'12 ARB & Rocktek rear bumper

I've read the posts regarding the new ARB bumpers and thought I'd post pics for those who may be on the fence about them. I was a little worried when I saw the front bumper had to be cut up, but it worked out fine and was an easy install. I like it a lot, but ARB bumpers are all I have ever used. Also shared a shot of the rear bumper. Picked both up through trdparts4u. The rear did need to be re-powder coated as it wasn't that great of a job to start with and was scratched up from shipping.

 

i want that rear bumper soooo bad

 

THANK YOU FOR POSTING HIGH QUALITY IMAGES!!

I apologize for the all caps, but in all seriousness, I really appreciate you taking the time to stage the truck correct and post those images.

The 2012+ bumper actually doesn't look all that bad compared to the early images that I have seen. I think I will have to put this back onto my list. I had an ARB on my old truck and definitely want to put one on the new truck.

Are you on stock suspension? I absolutely love how the black plastic bumper blends into the ARB.

Once again, I applaud you for taking those pictures and thus re-igniting my desire for this part.

 

any pictures of what and how u had to cut...

 

now you just need to get rid of the street tires

 

Looks good.

Whats up with the lights? Did those come in the bumper? Or are the white the factory fogs?

So you did have to hack up the stock bumper cover?

 

that looks A LOT better then the other pictures i've seen of it... but im still not sold. sadly. if they made it look and fit like the pre 2012 bumpers i'd have one. ARB products are outstanding.

 

Did you do anything with your front suspension? If not how does it feel with the weight up there?

 

Nice work. It looks sharp.

 

I've seen the arb's but I really like the rocktek rear that is nice!

 

nice!!

 

that looks really nice.

I really like that rear bumper. I just wish that they had options for rear lights and hi lift slots. I would be all over it.

of if they would sell it to me bare and I cut and put them in myself

Justin

 

It is still on stock susp but not for long. I've put around 100 mi on it with the new weight and it's not as bad as I thought it would be but you definitely feel it. I'm going with 884s and aal in the back for now. It has only squatted a little less than a 1/4 in with the new weight so far. I think I will eventually run some landcruiser steelies w/ 235s.

As far as cutting the bumper, you mark down around 100mm from the top edge, mark your line using a straight edge, and butcher away. I used a jig saw and it worked well using a fine blade. It cleaned up nice on the edges with sandpaper. ARB's directions give the measurements but after the install I can say that there is actually a lot of room for error in that as long as it is not too short it won't make a difference. Also I just had the black plastic unpainted so if cutting up a painted unit I'd be real careful and tape it up good before cutting.

The lights are the arb fogs. I didn't have factory fogs but plan on wiring them up with a oem switch. It looks like factory lights might work in the arb housing from looking at pics of them, but I'm not sure. The rectangle markers just tap into the existing side marker / signal wiring. Haven't done that yet but have on others and it's no biggie.

The rear bumper is beefy and the built in rcvr is nice. As mentioned, the pc as it arrived was not great so I wouldn't hesitate to cut some hi lift slots in there. I wished I'd thought of that before I had it repainted. It was clean so the pc only cost me $90bux.
Thx for the compliments!

 

Let me be clear, bumpers look really good on your truck! Much better than stock. I love the black and white look. Great contrast. Fit and finish on the ARB looks to be top quality as always (as it should be for $1000+) and the Rocktek fits nice on the rear. Like the truck came from the factory that way.

With that said....


....I would love to hear an explanation from ARB USA as to WHY IN THE HELL they didn't actually do a redesign for the 2012?? Cutting existing bumper cover and mounting the ARB so it sticks out what looks like over 2 inches more forward than the '05-'11 bumpers!!??!!?? What a shame....

I kept seeing pics of the supposed "2012+" ARBs and was just praying they were just prototypes.

Anybody know who put the black 2012 Oakley truck together? I need to figure out how to put a pre '12 ARB bumper on my 2012 Tacoma......

 

And it might have to do with their air bag approval rating?

If they only changed it in little way as to not affect that rating. I am sure the testing for that rating is very, very expensive. Like for starters crashing a $35,000 truck and other costs.

 

GREAT pics!!! Thanks for posting up! I had been looking at the ARB bumper, now I have a much better idea of what it looks like!!!

 

Thanks for posting pictures. I think the black bumper makes the cut stock bumper less noticeable.

 

What size tires are on your rig in the photo's?

 

The stock 245's. I plan on going to 235/55's or 265/75's at some point.

 

I don't understand why they put the undersized looking tires on vehicles? The Tacomas should all come with 265's?