road bumper (but you may not need that).

A step above a push-bar in terms of protection would be a full Grill Guard. These are a bit of a better compromise because, like the push bar, they allow you to keep your vehicle mostly stock, but you can also get them with winch mounts, like this Westin: https://www.westinautomotive.com/hdx-winch-mount-grille-guard/2017/ford/f-150

However, they are "one deer" products. I've been in deer strikes with vehicles with these mounted, and the bar is usually a write-off, and there's usually some body damage to the vehicle. However, they also usually give enough protection to allow the vehicle to drive still, so if you're worried about an animal strike leaving you stranded, this might be a bit better than a push bar. There is an argument on the web that bars like this are "damage modifiers" but I've never seen that be legitimately tested to confirm so I look on it with doubt, but what is absolutely for sure is that a grill guard is not the equivalent of a proper off-road bumper.

The advantage of both push bars and grill guards is that they allow you to keep your vehicle mostly stock, and if you take them off your rig is back to the way it was as Ford intended. They are also a lot cheaper usually than a full steel. I have a grill guard on my Silverado and that was a good balance between front-end protection and keeping the vehicle "stock" (which I wanted to do as much as I could).

I think Warn have a series of bars and mounts for winches as well, and while you will pay a premium for the name, the brand is pretty bulletproof.

Good point. Yup you sold me i'm going to just save up for a steel bumper. It's definitely well worth the investment. No point in wasting money on something that won't fully do the job.

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