ARB Front Bumper (3 Viewers)

[PoolGuyMark]

Hi All,
I have a 96 LX450. I'm looking at the ARB Deluxe Winch Bumper, trying to plan this out a little and I'm wondering:
1) Which winch did you choose and why? Cost, reputation, etc...
2) Can a winch be installed sometime in the future or would that add problems and make things very difficult.
Regardless, I have some saving to do.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

When I bought my FZJ80 one year ago it came with a ARB bull bar already installed, but no winch.

A friend and I were able to fairly easily install a winch from underneath into the bull bar while it was still on the truck.

For electric recovery winches bigger is generally better, depending of course on the use expected. For an occasional 20 foot pull off a rock (high centered) an 8K rated winch should be fine; while pulling the truck out of a slopply mud hole will require a higher rated winch, like a 10 or 12,000.

 

[robnicko]

When I bought my FZJ80 one year ago it came with a ARB bull bar already installed, but no winch.

A friend and I were able to fairly easily install a winch from underneath into the bull bar while it was still on the truck.

For electric recovery winches bigger is generally better, depending of course on the use expected. For an occasional 20 foot pull off a rock (high centered) an 8K rated winch should be fine; while pulling the truck out of a slopply mud hole will require a higher rated winch, like a 10 or 12,000.

in addition to the above, if you do a double line pull you effectively double the power of the winch as well - just takes longer but when winching you dont want to be rushing things

The winch I put in mine many moons ago was from Aldi of all things but is the same as an Ironman winch. Its a 9500lb one and hasnt let me down when its been used

 

[jonheld]

Warn M12K and don't look back.

 

[reklund5]

Call Cruiser Outfitters and they will set you up. I opted for a ComeUp winch for mine, but a Warn is also a great choice. The bumper is an easy install if your truck hasn't been wrecked or had the frame horns tweaked. Winch install is easiest with the bumper removed, but can be done with bumper in place.

 

[Marco Lau]

ratchet strap the winch and hoist it into position and install. Don't forget to add spacers if needed.

 

[CharlieS]

The tool I find very handy for bumper and winch installation is a hydraulic lift table. I have a cheap one from Harbor Fright, and it has come in handy on many occasions.

The rule of thumb I was taught by a qualified (I4WDTA) instructor is to size the winch to 1.5x the vehicle weight.

I have a Warn and a ComeUp winch and have had great luck with both. The ComeUp
is much better made, but they've both been flawless.

Winches are a very polarizing topic for some
reason. You may find wide ranging opinions.

My unsolicited 2 cents is that money spent on recovery training is the first thing to do.

You'll learn from the class material, the instructor, and other attendees. That will save you buying twice or regretting your initial purchases. I ended up replacing the vast majority of my initial recovery gear with better, properly rated gear after getting some training.

 

[JoeCova]

The ARB is made specifically for the M series of winches by Warn, this means that pretty much any other winch is gonna be a guess whether it fits, some people have to get creative, some just add some spacers, etc but if you want pure plug and play then M-12000 is the way to go. I have both the ARB and M-12000 and purchased and installed the winch separately from the bumper.

I have used Warn for over two decades. Why? Because the winches I bought over two decades ago are still installed and working, I just move them from vehicle to vehicle because they outlast the vehicle they are installed on.

Warn winches are not equal, meaning they are made at different price points and thus different places. The cheaper options like the Zeon and Evo are made in China like pretty much every other brand. Their M and XD winches are made in USA and are different specs that those made in China.

I personally found installing the winch after the bumper was installed made things significantly easier, the bumper is light enough you can just lift it on and the winch can just be lifted with a jack. If I installed the winch first it would have just made the bumper too heavy to handle on my own.

 

[arndog123]

I’ve had great luck with Warn winches on my other Toyota’s so decided to use them on my 80’s too. Running an M12000 on my ‘97 and XD9000 on my 96.

 

[Rusty Marlin]

I don't have an ARB, but I do have a winch, and it's the polarizing choice.
I went with the APEX 12k Badlands. If you watch any of the Utah recovery channels on YouTUBE they are all using them and they thrash on them. I figured if the APEX is good enough for these guys to make a living off, it'll probably be just fine for my once or twice a year recreational use. And it has been. Last year it completed two full-spool-pulls back-to- back when I fell off the high points and axeled out in a clay pit. The most use it gets is land-scaping around the house; I've used it to tension trees to control fall angle, tear up bushes, skid logs, move my parts trucks around. The uses you find for a winch once you have one are only limited by imagination.

