Arb bumper safety- increased?

surffj62 · 11-06-09, 10:00 AM

Thinking about getting a new bumper- arb. Have one on my 100, now thinking about one for the 62... Any safety increase in case of a front or head on? Seems like it would, but has anyone been in a wreck with one that made a life saving difference? Looking for that extra layer of safety because the lack of airbags etc. Also going to get the rear retracting belt for the kids.

calphi27 · 11-06-09, 02:02 PM

i bought mine off a guy that had hit a tree. his front end was fine and the bumper was bent in. that's all i got

Spook50 · 11-06-09, 02:37 PM

Ken Romer's daughter got hit a few years back and the ARB (can't remember if it was on an 80 or a 100) not only kept her safer (and minimized damage to the Cruiser she was driving), but basically made it so the other vehicle was the crumple zone. They're pretty damn stout.

Randy88FJ62 · 11-06-09, 02:38 PM

If you get in an accident at higher speeds no amount of steel is going to decelelrate your body slower. The only safety I see in an ARB is keeping animals, such as deer in the U.S. from wrecking your radiator. My thought on an ARB is that it saves the vehicle so you can get out of the middle of nowhere.

cruiser88 · 11-06-09, 02:38 PM

You could not ask for a better mass-produced bumper

Spook50 · 11-06-09, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy88FJ62

If you get in an accident at higher speeds no amount of steel is going to decelelrate your body slower. The only safety I see in an ARB is keeping animals, such as deer in the U.S. from wrecking your radiator. My thought on an ARB is that it saves the vehicle so you can get out of the middle of nowhere.

Very true. Nothing's going to save your ass in a high speed collision. If you're hit or have a low speed collision, it'll definitely help though.

ginericLC · 11-06-09, 04:22 PM

There are a lot of wrecked Cruisers I've seen with ARBs. I have a 94 80 in my backyard right now. A friend got hit by a F350 head on. The ARB took a lot of the hit. The way the metal is stretched and warped and the way the frame deformed around the mounts definitely shows it took a lot of the force. His wife swears by them now.

kling-on · 11-07-09, 07:41 AM

I had three car pull out in front of me over the years and I drove way from all of em ... the cars not so much still no body work or bumper repair .. I have have it more for a Deer catch ... although I have yet to hit one

surffj62 · 11-07-09, 08:24 AM

Thanks all! I have done some wider searchs and I am finding more info on mud in other forums
A few years back when I was itching to get a ARB, I tried the deer angle to justify one. Not that long after, I hit a deer at 45 mph and it hit sqaure on the bumper where it bolts to the frame and did zero damage to the truck and the stock bumper. Killed the deer. Damn...

Right now I am in the LC grove again and I am thinking about painting, LEDs rear sholder belts etc.

More than anything I want the bumper to protect the new H55f that is going into it this week!!

And keeping the family safe aint a bad idea as well!

Matt16 · 11-07-09, 01:42 PM

The less crumple zone you have in a collision the worse the impact is your to damage your body. Its either you or the cruiser that's going to get it. Fine if you hit a flimsy car, but if you hit a tree or a divider... anything solid, and that ARB bumper is going to mean your body takes the deceleration instead of the truck.

surffj62 · 11-07-09, 07:02 PM

With that being said, and not being an engineer, how much emphisis was put into crumple zones by Toyota or any car maker in the 80's. Some Im sure but not like todays standards. Ever drive a 80s vintage VW bus/Combi? Felt like you were the crumple zone!

I guess if you hit anything fast enough, hard enough your done. Got to believe you would be better off with than without.

surffj62 · 11-07-09, 07:17 PM

Found a great thread -80 vs current cars - lot of good info. Thanks

Cruzerman · 11-08-09, 08:12 AM

I've hit my share of deer with my 60. And when I get my shop new shop built (Yeah!), one of the first things I'm going to build is a new, deer proof bumper. The stock one don't cut it. I'm sure the ARB would work great, just looking for something a little different.

motoloco · 11-08-09, 11:05 AM

An arb will help the keep the sheet metal on the front clip a little more protected, but it wont keep a driver/passenger any safer in the truck in the event of an accident.

alaska60 · 11-08-09, 11:34 AM

It sure beats that stock bumper on your 62. It will only help you out. any bumper is better than that stock 18 guage chrome plated hunk o hud.

Spook50 · 11-08-09, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alaska60

It sure beats that stock bumper on your 62. It will only help you out. any bumper is better than that stock 18 guage chrome plated hunk o hud.

It's a lot thicker than 18ga. Not as stout as an ARB, but it's definitely no pussy little bumper. It took quite a hit to bend one of the side portions of mine (bent it at the frame mount) back a few inches. Even with air tools and a damn sledgehammer I wasn't able to straighten it back out.

So I'm having a new one built hopefully fairly soon.

Butt Ugly Chuck · 11-08-09, 03:27 PM

Save some damage to your rig in an accident? Yes.

Reduce likelihood of injury in the event of a head on? IMHO No.

As eluded to before, a heavily armored bumper will contribute to the g-forces experienced by the occupants. Put an egg in a crushable foam box and drop it from high. The foam is destroyed as it absorbs the g-forces protecting the egg. Make the same drop with the egg in a steel box and the box may come through unscathed, but the egg sure won't.

The bumper won't make much difference for occupant safety in non-head ons. Having it up there though may prevent you from incurring the kind of damage that would strand you. And for those of you in deer country, a lot of accidents occur around here because people swerve to miss deer - sometimes resulting in serious injury. With a beefy bumper up front, one might be more prone to maintaining safe course if you're confident your rig won't suffer for an unfortunate deer collision.

It's a question everybody should consider, but for me the positives outweigh the risk. I'm putting a bumper on when I have the $.

Butt