So what have some of you guys done to beef up your ARB's? I have seen pics of Ammo's bumper, but never seen where he said what was done to it.
Well, my ARB flexed up and dented both fenders and the valence under the PS headlight
- Thread starter Josh83
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I did not know ARBs could also become damage multipliers- is this common?
I don't see how tis could happen unless it wasn't properly installed, I beat the crap out of mine and it's solid as a rock.
Any pictures?
Any pictures?
I have clearanced mine. i dont know if it added any strength but help clearance.
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tucker74
Moderator
This is common if you come down on the wings with the weight of the truck - it has nothing to do w/ the installation. I had to take mine to a HD frame shop to get it straitened back out. ARB's are not really as strong as people would like to believe - they are designed for frontal impact.
Tucker
Tucker
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- #6
I came down HARD on mine on the PS corner. Kind of an "up and in" impact. I came down hard on it to the point that the front PS of the truck was wresting on the bumper, not the tire and I did not prepare for the impact at all. I was driving through a field at minimal speed and basically drove into a DEEP hole(not a mud hole, just a hole) with the pasenger tire.
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- #7
NW- What did you do about the AC drier on the drivers side? Is that 1/8 plate? I would guess that did add a lot of strength from twisting up like it would if you banged the wings hard.
Its not 1/8th.. dont remember but prolly thinner. but we did use a 3 inch dimple die to add strenght to it. The ac drier just got turned on its side and moved up a bit...
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Why did you not cut the lip off in the middle? I'm not looking at mine so I can't remember whats back there. I have a lot of 1/4" plate laying around...maybe that would add some beef to the thing.
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa thats where your frame is...... (in my best lumberg voice)
NorCalDoug
problems solved daily...
yeah...I've bent the DS wing of mine a few times.
It takes some really hard hits, but it will flex and bend.
It's one of the reasons I removed my flares -- the ones in front kept popping off when the wings flexed upwards.
It takes some really hard hits, but it will flex and bend.
It's one of the reasons I removed my flares -- the ones in front kept popping off when the wings flexed upwards.
Slomo
It's Complicated
All this talk is making me want to swap my ARB for one of Christo's new bumpers when they come out. 
Even one of those will flex if you hit it in the right place. Christo uses 80,000 PSI steel if memory serves but you can still bend it (don't ask me how I know..
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Sickboy, i was told that you cannot turn the ac drier on it's side. Something about the oil needs to settle to the bottom. . . ? Anyone?
yaaaaaaaaa.... I am not OCD like alot of guys.. def didnt do any research before moving it..... hmmm i also havent had AC for 2 years.. laziness mostly though...
cruiserdan said:Even one of those will flex if you hit it in the right place. Christo uses 80,000 PSI steel if memory serves but you can still bend it (don't ask me how I know..
Some flex is good - it is actual bending that is bad. Seems last time we were debating the ARB there was talk about taking on a 700 lb steer. Ahhh, reality
This is an interesting thing, though, that has nothing to do with the ARB...because you really can't keep a stamped bumper from bending unless you want it to weigh 300 lbs with 1/4" steel on the outer wings in combination with a good way to tie those outers back into the frame (the 80 is not easy in this regard). On any bumper design, and this includes tube, the main strength comes from tying the frame rails together with a heavy duty winch plate. That's where the front impact strength comes from...it's not because you somehow have tank grade armor on your front end.
You hit anything very hard on the bumper wings that are not designed to give and you may transfer leveraged force and damage something more critical, like your frame. You need the outers to bend...what is good is to have enough clearance that a small amount of bendng doesn't mean body contact...and it is also good if what bends will spring back into place (within reason) so you haven't damaged your bumper permanently with relatively low impact.
This is why if designing a tube setup you might rather have DOM than chromoly, despite chromoly being stronger. DOM will bend to a degree and come back to it's original form, but chromoly doesn't. Raw strength and impact absorption are both critical factors and should be balanced as best as possible. Despite not being a great fan of ARB bumpers, there is nothing here that suggests the ARB is flawed in this regard.
Nay
True. If the bumper doesn't bend, all the impact force gets transmitted to the frame. You get a really nice "diamond" in that case.....
Slomo
It's Complicated
Nay and CruiserDan these are both very good points. I feel better now. 
jfz80
Cruisin’
alaskacruiser said:
on the tacos it is. the frame is not boxed so it is highly recomended you do some reinforcement w/ an arb install. Mine took two weeks to start the sag; definately an issue w/ any winch. on a tacoma they will pop out the head lights if you let it go too long. there are several good writeups on the ttora board on the reinforcement of a taco frame (watrd.com as well). as a new 80 owner im not sure about the frame up front, but i am considering a front bumper so id like to see whos done what out there.
Fortunately the 80 is not a Tacoma. The 80 is over-built.
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