 

[greentruck]

Hope this is some useful info. It is easier to mount a winch when the ARB isn't on the truck. I made a simple jig out of 2x lumber. It sets on top of a floor jack.

Note that I missed something on mounting the fairlead, as I'm using the fairlead that came with the XRC12 I'm installing here. Note the extended lip of the bumper just above the fairlead. The ARB was designed around the Warn 10k winch and the Warn fairlead is what fits to utilize that lip. You take out the snaprings that hold the "axle" in place for the side/vertical rollers. You replace those axles with the relevant sized bolts, dropping them thru the holes in that lip that match up and using castle nutw to secure them. This makes the bumper much more resistant to the forces from a side way pull. They're hefty and 6^ to 7" long (I don't have the specs close by at the moment.)

It's not Warn, but the XRC12 gave me good reliable service. Two things can improve their reliability, limiting heat and making them more water resistant. Due to to their compact design, they all heat up a lot faster than you imiagine. Take lots of breaks in the action and monitior their heat build-up cl;oselhy. Use a GLOVED hand or one of those remote readimng thermometers.

The other enemy is water. It doesn't tend to get in in large quantities unless submerged, but it tends to get trapped inside because many of them use lithium-bearing grease, which attracts and holds moisture. Warn uses moly instead, BTW, another point in their favor if you can afford one. You can get a suitable replacement grease from your local Cat delear, where it is used for lubing track assembies for instrance. This is detailed in this thread.
Waterproofing a Winch - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/waterproofing-a-winch.371911/

 

[arndog]

My 80 also had an ARB bumper with no winch and like others in the thread I was able to easily install from underneath, and maybe only easy because I had a buddy help.

I went with the HF Badlands 12k (don't remember sub model but without the integrated solenieds) . For the trouble I plan to get into I couldn't justify buying a Warn, I know its trouble that we don't plan to get into where you need a reliable winch.

 

[bigdfzj80]

I have the ARB with the HF badlands winch. It took some major modification to get the winch to work. I personally do not like the ARB bumper, I call it the approach angle eliminator. Sticks out too far, too heavy, bulky its not very strong considering its weight. While modding the bumper to fit the HF winch I trimmed up the bumper and moved it back 2 1/2 inches, and reinforced it, It now hugs the front of the grill and i think looks better. If i were to do it again, I would just get a bumper that works out of the box.

 

[Marco Lau]

I am on the fence. Have my ARB for almost 6 yrs now and I paid $650 for it second hand and it has held up well over the years with numerous trips to the Rubicon and Fordyce. I agree it can use better approach angle and such, but with a little driving skill, it will handle most trails and obstacles i threw at it. I am starting to appreciate the classic look of the ARB and i think it will be a keeper at the end of the day.

 

[PoolGuyMark]

Thanks for the replies! Lots of helpful info here.

 

[Haggis]

I have Warn winches on two of my rigs. I cannot recommend enough switching out the steel cable for synthetic. Much lighter and safer.

 

[Rollinns]

The ARB is made specifically for the M series of winches by Warn, this means that pretty much any other winch is gonna be a guess whether it fits, some people have to get creative, some just add some spacers, etc but if you want pure plug and play then M-12000 is the way to go.

Will the M8274 bolt right up without issues?
Just wondering since it's packaging / size requirements are a lot different than most winches. It looks like it should fit but I couldn't find anything from Warn's website regarding the 8274 in the 80 series deluxe bumper.

 

[JoeCova]

Will the M8274 bolt right up without issues?
Just wondering since it's packaging / size requirements are a lot different than most winches. It looks like it should fit but I couldn't find anything from Warn's website regarding the 8274 in the 80 series deluxe bumper.

I forgot they made that but the mounting bolt pattern is the same. It's a different series than the M8/10*/12/15, I just don't know how it will fit with the integrated controller up there, at first glance, it wouldnt fit.

 

[arndog123]

I thought ARB made an 80 series bumper specifically made for the 8274?

 

[ZackR]

I thought ARB made an 80 series bumper specifically made for the 8274?

I'm pretty sure that's the commercial version of the ARB bumper.

@flintknapper is that what you have?