planning a build up of my rover over the next year or so for a trans alaskan trip with a friend who is buying his D1 in the spring.

i have been looking into bumpers and wanted to know the pros and cons of the bumpers on the market.

i have looked at the ARB, high country, etc.

is there really a huge benefit from spending 1200 bucks on a ARB vs. under 600 for a high country?

what do you guys think?

 

High Country isn't as pretty as an ARB but I think it's stronger.

Where does your route take you on your Trans-Alasks trip? I've been to all but 2 places in this state on the main road system (although I've flown into Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay) so if you need help with your planning let me know.

 

The benefit of the ARB is that it is airbag compatible - the frame mount is designed to give way in a minor impact and therefore not deploy the airbag. I agree that the steel is not as thick as other off-road bumpers, but I certainly haven't had any problems pushing down small trees with mine. Also, the frame mount has not deformed when putting heavy loads on the winch. I think I've seen one other off-road bumper that was airbag compatible but I can't recall which one it was.

 

I got my ARB at a pretty good price. I get email sale updates from 4 Wheel parts and I picked up my bumper for 20% off the usual price using one of their coupons codes when I placed the order. And you can arrange to pick it up at a store near you if there is one and avoid any shipping fees which is a big plus on such a heavy large item.

Not sure where Kirkland is but they have stores in Tacoma and Seattle.

That being said. I went with High Country's rear bumper on that phase of my upgrades. I am happy with both products!

 

I like the looks of the ARB front bumper better than anyone else's, it has more features like the side marker lights.
It also has a mount built right in for a CB antenna or a flag for the dunes.

The downside of a ARB is you are limited to the winches you can use, I want a "ABC" brand winch but you must use a "XYZ" brand.

 

RTE, High Country and one other, I can't think of the name of, are the strongest. For true 4wheeling/winching, ARB is the prettiest and the weakest on the market for two reasons, one the way they anchor gives you not strength and when winching off angle the mounts to the crush cans twist and the bumper will twist. Also the strength of their front metal will not hold up and is prone to bending on impact.
I have seen some people who have heavily modified the ARB mount to at least take the bump twisting out when winch.
Go with one of the stronger ones and never look back.

 

I have the Highcountry and I like it a lot. It is definitely one of the stronger ones on the market and I like the looks of it. The low profile design gives you awesome capabilities when it comes to approach angle! As for the airbag capability, it mounts directly to the frame rather than to crush cans, but chances are, if I impact something while wheeling, I am not going to be moving fast enough for the airbag sensors to fire. And if I am moving fast enough on the highway, or whatever, it'd probably be fast enough that I'd want the airbags to fire. I haven't heard of anyone having airbag issues with a direct frame mounted aftermarket steel bumper.

...oh! The other cool thing about Hicountry... rather than powdercoating the bumper, which can definately scratch up on the trail, they use a bedliner spray that is available in a rattle can at tons of auto parts stores. So when you get scratches, you can do the touch-ups in a matter of seconds at home!

 

so it sounds like ARB are for fashion more then heavy wheeling. good but have their weaknesses.

and the other ones are more serious off road bumpers.

 

My question about the ARB bumper though is that they offer 2 different bumpers, air bag compatible and one not airbag compatible.
So which one is stronger? Is there a difference?
I sent them a e-mail awhile back to ask and they said the non airbag one was stronger but I dont know by how much and I have no nor do I know of anyone with real world experience with the non airbag bumper.

Just food for thought.

 

The non-air bag compatible has a slightly stronger mount.