Armor - do you wait to get crashed into first?

What is the smart way to go about armor; what do you do?



do you wait for some Caring And Aware Individual to slam the hell into your truck
and then take the lowball check to buy a bumper?

after which, they’ve probably damaged a whole bunch of other unfixable shit and the truck will never be the same

or, do you buy the armor yourself
First.
Before that happens?
To protect it from such an event?

a lot of folks here are armored up. How is this being done?

I can tell you my rear bumper was largely paid for by someone else initiating an impact
They “spilled their drink” was the claimed reason

front though. That’s rare. So far every time someone backs up blindfolded I stop, honk, and they stop. And last thing I want is a ruined fender, core support, headlight, hood, etc…

 

I bought it when I wanted to or eventually got it. I joke to never have to get into an accident. If you’re looking for armor get it especially if you plan on wheeling hard enough to need possibly want/need it.

 

For sure, most everybody that buys aftermarket bumpers does so in an attempt to prevent the damage that you fear.

(Or for looks, and those ones especially won't be waiting for a wreck lol)

 

I never needed armor in the woods...only the parking lot. Guess I should have been more aggressive with the trees and rocks and not against them concrete light poles.

 

I got aftermarket after I damaged the stock ones.

But seriously, in a big enough accident these steel bumpers will not help and probably end up doing more damage to the truck. Modern bumpers are designed as crumple zones. Thick steel doesn't crumple- it'll just transfer that force directly to the next weakest link. In this case, the frame.
ARB is the only manufacturer I know of that does research and design on crashing and does extensive crash testing on their bumpers, so maybe theirs fair better that the rest of them.

Best case is to drive defensively and just enjoy the ride.

 

I just don’t want the thing to get messed up after putting so many hours into it

I think a Ford Ranger might be cool to jump over to if the Taco is ever totaled
4 cylinder turbo; it’s got some power, can handle altitude
-more speeds in the auto trans
-comes with more luxury
-e locker rear

but, in addition to their higher cost (4x4 tremor is like $40k, that’s almost Gladiator Rubicon money)
I think they have little to no aftermarket
and the forums look like a retirement home

every now and again I see rangers on Instagram
And pretty much all the time they never have anything on them for some reason. No sliders no bumpers no nothing, entire build a pair of ditch lights

 

In my particular case (linky), my truck got totalled out and I knew on inspection that it only needed body work and a tie rod end, despite the adjuster thinking it needed a hell of a lot more (everything in the driver's wheel well replaced - $$$$$). I have a great insurance company and they paid market value for the truck (peak of the plague pinch on the used market), so after running the numbers with my body guy I picked up an ARB, had the fender and rad support replaced/painted, did a tie rod, and came out ~$10k ahead, eventually using some of that for fancy fogs, a better skid set, and a Warfab HC rear bumper. The salvage title doesn't bother me in the slightest, but some guys flip out about resale value. ("Worrying about resale value is like not banging your girlfriend to keep her tight for the next guy." )

Even in a situation not quite as extreme as mine, when you look at what a factory plastic bumper cover costs after parts and paint, it's usually not very much at all out of pocket to go to an aftermarket bumper, and to directly answer your question, it seems like most people go this way, or opt to sell their factory parts to subsidize the new bumper.

I'll second what @ryfox0276 mentioned about the ARB - I'm not a big fan of removing factory safety parts since this truck spends a lot of time on the road and doing high speed dirt stuff, and ARB complies with Australia's very strict aftermarket parts requirements.

 

ARB completely sold out in the country
1mo wait time

dang

 

Now that shit is funny!

 

Funniest one I’ve heard in a long time.

The title somehow reminded me of someone who the cops found he had a box in his bed that looked like a tool box with pipes sticking out. The pipes were cannons packed with nails.

 

Armoring up just for the risk other vehicles crashing into you is a new one for me..

If you were offroading enough to need armor you'd already know the answer to this question

Kind of like your "do I need a luggage rack" question from a couple weeks ago

 

I’m curious how many of these “armor” solutions have been tested. Do they hold up? Do they prevent damage, or cause more? What do they do to the oem safety rating ?

 

Living in a big city, I often find myself surrounded be idiots driving with their face in a phone. It appears the police have surrendered to the fact they can’t do anything about it.

When the light turns green, and everyone goes except the jackass in front of me, finally idles away at a snail pace.

I find myself thinking of fabricating an exoskeleton cage with 2’ spikes sticking out head height. That way when I get hit by one of the idiots, the spikes stick ‘‘em in the head. The world’s gene pool just improved.

 

need a rack no. Want one yes.

already have rear, underneath, and side armor. Banged all of it off road.
Destroyed a set of predator steps off road.

yes front bumper helps off road obviously. Winch, higher approach angle, stronger to handle scraping, higher pull points, hi lift jack points, etc

but worth noting it’s potential to add safety on road in the event of someone crashing into it where most time is spent

I know in the case of people backing into my truck in parking lots and smacking their door open from the side, it prevents damage

I think that’s more of a Jeep Stinger thing

 

Your thread title made it sound like you were trying to decide about getting armor or not

 

the thread asks “Armor - do you wait to get crashed into first” as it states if you scroll up

 

The first post has like 4 questions in it all related about how, when and why to add armor

Nvm, carry on..

 

Not sure about what you are asking?

 

looks like blood on the bumper. :O

 

Armor does nothing too save your truck,the cheap thin frames on Tacoma's fold up pretty easy,Armor will only help in really light fender bender hits,like in sparking lot.
A lot of times Armor makes the damage worse.