| Author | Message | ||
     Roger Sinasohn (Uncle_roger) New Member Username: Uncle_roger Post Number: 12 Registered: 06-2003 |
After a little run-in with a taxi, I'm looking for a new front bumper. Most of my driving is on-road, but I would like something better for hitting the trails (especially given the situation.) Airbag compatibility is a concern -- should I really worry about it? I'm more worried about protecting the people inside than the vehicle -- we bought the Disco specifically to use on trips so we wouldn't bang up the 109" on tougher trails. (Of course, it's turned out to be great on-road as well -- is that my fault?) I've been reading DiscoWeb and checking other websites, and I think I have come up with all the options for a new bumper. I've listed them, along with some impressions I've gotten from DW at <http://www.sinasohn.net/lrover/bumpers.html> (in case anyone's interested). The ones I'm considering most are the RoverTym and TJM bumpers, followed by the ARB and Trek Outfitters bumpers. I would love to hear from anyone with any experience with any of these, or with any general comments about them. I like the fact that the TJM has the lights in the bumper and is airbag compatible, but I've not read much about it here. I also like the aggressiveness of the RoverTym, but it doesn't have the lights and it's not been tested for airbag compatibility. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 61 Registered: 05-2003 |
Hi Roger, I recently replaced my stock bumper with TJM15. I was really tired of burying my stock bumper in the mud, the LR orginal brush guard that I had on at that time made the problem even worse. I asked a gazzillion questions on Dweb, and I think if you do search under "front bumper" you might find them. (I am thinking one of my questions was listed as "D2 front bumper replacement?". I had great response to my questions and many were kind enough to send me photos of their choices. It took me months to make my decision. I needed to go with an airbag tested bumper and I chose TJM over ARB for my use. I was torn when I made my decision, because I really wanted RoverTym - I will get one if I can ever go with something non air bag tested. Best wishes in your quest! Jamie | ||
| Roger Sinasohn (Uncle_roger) New Member Username: Uncle_roger Post Number: 13 Registered: 06-2003 |
Thanks for the feedback! I've pored over all the dweb threads I could find. I think I'm leaning towards the TJM at this point. Doesn't hurt that it's one of the least expensive models. So, how do you like your TJM? Does the winch really hang down too low? Thanks! | ||
| Chris Marcel (Gumarcel) Senior Member Username: Gumarcel Post Number: 830 Registered: 11-2002 |
Roger go with the rovertym bumper. You really don't need the lights on the bumper. And about the airbags, if you get in an accident and hit the bumper hard enought the airbags will go off. Get the rovertym or $G for the clearence. But the $G is more expensive and often you will have problems if you order from them, they do not have the best customer service out there. So go with rovertym man, you will love it! | ||
| Nadim Samara (Discodino) Member Username: Discodino Post Number: 84 Registered: 02-2003 |
When you go offroad, simply unplug the airbag fuse. That is what we do here in Saudi when we dune bash. luckily, my comp-to-be Disco has no airbags  | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 63 Registered: 05-2003 |
Roger, YES, THE WINCH IS LOW. You can click on my name to the left and see set up on my truck. The winch being low is of great concern to me where I live. However, I am going out west for training and the terrain there is part of the reason I chose TJM. I will not be learning to use my winch until I get out west, so at this point I can't tell you a think about pros/CONS of operating a "low mounted" winch. John Lee at Expedition Exchange (www.expeditionexchange.com) was of great help when I was choosing which bumper to put on my D2. Unfortunately,I did not order my bumper from him, because a friend was able to save me shipping charges by going another route. John Lee was so helpful that I will be ordering my other supplies from him. I would highly recommend that you speak to him, especially since you also are in California? My best advice would be to think seriously about what terrain you would like to cross in your rover. Talk to those that know what does work and what does not work in that terrain. Since I live in FL and getting stuck in mud and swamps is pretty much of a guarantee, chances are that I will be switching to another bumper in the future. (I am partial to RoverTym, not just because of their awesome rock sliders, but John has been EXTREMELY kind to me). I do not know anyone else in my area that has TJM. Honestly, I don't think any of the guys in my area would choose TJM. Although they occassionally allow me to tag along with them, they are much "bigger dogs" than I am!! They are much more skilled and experienced - which most of the time = tougher terrain. Tougher terrain requires maximum clearance. They too are fans of Safari Guard and RoverTym. Those bumpers are DEFINITELY more agressive than TJM. I will try to find the links on Dweb to some of the questions I asked, Dweb was of great help to me. Best wishes! Jamie | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 64 Registered: 05-2003 |
Roger, I found one of the threads that I posted about front bumper, it is under: 2003 Archives Discovery Technical Archive through May 23, 2003 D2 front bumper replacement Hope that helps. If I remember correctly, I posted more specific questions after that date. Jamie | ||
