Anyone know what the best bull bars are?

i have a 07 Red Tacoma with a black grill and black fender wells, so im sticking to getting black accessories since there is no chrome on it anywhere, i keep seeing some black bullbars for only $150 dollars or so by Smitybilt, while Westin sells theirs for around 400, i just want to know if anyone knows or has heard about the cheaper ones either being made poorly, or rusting, or if the higher cost ones are just because you are paying for the name on the front of them! and if anyone knows of any reliable brands for a good price please tell me

 

'Best' is going to be a matter of opinion. The Westins are quite good, but you're paying for a bull bar and skid plate. If you don't need the skid plate, you can get one from truckgeardirect.com for significantly cheaper. I have their super bull bar in chrome, and it was seriously easy to install.

 

westin,aries,

or RELENTLESS!!!

 

ARB

 

If your dead set on a bull bar look into Aries. It's the same as the Westin IMO. The black one has a stainless steel skid plate and black tubing. I had it but I got tired of it very fast because I kept seeing people around town with them. I dumped it and got the Avid Ligtbar!

 

Ehh ahh Be

 

I thought I read somewhere that you have to remove the factory skid plate to put on a bull bar? Maybe that it was in reference to the Westins already having a skid plate with theirs? So with that said, and mine being the TRD Sport, does that mean I could go with a cheaper one that doesn't have the skid and keep the factory one?

 

top right at home page......there ya go

 

I didnt remove my factory skid plate on my TRD. I had the Aries, same exact thing as the Westin.

 

mine has a factory skid plate too and i have seen websites (especially under the westin products) saying that you have to remove the skidplate, but also saw on another Toyota Forum where a guy but an Aries Bull Bar on and said that he did not have to take off his skid plate for it to fit. i guess it just depends on how you can do it and how good you are with this type of stuff

 

Relentless makes a truck toboggan ?

 

"Bullbar" Australian for bumper... Say it with an aussie accent

 

" 2 days ago , I saw a rig with a bull bar , you wanna get outta here ? You talk to me "

 

I think it depends on what you are trying to achieve. I never really liked the weston bull bars, they are more of a light bar and don't provide a lot of collision protection and feel kind of cheap. If your looking for a deer smasher you need one of the large bumpers that you remove the fog light bumper and install it. I bought a GoRhino extream bull bar for my taco, it has a totally different look. its a steel frame covered in a hard rubber foam. it holds up great, I rear ended someone going about 30mph and all it did was bend the mounting brackets. no damage to my truck or the car. I ordered new brackets and reinstalled it.but you have to like the look. most of the bull bars are not built for protection and are just hollow thin tube. here are picks of mine. http://www.flickr.com/photos/16343279@N08/sets/72157624891561036/

I looked at bars for a month, I needed some thing practical and affordable.And you get what you pay for. hope this helps

 

Subhunter, what kind of set up are you running? Lift, tires and I'm guessing you have spacers? I like how yours is set up with the stock wheels. Just wanted to know for future reference If/when I lift mine and was mixed about keeping the stock wheels. Thanks.

 

Avid light bar/bull bar. 1000x better than a bull bar. They can actually take a hit without bending in half...someone here hit a deer with one to no damage to his truck

 

Got all my mods posted on the my Taco Thread

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-builds/112009-my-taco.html

 

Those cheap ones you mentioned are not Bullbars. Brush guards maybe. Far too light and flimsy to be considered for anything more than aesthetics. And they are commonly referred to as "damage multipliers" because when you actually run into anything with them they smash into the body of your truck and cause more damage than they are worth.

If you want a real Bullbar, look at ARB.