Front Bumper with the strongest wings?

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Jule

Jule

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Joined
Sep 10, 2005
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I need a new front bumper ASAP. :crybaby:

I had an ARB, I hated the long overhang when wheeling in Moab, but consoled myself that at least it was a "tough" bumper. Tonight I slid of the road and hit a tree, with the corner. It collapsed and the top bar smashed my hood and head light and the wing smashed into my tire. Luckly I was able to pull the wing off of my tire with a tow strap and drive home.

Prior to the ARB, I had a TJM. Similar story, hit an elk at night, wing bent over and hit my tire and tore it up. Both headlights still got smashed out.

If the top bars were angled outward, away from the hood (like on an ARB commercial?) and the wings did not collapse, I think the TLC would have been relatively unscathed from the elk collision.

I KNOW that ANY bumper will bend if you hit it hard enough, but I feel there is a lot of room for improvement over the ARB and TJM without adding substantial weight.

I like the clearance of the Slee bumper and the Metal Tech bumpers, and it looks like the corners are better designed than ARB's, but they don't protect the front from Critters.

The ARB Commercial LOOKS like it would be good against critters, but I heard it hangs out more/lower than the ARB Deluxe, and after tonight's experience, I just don't trust the brand any more.

Ironman claims to have wing gussets, but the one for the 80 series looks like an ARB clone.

So is there a bumper out there that has good clearance for off roading and offers good front end protection against critters and rocks?

:meh:
 
I have a 93 with a arb non winch. I rear ended a car in the rain that was stalled. I hit the car on it's left rear corner panel with the right corner wing of my arb. The arb went through that car like a lightsaber, resulting thousands for that car and a broken turn signal lens for me 30 bucks.
 
i was once told by the arb sales rep that the bull bar is designed to take a full grown Kangaroo at 55 mph... If you need protection beyond that you may want to look into a miltary surplas tank...
 
Jule said:
I need a new front bumper ASAP. :crybaby:

...I slid of the road and hit a tree, with the corner. I... hit an elk at night,

So is there a bumper out there that has good clearance for off roading and offers good front end protection against critters and rocks?

:meh:
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I would start looking for a cow catcher. Seems hitting things is your thing :doh: ;)
 
If the bumper corner was super rigid and didnt bend at all wouldnt it transfer all of that force to the frame rail resulting in more serious damage? Like a bent frame?

Go see a local fabber and get him to built whatever you want. Probably be cheaper than an arb/tjm to boot and as a bonus youd have something unique. I personally cant stand the arb on my 60 and am planning on making my own up this spring..... if I have time.

D
 
Yup bent frame or bent bumper. You decide what you want.
 
Jule said:
I need a new front bumper ASAP. :crybaby:
...................Tonight I slid of the road and hit a tree, with the corner. It collapsed and the top bar smashed my hood and head light and the wing smashed into my tire...........Prior to the ARB, I had a TJM. Similar story, hit an elk at night, wing bent over and hit my tire and tore it up. Both headlights still got smashed out.............
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Sounds like you need to take a physics course or stop hitting "immovable objects". Good bumpers, such as the ARB & TJM, offer better than adequate protection, but nothing is indestructible, especially outside the frame rails.

Jule said:
.........If the top bars were angled outward, away from the hood (like on an ARB commercial?) and the wings did not collapse, I think the TLC would have been relatively unscathed from the elk collision.

I KNOW that ANY bumper will bend if you hit it hard enough, but I feel there is a lot of room for improvement over the ARB and TJM without adding substantial weight.........
Click to expand...

No offense intended, but as a suggestion, maybe you ought to appreciate the protection provided, instead of re-engineering bumper technology.
 
hitting something like a tree on just the corner of the vehicle is going to bend/break something. id rather it be the bumper and fender, rest of the front clip... than the frame. something more square and head on, theres more surface area to absorb the impact, but on the corner, its gonna crumple. thats its job. even an exo cage wont survive something like that.

want total protection? think about running 1/4" plate, and box it around the whole vehicle gusseted and braced by even more 1/4" plate. oh, and expect to get about 2mpg after all that weight has been added..

i fully trust my arb in protecting the front end...i dont expect it to save any body work in a decent collision, but if im still able to drive home, then its served its purpose, and it'd be replaced with another in a heartbeat.
 
