I am looking to buy a front steel bumper. I want to get one that looks similarly to the ARB bumper. I have not heard great about the ARB bumper. Is it true it decreases approach angle a lot and that it tends to bend a lot? Any other options that look like the ARB bumper?

 

The ARB BullBar is a more full coverage type bumper. It's not designed for superior approach angles. I prefer ARB's myself, but you have decide what what type of wheeling/off roading you do. The TF front bumper for example gives you very good approach angles, but it leaves the headlights/grill totally exposed to damage. I've never bent an ARB personally because I don't wheel my LR's to that much of an extreme (I drive my LR to and from the wheeling event/trip vs trailer it). With a 3inch lift & 275/65R18's I've honestly never dragged the ARB on my 99 D2 yet. Anything will bend if you hit it hard enough or at the right angle. The key to any aftermarket bumper is to upgrade the bolts. I can't tell you how many times I've seen bumpers move when it's recovered only to find the stock bumper bolts still being used!! Upgrade the bolts to 7/16 Grade 8 bolts!!

 

I got a good deal from Dark Crow designs for front and back bumpers. Their stuff is all custom and very stout 1/4 steel. I have ordered their rock sliders as well.

Not crazy about the matte black on the roof. Going to add some clear coat to it to see if that matches better

Finished wheels

 

I had the ARB and got rid of it. My son was driving the truck and got rear-ended while stopped waiting for the person in front of him to make a left turn. Redrover got pushed into the car in front (a Range Rover, coincidentally). The secondary impact in the front bent the ARB crush cans and the light mounting tabs on the top bar of the ARB put dimples in the front of the bonnet above the LAND ROVER lettering. Another local guy on this forum had the same thing happen when a deer decided to commit suicide on the front of the guy's DII.

After a few years with the ARB it just seemed like overkill. It extended so much further to the front like other bumpers, and although approach angle was never a prime consideration for me the ARB clearly lessened the approach angle.

I got the TerraFirma bumper to replace the ARB and I've been happy with it, although its installation was a PITA for me just as others have reported. Once installed I've been happy with the TF. But as Best4x4 said, it all depends on what your objectives and performance requirements are for a bumper.

 

Yeah ARB wise I prefer the non Airbag models without the crush cans. Much more stout! With the Airbag compatible ones the crush cans will fold 1inch inch for sure during the initial impact, then if it's more severe they'll fold even further. I've seen several folks with the Airbag models weld thick steel plates across the crush cans to make them more like the standard models.

I lived in the TX hill country growing up and ever since I was able to drive deer have always been a problem! They're unpredictable and they can total a vehicle very very quickly when it doesn't have any protection. The ARB Bullbar was pretty much made just for that kind of thing from Kangaroo's to Emu's. I rolled two vehicles when I was younger due to deer (87 Mitsubishi Montero 2Dr & a 97 Discovery SE). I was young & dumb and tried to save my vehicle vs hit the deer and each time it ended up bad. The Montero was a little tank, rolled it back over, and later just replaced a fender and a door. The 97 D1 was sadly totaled due to rolling 3-4 times down a fence line, and then smacking into a tree head on. The good news I walked away, but the bad news was my LR was toast. My dad had a Ranch Hand style bumper on his 96 Tahoe and when a deer jumped out in the road he just nailed em and kept on going. I was finally able to get my hands on an ARB for my 05 Rubicon and when I went out to visit my folks a deer ran right out in front of me. The deer nailed the ARB, and I had a Hella 500 break from the impact, but my the bumper and my Jeep were untouched. Ever since then I've done my best to get an ARB on any of my vehicles. They stick out further, but do offer full front end protection.

Upgrading the bolt size with any bumper is a major step up, if you have an ARB with the crush cans, getting a plate welded across them will make it much more sturdy. People say to never recover someone with an ARB or you'll bend your bumper and I have to call BS on this. I've used 4 different ARB bumpers to recover people either by a shackle or with my winch and the bumper never bent. The earlier RRC/D1 ARB's did have thin front recovery points, but a straight pull on them = zero issues.

The TF looks really nice, but it's finish is no where near as good as the ARB. Neither is the fit like mentioned above. I had to cut off the lower plates on my TF Front bumper just to get it to slide onto the frame rails. Then I had to press it on by placing my D2 in 4Lo and slowly pushing it into place between a tree while I got the bolts to slide thru it...... A certain vendor said the fit issue was not the bumper but my D2, and that is a flat out LIE... That TF bumper was not made to just bolt on like the ARB.

If I was looking for a new bumper I'd give Tactical Rover a shot. They remind me of the Safarigard bumpers on RRC/D1/D2's with decent protection, and approach angles. The TF bumper at 700.00 is not worth it IMHO due to the fit/finish. It's got a nice skid plate, great approach angles, and I was able to totally hide a Warn winch inside it without cutting the grill, but it should be a 500.00 bumper tops. RTE is also still making bumpers if I'm not mistaken, but I've heard issues with their quality as of late. The above bumper looks very nice also. Just depends if you need full protection from the environment (animals, tree's, or other vehicles), or you need a bumper with superior approach angles.