Disco II Air-Bag Comp Bumper

Log Out | Topics | Search Moderators | Register | Edit Profile

Thread Last Poster Posts Pages Last Post   Closed: New threads not accepted on this page

Author Message   Tom Hyslip (007) Posted on Sunday, June 30, 2002 - 09:36 pm:    I need a new bumper for my D2. Read lots of bad things about the ARB Air Bag Comp. Bull Bar. Are the other(TJM, TO, etc) air bar comp. bull bars just as bad? Need some advice from people who have driven these bull bars on a D2? One other question, is it possible to put a non air bag comp. bull bar on a D2. Thanks, Tom   BW Posted on Sunday, June 30, 2002 - 10:07 pm:    Tom, I have the air-bag ARB bumper on my D2. Here are my three reasons not to get this bumper. 1. Fairlead sits to low. 2. The crush cans allow moderate hits to bend the bumper which will also damage your fenders. 3. The crush cans allow the front bumper to "bob" up and down while driving over "washboard".   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Sunday, June 30, 2002 - 10:54 pm:    My take on the ARB... 1. Fairlead sits to low. Yes this is a real problem as is the approach angle with the ARB. 2. The crush cans allow moderate hits to bend the bumper which will also damage your fenders. This is also a problem. While I haven't done it, yet, you can weld plates on the inside of the crush cans to prevent this but then you don't really have crush cans. I guess in a head on impact the weld points would give a little. 3. The crush cans allow the front bumper to "bob" up and down while driving over "washboard". From my experience this is not a problem unless you don't have the bolts on tight or didn't install the two vertical bolts that requires drilling holes in the frame. There is no "bob" in my ARB. As far as I know ARB is the only maker that tests their bumpers for Airbag use. That's not to say that others aren't okay to use with an airbag. TJM used to have a nice warning label on the inside of the bumper but I don't know if they still do.   Anonymous Posted on Monday, July 01, 2002 - 06:38 pm:    Anyone have exp. with the TJM, or other Air bag comp bull bars? Does SG make a air bag comp. bar?   Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith) Posted on Monday, July 01, 2002 - 07:33 pm:    Jeez, Where were you guys when I was saying that before and getting my ass handed to me in arguments... I agree with all of the points listed above. I am getting a non airbag bumper. Yes you can fit one, and yes it may affect airbag deployment. In an extremely small nutshell... The crush cans keep a switch behind the glovebox from throwing ans steeing off the airbags in medium collisions(a little below 30mph) Non airbag bumpers are arguably more useful off road, due to the lack of the crushcans, and incidentally, most require the removal of the stock aluminum ones. This removes the "gradual" slowing ability of the front end, though, and makes the airbags more likely to deploy between 20 and 30mph. Of course, this is assuming you hit a brick wall, as the armored front end will use most other cars as a crush can. This may be slightly amusing, but it is true. Cheers, Kennith   Tom Hyslip (007) Posted on Monday, July 01, 2002 - 09:21 pm:    Kennith, Is it much harder to install the non-airbag comp. bumper on a d2? Can I ask what bumper you are getting? Tom   Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith) Posted on Monday, July 01, 2002 - 09:46 pm:    Tom, I would imagine it's easier, but I haven't done it, so you had better ask around. I have found that Trek Outfitters, while a bit more expensive than ARB or TJM, manufactures my favorite bumper. It has better angles, step clearance, steel thickness, and looks (IMHO) than the ARB. Check it out at www.trekoutfitters.com I also strongly suggest you call them up and talk to the propriator, Matt, as he is a really great guy and can give you good info about the bumper, since he designed it. Cheers, Kennith   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Monday, July 01, 2002 - 09:51 pm:    There is no difference in installing an airbag vs. non-airbag bumper. The hardest bumper I've installed was a $G just because there was lots of modifications needed to the bumper just to get the stupid thing to fit. Then you had to make the mods to the vehicle per the instructions too. The ARB bolted right on but the differeces were due to bumper design and build quality not airbag vs non-airbag. While ARB doesn't make a non-airbag bumper for the D2 it's easy to convert.   Tom Hyslip (007) Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 09:57 am:    If you put a non-airbag bumper on a d2, what do you replace the crush cans with?   Tom Hyslip (007) Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 10:40 am:    Does anyone know what you do about recovery points with an air-bag compatible bumper? I have been told you can't have shackles, etc on the bumper?   Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith) Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 11:33 am:    Tom, Trek outfitters makes mounting sleeves that replace them. They look like 1/4" powdercoated steel. Cheers, Kennith   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 12:02 pm:    Tom, the bumper will just extend past the point of the crush cans as to replace them all together. You can also take the ARB "crush can" and weld metal plates on the inside to keep them from crushing. Also the ARB crush cans will take a lot of pulling so you can use the recovery points. If you do happen to pull enough to stretch the ARB cans they can be replaced and until you do your bumper might stick out another 3/4" of an inch up front. In the two years I've had my ARB the cans have been fine. There is a piece of the bumper that actually bent from hitting a rock but there is no movement from the cans. Also, since I have a winch up front I will generally use that when I need to recover. I generally use the recovery strap in the rear to recover other vehicles (or use the winch and a pulley block).   carlt Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 12:44 pm:    Tom Checkout the TJM 17 http://www.expeditionexchange.com/tjm/ As far as recovery points on the front, I'll be using 2 stock front recovery brackets for now, until I mount my winchtray and figure out a better solution. Carl   Tom Hyslip (007) Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 06:31 pm:    The deal is done, I purcahsed the TJM T15 bumper from Expeditionexchange to today. I would like to let everyone know how frinedly and helpful John Lee at EE was. I highly recommend their services. Thanks to everyone else for their advice.