What aftermarket bumper is the best

yes mam. when choosing a bumper safety needs to be a concern seeing as how your messing with crash protection that was engineered into the truck.

the arbs are crash tested and one of if not the strongest bumpers available for tacomas. they x-ray every weld at the factory and test the crap out of them. check google to see videos of the bull bar taking a 1,000 pound bag of sand dropped from 25 feet on the outer most edge of the bumper lol the bumper is no worse for the wear but, it breaks the mount they have it on!

arb engineer's everything to absolute death lol for example they have been designing a rear bumper for like 3 years now if it isn't perfect they don't let it go out with their name on it.

there are some draw back imo however the weight being one of them all that protection equals weight! 160 pounds of weight hanging right off the front of the truck. also there is no recovery points built into for some reason i guess they assume the buyer will opt for a winch as well.

the arb employs crash cans to direct the energy of impact around the passenger compartment instead of through it like most rigid mounted and designed aftermarket bumpers do. this was a major factor in my decision process to be sure.

 

He has been talking about that too. But I really hadn't considered it. But if there is a wait time on the bumper then he might have time to get that stuff done too. The truck is stock right now but hopefully it won't be that way for long.

 

if you have little ones this should be a factor for you to consider.

now i don't mean to imply that other bumpers such as ato relentless and cbi don't manufacture bumpers that can either take a hit or perform well in a crash. to my knowledge though arb is the only aftermarket bumper employing crash cans designed specifically for the tacoma to minimize impact force directed to the passenger compartment.

the fact of the matter is that since they are small custom fab shops they don't either have the time or money to crash their bumpers and test them to the standards that arb does. imo they are all very nice! cbi, ato, relentless, arb i would have to say are the top 4 can't go wrong with any of them imo.

going with a smaller fab shop has it's advantages as well. first off the shops i mentioned have an out standing reputation for producing very high quality bumpers that have been tested to death in the real world ie, guy's bashing them into rocks trees and the ground lol.

i would figure out what suspension he has and what you guy's can bolt on there with out effecting the ride and or having to replace the suspension as that is a whole nother expense on top of a pricey plate steel bumper. then figure out which one the hubby likes best then you will have your answer.

 

Thank you for all of your information. I really wanted to hear information like this.

 

then i would be careful of what bumper you choose it all ties together or at least it's supposed to lol.

the arb is very nice and very safe and imo the best choice hence why i'm running one. but if i had a stock truck i know it would sag the hell out of the fron springs and in a panic stop it would nose dive something terrible.

so if you did decide on the arb or one of the other heavier plate steel bupers you might not want to install it until you figure out what's going to be done with the suspension. down south motor sports can assist you with this they are awesome! its as simple as telling them what you plan to add to the truck either now or in the future and they set you up with the correct spring rates and everything you need to adjust for the weight of of one of these thangs.

the relentless aluminum is very very nice as well and negates the need for a major suspension overhaul as well. erics bumpers look slick in person as well i have seen a couple now and his welds appear to be top notch and they give the feeling of being able to plow through a brick wall lol.

 

no problem i'm bored right now and have some knowledge and you seem like an awesome chick for setting your man up with a cool ass plate bumper

lol not to many women would even think to do this but, trust me he is going to love it and talk about it for like ever. lol at least i would if my wife bought me one

 

I am having an issue finding out what the specs on the ARB deluxe bull-bar are. I want to know how much is weighs, how thick the plates are, and what options are available. Do you know where i can get that info?

 

i can tell you a little about it but, to be absolutely certain i would call arb and talk to an "informed" person sometimes you can get a moron on the phone lulz.

the bumper has varying thickness it's design is such that its thinner on certain parts and thicker on others it actually quite cool how they did it. for instance the part where your winch mounts is a full 1/4 inch thick while the surrounding metal is much thinner. the thickness varies all over the surface of the bumper this i know for a fact i'm not sure what exact thickness it is but i alway's thought that was really neat arb claims this is where the strength comes from the outer wings on the arb are very stout! that is the most vulernable spot on any bumper so they went all out on them very cool.

seeing as how its all one piece it very cool how they did that a lot of time and r&d went into it for sure.

if you give arb a call write down the exact specs and share with the group lol i'm interested in this as well. lol i can give you one major down side of the arb minus the lack of recovery points. the install is a nightmare and will most likely require 2 people that are pretty mechanically inclined and a torque wrench and some red thread locker.

edit: i meant to say that the shear number of non labeled metric hardware is overwhelming at first! i had a half sheet tray with stacks of washers about 8 inches high!

 

The reasons I'll be getting the relentless aluminum bumper are it's stronger than stock, higher ground clearence and less weight. Still haven't decided on getting the extra hoops or not. Bumpers are the last things on my wish list so I have time to figure it out.

http://www.arbusa.com/Products/Bull...s/Bull-Bar-Bumper-Styles-And-Features/28.aspx

 

I vote ARB I am very impressed with this bumper. The way it mounts to the truck is very solid.

 

I just might have to givethem a call. I will let you all know what I find out. The install does sound like a nightmare.

 

lol check this out scroll down a bit to check out the video. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/of...ve-any-crash-pics-arb-road-armor-bumpers.html

and this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stJL4_gP5LU

arb is bad ass they make some of the best recovery gear and and 4x4 accessories available.

here is a good vid of what arb offers to the off road community, as stated above they make some of the trusted and respected off road parts you can buy period.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ail5so02Us&feature=related

those drunk ass australians know what they are doing. the out back is a hard place an animal strike could mean your life is in danger even if you where not hurt in the actual accident so they developed their products and gear to not let you down when you need it.

 

I checked out that link earlier and I still couldn't find out how much the bumper weighs and how thick the material is. Am I missing something?

 

have any friends that are just like you?

you know. THE COOLEST WIFE EVER. hes a lucky guy

 

Sorry, I am one of a kind LOL

 

You think that's awesome? lol my wife bought me a complete OME setup, a new ARB deluxe bumper, $350 to install all of it and within 2 weeks she got me a warn M8000 and an ARB Simpson III RTT. That's a wife!

 

I can not compete with that. Of coarse my husband might die if he saw that credit card bill.

 

^^lol luck bastards