Defender Bullbars - Pros & Cons

As with all add ons to the Defender, this will remain personal opinion.

In Africa I fitted bullbars and steering guards (Old style Front Runner) and after a number of game strikes the Defender had nothing worse that a lightly damaged wing (impala head and horns...).

In the UK my Defenders all had tubular bumpers as there is precious little to hit, except for gates and stone walls. Both of which were negated by the protection offered by the tubular arrangements corners.

My current Defender over here in Oz has once again got the Front Runner full bullbar fitted. As written before, it's saved the car from a wheel chock that fell off the back of a road train as well as 3 roo strikes and counting. Admitted they are only the smaller "Euro" type roos, but they happen to be very fast and avoiding them is near on impossible.

If you live in regional Australia then a roo/bullbar is reasonable if you live in the burbs and rarely drive in the country in the early evening then possibly not.
I just had a replacement one fabricated utilising a military spec bumper bar as the foundation see it on the 130 part of the site.
Oh and mine was Australian made in the pilbara for the pilbara


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Simply put, in the 'burbs an alloy bar or standard bumper, venture outside at night or in the daytime even and a steel bullbar will save your insurance excess from rising from minor dings, and could mean life or death in the remoter parts of Aus. An immobilized 4WD in the outback is not nice when shade temps climb, even in winter! Mine made the difference between the insurance writing off the Deefer and repairing! and that was after a 70kmh hit on a bull!!:eek: and he walked away too!!
So just my 2 threepenny bits worth :D

Well going for a drive even locally (in the scrub) around here at Christmas requires 40 litres of water as a serious consideration whatever else you have that will see you home again is a result (a parachute canopy is useful)perth it ain't!


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https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

I have this bar on my defender and have hit roos and one wombat all have just gone straight under does get a bit hairy no pun intended but only needed re paint as all hit just off center I don't try to avoid if given no option. I also don't want to loss approach angle.

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Originally Posted by Wal Rat

http://www.expeditioncentre.com.au/p...-bar-1.jpg.png

I have this bar on my defender and have hit roos and one wombat all have just gone straight under does get a bit hairy no pun intended but only needed re paint as all hit just off center I don't try to avoid if given no option. I also don't want to loss approach angle.

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Cool - I've been thinking about getting rid of my ARB to go with one of these bars.

Good to hear they provide a reasonable degree of protection from animal strike.

Would be nice to save some weight and get some approach angle back!

We have various challenges over here in Africa:

- pedestrians
- wild animals
- domesticated animals

Fences in may areas are unknown, and goats and cattle roam freely.

In fact, it's a big no-no to travel after dark if you don't have several hundred watts of lighting up front and to the diagonal sides.

So we use proper bull bars. Because a 450kg Kudu can ruin your day.

Those tubular challenge bars are for the mall cruisers and comp vehicles.

Nice, that's why mine is like a farm gate, going south from here cattle roam the roads, not that I plan on hitting one as a bullock would probably finish me and the defender lol


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by n plus one

Cool - I've been thinking about getting rid of my ARB to go with one of these bars.

Good to here they provide a reasonable degree of protection from animal strike.

Would be nice to save some weight and get some approach angle back!

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where/what brand is your tube bar

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Originally Posted by Sith

where/what brand is your tube bar

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I'm guessing you're talking about Wal Rat's bar?

It's from Mulgo (can't remember who make them originally - maybe Rovacraft?)