| Chris Marcel (Gumarcel) Senior Member Username: Gumarcel Post Number: 833 Registered: 11-2002 |
This is it: ../17/24495.html> | ||
| Jim Reynolds (4x4xfar) Member Username: 4x4xfar Post Number: 63 Registered: 05-2003 |
Roger, with the Rovertym bumper the windshield washer bottle will need to be re-located to the firewall. It will hang out the bottom of bumper on the drivers side, aside from that check out that link to the archives above the Rovertym looks Bad_Ass!! Thats my vote -Jim | ||
| Drew Porta (Ncrover) New Member Username: Ncrover Post Number: 32 Registered: 05-2003 |
Just to add other options to your list, have you seen the Aedofab products? http://www.aedofab.com/ Anyone here used these bumpers and can comment? Drew | ||
| Roger Sinasohn (Uncle_roger) New Member Username: Uncle_roger Post Number: 14 Registered: 06-2003 |
Okay, I'm leaning heavily towards the TJM bumper -- While I'd love the RoverTym, the airbag issue is a big one for this vehicle as is the time to get it. I have a couple of questions, though. There is a steel version and an aluminum one. Other than the weight savings and no-rust factor, are there any advantages to the aluminum one? Is it as strong as the steel one? For those that have one, did anyone buy one without a winch and add one later? Lastly, I would love to support ExpeditionExchange if the insurance estimate will cover their price, but 4x4connection.com is $100 cheaper. Has anyone bought from this outfit? Are they reputable? Quick? Thanks! | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 66 Registered: 05-2003 |
Hi Roger, My TJM is steel. From what I understand the extra weight is a "must have" in certain areas. I don't know that I have ever seen an aluminum bumper ON an off road vehicle, except for in a brochure? I'm just thinking out loud here - but, I can't imagine that aluminum would be the best choice for this application?? I could be very wrong on that, and trust that someone will correct me if I am wrong. Sometimes aluminum IS great because of its lighter weight, but on the front of a rover???... ...with no other info available, I have to say that I would go with steel just for the strength factor. Also of great importance to me is weight and balance and the CG (center of gravity) issues/changes that mods bring about. One of the reasons that we can go where we go and do what we do is because apprx 85% of weight is below seat line on stock vehicle. Keeping weight low is always critical for stability. Before I started my mods, I tried to get weight and balance charts, data, just anything I could from corporate Land Rover. I had no luck obtaining such info, so I just do my best to keep the ratios as close to stock as possible. If "hard field data" is ever made available to me, I might feel more comfortable about pushing the numbers a bit. For now, I try to do everything I can to make sure that my mods are a good compliment to one another, even if I don't take the time to "do the math". For example lifting vehicle raised the CG, which could make rover unstable -- heavy weight of low bumper helps to offset that. Adding roof rack raises CG again, so I will carry very, very, very little weight on rack (like bulky lightweight bedding, clothes, etc) making sure that it is offset by HEAVY gear being stowed as low as possible. Stability issues are of such importance to me, that I made the decision that I would be prepared to toss my roof rack and leave it behind if it ever becomes a safety issue. Staying safe and alive is always much more important to me than $$roof rack$$. The last thing I want is a top heavy vehicle, especially off road. I would not be a happy camper at all if "game over" occured before getting to visit really neat and awesome places - especially if it was due to my being a dumb bunny on rover prep. Besides that, the one thing that I am sure I DO NO want to do is to roll my rover. Due to experience in other areas, extending weight/balance/CG issues to rover comes naturally for me. Such considerations may never be of importance to you -- so I guess again that I have to repeat myself and say -- think about the terrain that you plan on driving or have hopes of visiting. I know that doing so is total PIA in addition to learning about the parts -- but, doing so will save money in the long run (imho). I purchased my Superwinch X9 from summitracing.com and had it installed at the same time as my bumper. It made more financial sense to me to have them done at the same time. As you probably know, to mount a winch, you must also purchase the additional winch frame that goes with the TJM. If you wait until later to add a winch mount/winch, your bumper will have to removed to install these. If you have the skills to do this all yourself (and also not mess up something else in the process), that might not be of concern for you. I do not have those skills, and I did not want to have to pay techs twice. Jamie | ||
| Roger Sinasohn (Uncle_roger) New Member Username: Uncle_roger Post Number: 15 Registered: 06-2003 |
I would think that the bumper is definitely an area where additional weight would be acceptable to get more strength. I hadn't considered the CoG issue, but that's an important one. I think I'll go with the steel one. It's cheaper too. 8^) I understand the issues with adding a winch later, but unfortunately, cost and lack of prep (dunno which winch to get) means I have to wait on that. Thanks for your help! |
