ARB vs TJM??

[alkaline747trio]

Dont have the time/patience/skills to make the bumper that I want, so I'm trying to decide between the two.

Both offer good protection, but I read/hear the TJM isn't as strong. Where and why? I would have time/patience/skills to beef/trim things up a little? Is it a case where I could add some ribbing to the bumper and be good, or is it weld quality, upper bar strength, or something not so easy to fix that is lesser?

[wearsabrowncoat]

Rear bumber or front?

[alkaline747trio]

whoops, front winch mount

[sleeoffroad]

Pretty moot point at this time since the TJM are not available currently and not even sure when it will be again.

[PScottBx]

ARB or SB (short bus)...



Bx

[macneill]

Tjm... Imho...

[cruiserruf]

i say shortbus

[Nay]

For off the shelf, either wait for the tube bumper from MT or go Shortbus from Slee.

The choices you are considering are not that well mated to the wheeling you do (weight gain, clearance loss, not that strong in the rocks).

[alkaline747trio]

I want the maximum protection possible, but want to keep my wallet from doing a crash diet.

Short bus is out, not enough protection from these Southeastern deer.

TJM is still available at some places, at about $100 less than the ARB.

Where are the weak points on the TJM?

Can either be made to take a whooping in the rocks?

[concretejungle]

i say either short bus, metal tech, or a custom one from jim at solidrockoffroad. Then again, i really think my favorite is the ARB.

[latinoguy]

what about the one that greatlakeswaterjet was working on?

[PACNW96]

For front end protection go with ARB. Looks the best too in my opinion.

[Nay]

Originally Posted by alkaline747trio

Short bus is out, not enough protection from these Southeastern deer.

TJM is still available at some places, at about $100 less than the ARB.

Where are the weak points on the TJM?

Can either be made to take a whooping in the rocks?

Why can the Slee not take a deer hit? It holds up better in the rocks than ARB. I'd rather have my bumper for large wildlife because the stinger will ensure the animal doesn't get flipped over the hood and through the windshield. That will kill you.

People who whoop the ARB in the rocks bend it. The idea is not to try to turn your front end into a rock grinding tank, it's to gain clearance so you don't have to constantly overcome bumper/rock contact.

This was custom work for $450. My approach angle in front of the tire is easily superior to a 6" lifted 80 with an ARB. It can take a whooping in the rocks, but it doesn't need to, because I don't hit it much. There is no material added weight, and you can run a winch while retaining all that clearance. Now, you may hate the way tube looks on an 80, that's personal preference. I hate weight and limiting my approach angle.

Take a look at the third pic. I'd be starting to dig a hole with an ARB, and would have been grinding it into the rocks on the way up. I've never understood how that is an advantage.

[Nay]

And on this climb I could climb straight on with no bumper contact - the pictures don't show it, but this was steep enough that even with my highly trimmed rear bumper I couldn't back off. It makes an enormous difference vs. ramming stuff with an ARB and hoping it will climb, or sometimes even worse being forced around a rock leading to quarter panel damage.

Obviously the ARB/TJM can handle rock scraping, but it you know you are going to be making a lot of contact then trimming clearance are a no brainer.

Of course, as pic #3 shows, in breakover angle there is no substitute for lift and tires.

[lt1fire]

to me the tjm is the best looking heavy duty bumper for the 80.

on a side note how are the 529s feeling

[AKcruiserfreak]

I love the ARB on mine. If you have patience, you can find a used one for much less $$$. I spent $700 for a ARB/ Warn M12000. I then sold my stock bumper for $100. Start calling on all the modded 80's you see in the classifieds and ask if they want to get rid of an ARB. That's how I did it.

TK

[wildsmith]

I have a TJM T15 on my 80 and we recently put an ARB winch bumper on my wife's 80. I have a lot more lift on my 80 so it's not easy to measure the approach angle difference but it seems like the ARB sticks out much further than the TJM. Winch access is easier on the ARB and it might be stronger but I'll be keeping my TJM which has withstood some collisions just fine.

If you're prepared to beef up a TJM can you modify a short bus to suit?

[jfz80]

Last i heard the GreatLakes bumper will not be produced for kits, and JIM may not be up to taking new orders yet. Of course a phone call can find out for sure.

I do realize your asking an opinion b/w the two listed bumpers and not all the other options available, so my answer would be ARB. I have heard the difference is in material thickness, but i wouldnt bet my ride on it as fact. Dont forget your local fab shops either if you do go another route..... m and m in winston, justin at unbreakable, and perhaps jeremy down near you??? there are some other folks down near rdu but its a little further away.

as far as deer protection, warranted or not, my concern over the shortbus was the fact the thing may continue to flop up on your hood to continue the devastation.........course w/ yours that would be one big deer

[turbocruiser]

I've had both the TJM (on my old 4Runner) and the ARB on my 80. I'd go with the ARB between the two but I really think that the Slee bumper is the best bumper! If you are worried with deer, you can prolly add another hoop to the hood with the Slee but the Slee is gonna be best for wheeling by far. HTH.

