Thread: Defender Bullbars - Pros & Cons

I think arb bars compliment the defender style wise
That is what I have. It is a multi use tool on the front for stopping Roos mounting a winch or opening stubbies.
I like the look of the tube bars terrafirna/xerox (both knock offs) but would only put it ona comp truck
Grover's bars seem to suit the defender and can be used on svx models
I would go down the Grover path in a heart beat if I had a need and $ (still less than arbcost)
Tjm bars have never looked as complimentary as arb bars IMO.
Dc

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Nothing will provide 100% protection, but a decent bar will certainly protect you from most animal impacts, although not cows or horses. And certainly you need to drive to conditions, but this is never going to protect you from all animals, especially kangaroos. These travel fast, and very often attempt to cross in front of you, even in daylight, so unless the country is very open they may not be seen until you hit them. Driving at, say, 40kph wherever there is bush right up the road is hardly practical, and in any case would not prevent all collisions - and even at that speed could disble a Defender with no bar.

Domestic animals such as cows and horses are far more predictable, fortunately, since a bar will do little to help. But they are also far less likely to be on the road.

John

We've lived in rural/outback Oz for 15 years and I've replaced one blinker on the L322 and one mirror on our VW in all that time.Big bars,lift kits,big tyres,roof racks,twin tyre carriers etc etc Blah Blah just makes the vehicle slower to stop,harder to turn and more likely to roll over,I'll go for stability and stopping distance over protection anyday. Pat

Originally Posted by PAT303

We've lived in rural/outback Oz for 15 years and I've replaced one blinker on the L322 and one mirror on our VW in all that time.Big bars,lift kits,big tyres,roof racks,twin tyre carriers etc etc Blah Blah just makes the vehicle slower to stop,harder to turn and more likely to roll over,I'll go for stability and stopping distance over protection anyday. Pat

On an L322 I would agree with you - but I would point out this is in the Defender forum! And I would also agree with you on everything else except frontal protection. And anyone who is getting a Defender has already compromised on stability and stopping distance anyway; and so, for that matter has anyone getting a Rangerover!

I doubt that a front bar has a significant impact on either stopping distance or stability on a Defender, certainly less than operating at maximum load compared to driver only, which is inevitable in a vehicle with a high proportion of disposable load like this. It is, after all, a commercial vehicle and must be driven as such.

John

Originally Posted by isuzurover

Grover on here makes custom bullbars for less than ARB charge.

Grover?.. I'll have to look him up!

Thanks for all the advice guys (and that's everyone that replied), I'll be looking into all of them! I really appreciate it!

I bought the Terrafirma style bar from Mulgo. I think it suits the 90 perfectly. I was going to get the ARB but I saved about $400 and I think it looks a little front heavy on the 90. Mine doesn't offer too much protection for the lights but it makes a good jacking point, and it is very good mount for winch and lights etc.

I was recently looking into the bull-bar options for my new D90. I quite like the look of the Terrafirma tubular bar and was eying one up pretty closely. Then I looked at the bull-bar on my GU ute and realised that most of the protection it offers is on the rounded tube sections at the ends. Ie the parts the tubular bar doesn't have. Most of the scrapes have been from gates and trees. I haven't hit any 'roos (well, only on the motorbike with no bull-bar option!) or any other large animals. I have used it for clambering on for access into the engine bay and also for climbing onto things, using the bull-bar like a ladder. Both functions the Terrafirma would be left lacking. So I ordered an ARB winch-bar and am on the waiting list for their next production run. Hopefully should have it in a couple of weeks.

Here's a link to a recent post from Grover. I think I'll go down this avenue when i'm ready to put a bar on.

Cam

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/verandah/1...winch-bar.html

I agree with the fitting of a steel bar, I have hit several roos with a steel bar on the front of a 96 D1, no damage at all, the hit was at about 90k's. I also don't trust alloy bars, like the other comments I have seen lots of broken ones at the wreckers.