Calling ARB front bumper owners

[BBQ BOY]

I have the Sahara Bar on my 01' and am finding out the Recovery bracket that I just bought probably wont work with my ARB bumper. They were produced by Spressoman and have been in talks with him.
So, for those of you that DO NOT have Spressomans recovery brackets, what do you do for recovery points?

 

[mechanixhorseman]

The short answer is "I don't."

I made the mistake of buying the airbag-friendly version that isn't made to recover from. One of these days I will probably buy dan's bracket. For a while I was planning on welding my own shackle mount to the bracket that holds the winch and bumper.

For the time being, if I need to recover from the front, I pretty much need to count on my winch.

 

[BBQ BOY]

The short answer is "I don't."

I made the mistake of buying the airbag-friendly version that isn't made to recover from. One of these days I will probably buy dan's bracket. For a while I was planning on welding my own shackle mount to the bracket that holds the winch and bumper.

For the time being, if I need to recover from the front, I pretty much need to count on my winch.

what are the Dan's brackets?

 

[mechanixhorseman]

what are the Dan's brackets?

Spresso's. Same one's you've got. His name is Dan.

 

[BBQ BOY]

Spresso's. Same one's you've got. His name is Dan.

Oh that Dan. Hahahaha!!!!!!

 

[hoser]

Do you have the accordion mounts?

Not ideal but maybe go with two of these on the bumper face... and then use a bridle whenever possible.

 

[PhrogsPhorever]

What's the difference between the mounting for the Sahara bar and the normal combo bar? I use Dan's recovery points with the combo bar and am interested in what the differences are between the two bars. You still have access to the original tow point bolts, correct? The PDF instructions address the tow points. Is it an interface between the Spresso mounts specifically? Pics

 

[BBQ BOY]

What's the difference between the mounting for the Sahara bar and the normal combo bar? I use Dan's recovery points with the combo bar and am interested in what the differences are between the two bars. You still have access to the original tow point bolts, correct? The PDF instructions address the tow points. Is it an interface between the Spresso mounts specifically? Pics

The issue isn't the bumper as much as it is the bracket. The older version I have requires a mUCH longer bolt to install. That is where Spresso is concerned because the ARB bumper affixes to the same recovery point holes, requiring the bolts to be even longer.

 

[Anthony.L]

That is where Spresso is concerned because the ARB bumper affixes to the same recovery point holes, requiring the bolts to be even longer.

How is that any different than any ARB bumper? My 03+ bull bar bumper use the same mounting spot at Dan's brackets and I have zero issues. Granted I have the V2.0 of the brackets, maybe that is where the concern lies...with V1.0 only?

 

[BBQ BOY]

How is that any different than any ARB bumper? My 03+ bull bar bumper use the same mounting spot at Dan's brackets and I have zero issues. Granted I have the V2.0 of the brackets, maybe that is where the concern lies...with V1.0 only?

You are correct. The difference lies in the bracket itself. I forgot to post the photo. You will see that this bracket is MUCH thicker than the more recent versions.

 

[spressomon]

To add a little clarification:

I designed the original recovery bracket ("FRBv1") a bunch of years ago and had a batch or two machined from T6-6061 aluminum with black mil-spec hard anodization. These are the units with the dog leg. Then calamaridog asked permission to, because of demand, have them fabbed from steel. And then someone else did the same from my original design a few years ago (agaisin?).

I discovered thereafter the original design wouldn't work with some ARB bumpers do to clearance issues with their mounting "well" and/or the goofy (sorry Sahara and Ironman owners...but it is a damn goofy design) 30mm U shaped spacer they use between their lower bumper mount and the frame.

That's when I went back to the drawing board and designed the FRBv2/FRBv2L (only difference between these is the supplied bolt length). Apart of the prototype process I had a production sample destructive tested. The FRBv2/FRBv2L fit any of the bumpers I've found including ARB Sahara and Ironman bumpers.

Unfortunately I am out of stock on FRBv2 units with no ETA at this time.

I still think its ludicrous bumpers designed specifically for the off-road aftermarket (namely by ARB, TJM and Ironman) do not include some type of solid recovery points on their front bumpers.

 

[Layonnn]

I have not confirmed this with ARB, but my guess as to why they do not include recovery points in their front bumpers is because of the crush zones. The rear bumper for the 100 has recovery loops underneath for attaching a shackle, so its not like they don't know how to make them

Most new ARBs attach to a crush bracket that then attaches to the frame. This is there to somewhat collapse in a high speed impact to absorb energy and reduce injuries to the driver/passengers. My 80 series did not have this bracket, and it had "tow points". They are anemic, but they are there and can be used for a recovery.