[IronYuppy]

Originally Posted by jfz80

...
as far as deer protection, warranted or not, my concern over the shortbus was the fact the thing may continue to flop up on your hood to continue the devastation.........course w/ yours that would be one big deer

I agree. the Slee bumper is indeed impressive, but not having a tube frame around those expensive beam assemblies isn't practical anywhere there's large wildlife.

[Atoyot1031]

Originally Posted by IronYuppy

I agree. the Slee bumper is indeed impressive, but not having a tube frame around those expensive beam assemblies isn't practical anywhere there's large wildlife.

No bumper is gonna save your vehicle from an elk, moose, or other "large wildlife". The guy posing the question lives out East where all they have are whitetail deer, which aren't that big. If he's running 35s with adequate lift, a Slee bumper will easily thump a whitetail (IMHO).

[Cruiserdrew]

I have installed or helped install both the ARB and the TJM. THe ARB is much stouter and better made, so between those two, it's the one to get. The thing I liked least about the TJM, is the weak bolt on side wings.

If I was starting over, I'd install the Slee Short Bus bumper. I's cleaner and looks less clunky, and provides adequate protection for what I do. The only down side is the limited number of winches that fit.

[alkaline747trio]

Slee doesn't protect the front end enough. Would love that bumper, but it just doesn't suit my smash and bang approach to wheeling and driving. White-tail jump, the Slee wont do me any good when the deer is in mid leap.

Sounds like ARB, but...nobody has answered the question about where the weak points are in the TJM nor told me what I could do to make it worthy.

Remember guys, college student budget.

[TX80Fan]

ARB...it's quality, protection & longevity pretty much speaks for itself.

[turbocruiser]

Originally Posted by alkaline747trio

Slee doesn't protect the front end enough. Would love that bumper, but it just doesn't suit my smash and bang approach to wheeling and driving. White-tail jump, the Slee wont do me any good when the deer is in mid leap.

Sounds like ARB, but...nobody has answered the question about where the weak points are in the TJM nor told me what I could do to make it worthy.

Remember guys, college student budget.

Okay, some points to point to ... the bolt on sides on the TJM as cruiserdrew mentioned are weaker than the ARB's solid "stamped" sides, thinner wall tubes (although I did not make a mention of that as I cannot really recall the wall thicknesses) for the hood hoops and headlight hoops, the way the TJM brackets bolt to the frame and then the way the bumper bolts to the bracket is not as strong as the ARB's mounting method, and finally the folds of the TJM are somewhat strange especially after getting adjusted to the ARB after having the TJM.

Discounting all that above, the other thing with this is the fact that you don't want to buy a TJM to save the $100 or whatever and then spend time to try to "add" strength to it; yer just gonna get your powdercoat all screwed up, waist time and trouble, and then prolly spend some more $$$ to repowdercoat. Not worth it, if yer gonna do that seriously, get the Slee, add some hoops and repowdercoat THAT bad boy, it will be the best of the best of the best. Until then, seriously, after having had both, get the frickin ARB!

[89s rule]

Originally Posted by latinoguy

what about the one that greatlakeswaterjet was working on?

Not going to happen, he was selling his truck and that was the only way to get one. He was scared he would get sued, sucks that the world has come to that when it could help out others. (Also that bumper doesnt really provide deer protection IMHO as it sits too close to the body.)

Originally Posted by Nay

Why can the Slee not take a deer hit? It holds up better in the rocks than ARB. I'd rather have my bumper for large wildlife because the stinger will ensure the animal doesn't get flipped over the hood and through the windshield. That will kill you.

Slee wont protect from a deer they do jump as stated below, but they can also hit high. Im not worried as much about the deer flipping up, more so my front end in general from the hood, headlights, radiator, etc. Been there done that in the wifes 4runner. Bought a TJM and hasnt been an issue since.

Originally Posted by Atoyot1031

No bumper is gonna save your vehicle from an elk, moose, or other "large wildlife". The guy posing the question lives out East where all they have are whitetail deer, which aren't that big. If he's running 35s with adequate lift, a Slee bumper will easily thump a whitetail (IMHO).

See above, Also as stated below the jump, I have seen a whitetail deer jump over the roof of a camry b/f. Slee doesnt protect from anythign but rocks.

Originally Posted by alkaline747trio

Slee doesn't protect the front end enough. Would love that bumper, but it just doesn't suit my smash and bang approach to wheeling and driving. White-tail jump, the Slee wont do me any good when the deer is in mid leap.

Sounds like ARB, but...nobody has answered the question about where the weak points are in the TJM nor told me what I could do to make it worthy.

Remember guys, college student budget.

As crusierdrew stated its mostly the bolt on wings. I have a TJM on the wifes truck and its saved us 3x with deer.

Why not take the time and work with UC and the bender? Take a weekend with a few guys or a club event and get it done. Thats what I was thinking on my 62 until I picked up me 80.

[wildsmith]

Just been looking at both side by side on the drive.

The ARB central section where the winch goes is a much more open design in close to an L form in approx 4mm steel and gives much better winch access but it needs