The Bull Bar Debate

Thanks Ben. I will catch on to this internet thing one of these days.

 

Oh, I know. Thanks anyway though.

 

Yep...my bad. I copied and pasted instead of quoteing. Won't happen again. Sorry about that.

 

Had to go and mess it up for everyone, didn't you.

 

I like to think that if it is not strong enough to have dedicated tow points it probably is not strong enough to protect your truck from any significant impact

 

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^

 

Bull bars were originally designed to be able to take a hit. I think the Australians build it to protect against cangaroos, the rest of us against the odd stray deer or antelope. Anyway, those had sturdy brackets bolting to the frame. I remember the ones we had in the 80's had brackets probably at least twice as thick as the frame steel. You would bend the frame before the bull bar would go anywhere.
Now, most of them have flimsy brackets that doesn't mean shit, so they are mostly for looks, or maybe for adding lights.
The ARB bumper and bull bar is definately in a different (old school) class and should be able to take a good hit (which it was designed for)

 

That is some serious cash there.

 

arb is the strongest bumper i know of dude i did my research on here and other sites the arb is stout as fuck you will damage you frame before you really get into destroying the bumper. the winch straps that further anchor the bumper to the frame are at least 7mm thick it is imo the best platform to winch from although the recessed fairlead limits your choice of setups i have found. that combined with the fact that arb did not include any sort of tow point is the only negative in my mind. other than that they have been beaten bashed and tested to death in so many countries around the world its unbelievable.

if you actually destroyed the bumper you probably going to be dead anyway i have seen photos of these things after hitting moose and they look pretty good just saying...

 

Soo...we've come to the conclusion that the bull bars are better suited for mounting lights. I wish they would just change the name of the dam things.

 

if a light bar ia what you want the avid and randy ellis are the sturdiest of the two i had a randy ellis and thought it to be very stout and the avids i have seen in person feel the same if not more so. i would say go with either one of those or get a full bumper from cbi relentless or arb and call it a day.

 

Less than your all pro even with free shipping! I paid 957+60 shipping

 

x2, i think some people are confused on what a bull bar is...

this is a bull bar. it is bolted to some tabs usually on the bottom and is cheap and made out of thin crappy chrome tubing.

this is a plate bumper, not a bull bar. big difference. this will destroy any vehicle you run into. i see that the pic says "bull bar" in the top left. ok, well here in the states this is not a bull bar.

oh i know arb bumpers are some of the best out there. a bumper like that should have tow points on it (it does have a winch mount, so that counts). i think we all know that just because arb didnt put on some tow points doesent mean that the bumper isnt strong. that would be an obvious exception lol.

 

anything but arb is a waste of money,and insurance co will honer arb bar.

 

ARB does call that bumper a BullBar. Not what this thread is about though.

 

i know, i saw that haha. but agreed, in terms of the thread they are differnet

 

This

Bullbar obviously means something different in Australia than it does in Texas

 

imo its the looks that make the bullbar a bad choice. UGLY (on tacomas, especially 2nd gen). looks like a dog trying to lick its nose

 

true that my insurance company actually gave me a discount for having one albeit a very small one but, a discount non the less.

they actually recommend them as they make the vehicle they are equipped on much more safe especially from animal strikes.