ARB Products - Opinions for Build

Microsoft is no longer offering Paint on their OS.

 

i have it at work

 

OP I would honestly look hard at Mobtown as their $H!T is bomber and they're in your backyard. I like to shop local so RCI is going to be armoring my truck.

 

the arb skid plates are thin, i have helped install a few, the instructions suck and come with extra brackets because the skids are cross platform compatible with different models

 

Love the look of that Pelfrey front end. @Mobtown Offroad, finish that front bumper, I need compares!

 

funny that floppy area you indicated is where my sliders bent while the truck was chilling on a giant rock..... i like @Mobtown Offroad design, i wonder if they can make a custom set for me to fit my wider 35s

 

Ours work with 35's

 

Not to pile on, but imma pile on... my situation and intended use is similar to yours OP and I'm planning on Mobtown. Equivalent or superior engineering, and install is local enough. I'm betting their front bumper will turn out more refined than ARB's by a long shot.

 

I’ve got an ARB bumper, sliders, safari rails, UVP, compressor and recovery hook. I can tell you that everything I’ve ever received from ARB has been bomb proof and very well thought out. Some people prefer sleek and stealth while others like brawn and overbuilt.

Suspension is ARB’s BP-51 and I’ve been overly impressed with the way it handles the weight. I’ve run Kings/Walker Evans/ICONs on Toyota’s over the years and these BP-51’s are top notch!

If you don’t mind the extended nose of the bumper it’s really a good set up. I really like the way my entire front end flows together with all the ARB products but I know it’s not for everyone.

 

Your truck is begging to be taken off road.

 

Thanks, all of you, for the nice replies. I’ll start answering tomorrow.

 

will you post a picture of the arb recovery hook? is that the point below the bumper or a hook for the winch line?

 

I was all on board the ARB train after getting my Tacoma and seeing their SEMA truck, but after investigating their products more and comparing them to the competition, they are significantly overpriced for what you get.

The main problem I had with ARB when I was researching parts online is that you pay either the same amount or more for a product that is significantly inferior to most other products.

Their bumper is nice but its also $1600 and weighs about 170 pounds; add a winch and its sitting at ~250 pounds. Due to the design of the 3rd gen, ARB had to also bend their bumper to wrap around the nose which imho extended the nose way too much. Thats a lot of weight sitting on very front of the truck. I have a low-pro bumper, winch, full skids, and sliders sitting on 700# springs. If I had the ARB bumper I would strongly consider 750-800# springs.

Their skid plates are $800 and are super thin 3/32" aluminum where as you can get a full steel set 3/16" from @Mobtown Offroad for the exact same price.

Their side steps are around $750 and I hope you noticed I called them steps. They are not sliders and while they look nice, for the same price at @Mobtown Offroad you get full steel rock sliders.

Their rear summit bar is $1500 and offers no BSM, rear sensors have to be cutout yourself, offers little protection, no carrioer or jerry can options...

Their BP-51s are $3200 and are a great design and offers customization as an IBP but while OME claims it is a 2.5 shock it still pushes a 2.0 piston. While significantly better than the nitrochargers they fall short compared to a traditional 2.5 shock. To compare, I have King 2.5s in all 4 corners, with SPC UCA and a Custom Deaver pack that exceeds the capabilities of the Dakars that I got for the exact same price as the BP-51s and the kings are easier to rebuild.

Now I am not knocking ARB, they make good products and they are a long standing company. For me though, I didn't feel like I was getting what I was paying for. I prefer function over form and to be ARB is all about form over function. To me they are the epitome of mall crawler




This is some rock damage I got on a super easy trail, never expected it. Had I had the aluminum ARB plates, I probably would have completely destroyed them. I just repainted the area and moved on. This was pre lift

 

I guess I don’t understand the argument of the ARB sliders just being a set of “side steps”. Have you bothered to look at ARB’s mounting compared to the others?

Everyone’s a fanboy in their own regard and I get it but Mobtown isn’t the only kid on the block.....

Don’t get me wrong I’m all for trying other manufacturers products and have 0 clout in ARB other than using their products but to say that ARB is “form over function”?

 

I referenced Mobtown because that's what I have and they have the best mounting solution on the market and one of the only companies to gusset the kickout, so ya there are others but not as good. If I had a different company, I would reference them, but I dont.

The ARB side steps are indeed steps and the mounting solution is only a small part of it. ARB does not claim them to be a rock slider and is indeed a step. There are youtube videos of people replacing them because they fail. They are good for touring and light offroad to protect light debris from the lower panels (eg brush/bushes, sticks and rocks getting kicked up), thats it.

EDIT: I'll add that ARB currently only makes rock sliders for the FJ and Wrangler

 

Different strokes for different folks, in these parts most guys need stump rails vs rock rails. Pick you poison and party on

 

The hell is a stump rail?

 

Same thing as “rock” rail but we tend to have stumps to bump around, All Pro kickouts are very popular because of this. These are the little gremlins that can sneak up on you when aren’t expecting it.

 

I have ARB full skids on my truck, stock suspension, avid offroad sliders and front bar. I can tell you that the ARB skids while they have held up very well for skids, I will most likely not be going with them again. I don't go easy on my truck when im off road, and it shows. I should have gotten some thick steel ones just due to my general inexperience off the road, and for my trucks protection. Also the price after shipping makes ANYTHING arb hard to justify. Here's some pictures of the skids though. You can see the front is pretty messed up from me using the truck as a battering ram. Also sorry for the crappy pictures, I'm not a photographer and my camera on the phone is cracked.

 

Any idea how much the Mob Town sliders protrude out from the side of the truck over the stock side steps? I live in an area where people fling their damn doors open, so I want just as much protection in a parking lot as well as off road.