hey all,
i recently bought a 04 D2 with a some front end damage. bumper took all the hit and is gone.....

so instead of going with the stock bumper i am thinking to get an arb bumper and few months later maybe add a winch,

i read somewhere that due to the weight of the bumper i might have to get a lift kit also. now this is not something i had in mind. i can not afford to get both. you think this is necessary?

first.. do you guys have any experience with this bumpers? i have only seen pictures on line and they look really cool. but they are all custom painted.....
second.... to install it cant it be a one man job?

i have looked at other bumpers but ARB gives the truck the look i rather have; tough but not too hardcore.

what do you guys think?

 

The ARB is not that heavy and all though it looks great it is a poorly designed bumper when you look at it's mounts which are pretty weak.
If you are looking for looks, it's OK and you can probably let the lift go for awhile, especially consider where you live, I doubt you'll come across many trails that will cause you damage.

 

These guys make some nice stuff as well as they are a bit cheaper in price than ARB. they are made in the US as the lower price.

http://www.bottorf-fabrication.com/


What color is your truck? I will be changing to metal bumper and might be willing to part with mine and it's mint. Its all black.

Good luck Chris

 

thanks Mike.

the other bumpers i have looked at seem to be to hardcore for city driving, this will be my only vehicle and it will see more city and pavement then any extreme offroading,
this summer i am planing to try some trails close by.

the reason i got this truck is that i am planing a trip to the Balkans next summer and there i know i will get into some rough roads

i know ARB is expensive but i thought it would give me the durability and also could drive it into cities with out being mistaken for an armored vehicle. lol

 

thanks chris
is a zambesi silver S (no fog light)
the original bumper was black, i still have the bumper covers that were not damaged.
being that ABR costs an arm and a leg, i am still considering going with the stock bumper,
where are you located?

 

http://www.bb4wa.com/

He has a ARB winch bumper on his Defender and if its good enough for a guy who offroads for a living then I think its good enough for you and I.

You dont need a "lift", you will want stronger springs to compensate for the added weight of the bumper and winch, but those can be added later.

 

I did exactly the same thing four years ago after my wife had an incident that required front end work ('99 DII). In my experience the extra weight up front from the ARB bull bar and a Warn M8000 winch turned out to be too much for the stock front springs. In addition to bottoming out fairly often, the top of the front wheelwell had dropped 1" from stock height.

I did not want to add lift, so ended up going with the heavy duty springs from Land Rover that were sold to be used in combination with the "factory" winch setup. They got me back to stock height but are still pretty stiff. Gotta take the speed bumps more slowly than before. I bought them from Rovertym Engineering. They were the only ones who made the suggestion. Everyone else I talked to at the time wanted to sell me lift.

As for the ARB bumper, I wish I had gone with the one from Rovertym. I just like its slimmer look better. To me the ARB looks too big and heavy.

 

I've got an ARB on my 2002 with a Warn 8000. The mounting for the ARB is airbag compatible, which some will say is "weak." What airbag compatible means is there is a crush-can that will absorb minor impacts without passing the damage to the frame and thereby setting off the airbags. I've not had any problems with torquing of the bumper or anything else and I've towed myself out of several situations using a ****** block at extreme angles. I've pulled an F-250 Supercrew and an H-2 (kids are stoopid and their parents shouldn't give them that kind of "toy" to play with) out of a ravine with my winch and had no problems with the ARB mounting. Everything lines up now just like it did when I installed it. The ARB is not heavy by itself - if you don't have a winch you shouldn't need springs, but if you go with a winch you should probably look at Medium Duty springs at a minimum. You can mount the ARB by yourself - helps if you have a floor jack to hold it up. I mounted mine with the winch by myself and had it done in four hours, including numerous beer breaks.

 

I have been under Bill's rig and believe me it does not have the standard bumper mounts, the cans are gone and he has mounted it directly to the frame.

Even ARB in Oregon will admit they have mount issues and are working on it.

What is the difference, with A disco, between installing new coils and shocks and throwing on a 1.5 to a 3" lift? Nothing. Probably should clarify that for him.

 

i have been calling any ARB retailer i can find online: ARB bumpers are out of stock
was told by sales reps that next delivery would be in mid july. (expected delivery)

ordered mine from BA, the only place that had a couple in stock. (sahara bar)

meanwhile i have to look for a place to have it painted. i am not to familiar with paint jobs.
the bar comes in grey powdercoat can one paint over it or have to strip the original paint off? does it need a primer and all?

is it a DIY job? (pep boys spray can primer, paint and gloss or maybe another retailer) at this point i am trying to save as much as i can...