Problems with ARB Bull Bar?

[Benjisan]

Just as I was about to confirm my selection of the ARB Bull Bar for my LJ, I read a few things online that say it has a weak point right ********** dab in the middle of it. Then I hear people talking about the weak recovery points and its got me looking at Hanson 60" bumpers instead. Any truth to any of this weak point stuff?

Now I'm torn between the big Hanson bumpers and the big bull bar from ARB.

 

[DenCo40]

ARB Bumper.

I've had mine for several years and I have used it extensively. Even under severe winching loads it has performed well no damage has happened to the bumper itself. In fact I have had to modify the frame end attach points due to stress cracks. As far as weakness goes I think the ARB is stronger than the truck itself.

 

[86cj]

I was going to make my own bumper but two things made me choose the ARB. If I made one with that much coverage (not a stubby), it would have weighed Alot more and had no "give".....

I can't get the corrosion protection of the ARB powder coat at home. Do some research on the reputation of the aussie powdercoat process, it is illegal here.

I live in the rust belt and most all aftermarket products and some O.E. look real bad in one season. My ARB is 3 yr's old and looks like new, no regrets here.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

I too had an ARB on my 02 jeep. I sold it to a friend of mine that wheels really hard and it still looks good. As it has been pointed out, ARB is air bag compliant and very structurally sound. I'd have no problem buying another one.

 

[UN1MTD]

I have an ARB on my LJ. It was actually my first mod to my jeep ... two years ago. I bought it for its overwhelming protection of my front end and covertly integrated winch mount.

The negatives:
-Its heavy and weighs down the front end. With a Warn M8000 it netted me -1.5 inches of lift.
-If you do wheel and get into lots of twisty situations the parts of the ARB underneath your fenders will rub your fenders as the frame twists in relation to the body. Basically this just causes the powder coat to go away. A body lift prevents this.
- The powder coating has started to flake around the roller fairlead. So I disagree with the previous comment about its great powder coat.
-For pure rockcrawling it gets in the way some.
- On my first tug out i bent one of the recovery points. Its still sound, but just bent.
-Its crazy expensive
-It can't be used with an AntiRoc or 35s without modification ... aka cutting

The positives:
-It looks cool
-It hides your winch out of they way. Good air flow to the radiator. Theives will have a hard time removing it.
-It does give in impacts. I got airborne and landed on it, the bumper bent on its driver side.
-It can stand up to hitting trees at low speeds. It has saved my fenders a couple of times.
-Impressive mounting system, I think it was engineered very well

All in all, I would not purchase this bumper again. I have moved from light trail riding to more serious stuff and the bumper seems to get in the way more than it protects. I would recomend buying other things for your jeep before bumpers, they really aren't all that important ... the stock ones work fine.

-Sean

 

[VafrontierVa]

edit: wrong thread lol

 

[Haggis]

Another thought on bumpers is that they serve other purposes other than to hold a winch. I bought my Smittybilt SRC bumper more for front end protection from the local deer populace. If you ever saw the results of a deer hit on the front end of a Wrangler, especially a stock one, you'd want more protection than the stock bumper. Deer tend to roll over top of the bumper, rolling the grill back, and than slide down the hood into the windshield. Not a fun experience. I been unfortunate enough to have hit 2 deer since bolting the SRC on and both times they squirted out to the side of the jeep leaving no damage at all. You can't tell that anything ever impacted the bumper at all.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I bought my Smittybilt SRC bumper more for front end protection from the local deer populace. If you ever saw the results of a deer hit on the front end of a Wrangler, especially a stock one, you'd want more protection than the stock bumper.

This is pretty precisely why I went with a bull bar. Between wildlife strikes and living in open range country, you see plenty of potential impacts! What put me into the more is better category is seeing what happened when a friend of mine hit an elk cow with his Taco.

 

[86cj]

Deer Impacts

It is a bummer when you lose the radiator and cant drive away from a Deer impact. I put a brush guard on our ZR-2 blazer for that reason alone. Deer are getting as populated as geese around here...

This was a factor in my ARB purchase for the LJ. I have a 1.25" BL so the fender rubbing has not happened. I think shortly before my purchase ARB trimmed the front so 35's would clear better on a TJ.......