IMO, the ARB lower bar is to big and to wimpy, especially the wing. I hit the bottom corner on a rock and the wing flexed enough to damage the flair. I don't know if any of the commercial bumpers are any better.:meh:
 
Jule said:
I KNOW that ANY bumper will bend if you hit it hard enough, but I feel there is a lot of room for improvement over the ARB and TJM without adding substantial weight.
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The vehicle was NOT driveable, the wing was firmly jammed into the tire. I was lucky that I had a strap, and was able anchor off of a tree to get the wing pulled out of the tire inspite of being pointed the wrong direction. If my wife had been driving, it would have definitely been towed.

I am not saying bumper should come out unscathed, but I still feel that the wings on the ARB are flimsy. A hit on a corner and the U channel easily bends and wing goes into tire (and body). Looks like there are several others that have bent the wings on rocks. I sure the ARB would hold up well with against a direct hit between the frame rails.

I had the misfortune of being rear ended by a Semi. He hit the rear CORNER of my 3/4 ton Dodge Diesel, which was stopped, hard enough to launch me forward 20 feet (on snow) and smash the car in front of me completely (the trunk was now in the back seat). Sure I was in 3/4 ton Dodge Diesel, but my truck's frame was NOT bent and the truck was still running, it had a hairline crack in the radiator. If I was not so far away (300 miles), I could have drove it home.

Yesterday's incident in the TLC was NOTHING compared to that. The semi that easily weighs 10 times what the TLC does and was moving at least as fast when it it my truck as my TLC was moving when it hit the ~8" dia tree. So cut the jokes about encasing the vehicle with 1/4" plate or me not understanding physics and crumple zones. The Dodge went through much worse and still WAS driveable, and gets better MPG than the TLC. Was the truck damaged? Yes, but I will end up replacing about the same amout of front pieces on the TLC that I had to on the truck. (And all the same pieces that I would have had if I still had a stock bumper.)

The ARB's look substantial, but I really don't think the corners are any stronger than my stock Dodge bumper, if that.

Again I ask, is there any bumpers out there that have good ground clearance a reasonably strong wings (like Slee and Metal Tech) and offer good head light and grill protection?

I saw a custom one on the forum that looked like a winner, but I could not find out who owner was, let alone the fabricator.

Thanks,

Jule
 
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Jule said:
The vehicle was NOT driveable, the wing was firmly jammed into the tire. I was lucky that I had a strap, and was able anchor off of a tree to get the wing pulled out of the tire inspite of being pointed the wrong direction.

Still feel that the wings on the ARB are flimsy, hit it on a corner and the U channel easily bends and wing goes into tire. Looks like there are a lot that have hit the wings on rocks. I sure the ARB would hold up well with against a direct hit between the frame rails.
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The name of the game is protecting the occupants, that means driver & passengers. If the main impact zone is between the frame rails, aka direct hit, bumper protection isn't really a factor. The main factor is how well does the structure collapse or crumple to absorb the impact to protect the occupants. You do not want the corners to be rigid on a glancing blow collision for the same reason that you need good crumple action on a direct hit. The G-forces that would be transferred to the occupants while the vehicle was spinning could cause serious injury. Most vehicles are not equipped with racing harness seatbelts and crash helmets. Overall structural damage to the vehicle would also be more serious.
 
I built my own bumper on my 60 and then had a car pull out in front of me while i was doing 55. Bumper pretty much survived very well. Frame was totalled. I mean bad. I did walk away. But i have to replace a frame now on my 60. Granted my engine also tried to go thru the grill after it went thru the radiator.
 
Bumpit will add headlight protectors. I emailed them a while back and they were very willing to do it. It would look a lot like their 100 series bumper.
 
you should have learned not to say anything bad about the ARB after my post in another topic saying basically the same thing you did. The ARB is pretty, but not thick enough. You could always get an ARB and have some extra steel welded in.
 
jeffro109 said:
you should have learned not to say anything bad about the ARB after my post in another topic saying basically the same thing you did. The ARB is pretty, but not thick enough. You could always get an ARB and have some extra steel welded in.
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If you're going to booty fab, you might as well design a better bumper.:meh::hillbilly:
 
ARB side wings are not stout at all.
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