If you attached tow points to a bumper, like the one for the 100 that has crush zones, then yanking on them with a recover strap could cause damage to the crush/accordion area.

Another possible reason is that if you are double lining your winch to get more pulling power, if you attach back to the bumper, you are putting a lot of stress on the bumper and the bumper mounting points. If you double back to a frame mounted recovery point, it helps to distribute the load to the frame better. With a 12K lbs winch and a snatch block you could in theory apply nearly 24K (there would be losses due to friction) pounds to the bumper and those crush zones.

This is just my opinion as to why and why i won't attach recovery points to an ARB.
I bought two of the Spresso version 2 recovery brackets as soon as i saw him release them.

 

[mechanixhorseman]

To add a little clarification:

I still think its ludicrous bumpers designed specifically for the off-road aftermarket (namely by ARB, TJM and Ironman) do not include some type of solid recovery points on their front bumpers.

This is why I was completely blown away (read: pissed the hell off) when I realized the "off-road bumper" I had just dropped $1000+ dollars on, not only didn't have any recovery points, but they could not be added direct to the bumper after the fact. I think there's some thread around here with me ranting and raving about it shortly after I got it.

I'd be interested in some of the FRB's that accommodate that ridiculous U-spacer thing, if you decide to make a batch here soon.

EDIT: Layonnn: I have confirmed your suspicions direct with ARB in the past and the crush zone is the primary reason for that. I believe the 00+ one (with the fog inserts) can be recovered from though, but it requires some trimming to fit on a 98.

 

[PhrogsPhorever]

The issue isn't the bumper as much as it is the bracket. The older version I have requires a mUCH longer bolt to install. That is where Spresso is concerned because the ARB bumper affixes to the same recovery point holes, requiring the bolts to be even longer.

I hear ya now. I had never seen the v1 brackets.

I had asked because I had to use the original bolts that came with the bumper, Spresso included the wrong (too short) bolts with my brackets. But since I reused the bumpers bolts, no harm no foul


Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[Anthony.L]

It's simple guys, large corporations like ARB, TJM, and IronMan have to maintain the crush zones and airbag features of the bumper for legal reasons. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before they are the target of a law suit. Same reason ARB's rear bumper is the only one on the market that is actually tow rated.

Now the small boutique shops like Slee, BIOR, etc can fly under the radar and get away with solid mount and recovery points. If that is really important to you, then you have an option! Where is the big problem?

Personally I'm very happy with my ARB front and with the addition of Dan's recovery points have zero issues.

 

[BBQ BOY]

I completely understand if that is the reason ARB didn't build the bumper with recovery points. I think it would have been a goo idea on ARB's part to offer some ort of FRB like Spressoman came up with.

 

[mechanixhorseman]

It's simple guys, large corporations like ARB, TJM, and IronMan have to maintain the crush zones and airbag features of the bumper for legal reasons. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before they are the target of a law suit. Same reason ARB's rear bumper is the only one on the market that is actually tow rated.

Now the small boutique shops like Slee, BIOR, etc can fly under the radar and get away with solid mount and recovery points. If that is really important to you, then you have an option! Where is the big problem?

My main issue, at the time, was the deception of it. ARB does have front bumpers that can be lifted/recovered with; it's an "off-road" bumper designed by an off-road aftermarket parts retailer. If it can't do said "off-road" things, they should at least have the courtesy to put a bullet on the products page saying that can't be recovered from. God knows it's hard enough already to find detailed pictures of their products on their website.

Shame on me for not asking what I figured at the time to be common sense, I guess. I would have gone the slee/BIOR route in hindsight. It was a learning experience to say the least.

 

[spressomon]

Not to beat a dead horse...oh what the hell

I understand the crush zone stuff but then all they need to do...to live up to their marketing hype/BS is design and include a recovery point that mounts to the frame...simple if they cared.

 

[BBQ BOY]

Not to beat a dead horse...oh what the hell

I understand the crush zone stuff but then all they need to do...to live up to their marketing hype/BS is design and include a recovery point that mounts to the frame...simple if they cared.

DING DING DING!!! We ave a winner!!! That is what I was trying to say. Other than this issue, I LOVE my Sahara bar.

 

[Jason YY]

DING DING DING!!! We ave a winner!!! That is what I was trying to say. Other than this issue, I LOVE my Sahara bar.

Reading this thread, thinking about the still plastic wrapped 03+ ARB in the garage. I would swear that there are two little shackle mounts hanging from the underside. Are they not designed to be used?

I must be missing something , the bumpers are designed to hold a winch.

What am I missing?