Thread: Advice on Bull Bars for Defender 110 (MY12)

I am going through the same process at the moment and was wondering what peoples thoughts on the Rovacraft Land Rover Defender Tubular Winch Bar were? I like the minimal look of it but not sure it would provide enough protection. Does anyone have one and are they happy with it?

Originally Posted by Jondavball

I am going through the same process at the moment and was wondering what peoples thoughts on the Rovacraft Land Rover Defender Tubular Winch Bar were? I like the minimal look of it but not sure it would provide enough protection. Does anyone have one and are they happy with it?

I had my eyes on that rovacraft bar too, but it doesn't provide any protection to the wheel fenders and also I don't know if it is ADR approved for insurance reasons. I also looked at the XROX but didn't warm to the look.
I suppose the ARB bar can provide roo protection but the rovacraft will only provide protection in centre.
If I don't lose the approach angle on ARB I will go for it.

Cheers

Originally Posted by NT5224

Hi Brad

Going bush you'll need a tough steel bar to protect your investment.

Either ARB or TJM will do the job. But be warned -the current style bar ARB are fitting to Defenders is not the straight bar shown online or in their brochures, its an ugly bar with swept back sides that looks like the one they fit to Prados and SUVs. They fitted one to Hector and I hate the way it looks. Spoils the iconic looks of the Land Rover.

Check TJM first to see if they still do the straight bar to match the flat front of your Land Rover.

Cheers

Alan

I have just had a new ARB bar fitted to a MY13 Defender and think it looks better than the previous model on the MY09 Defender. The new bar has larger diameter tubing, better approach angle, smoother finish and a flatter frontage. It looks more solid (if that's possible!) and appears to have better airflow to the radiator.

Cheers
Mark

Originally Posted by Jondavball

I am going through the same process at the moment and was wondering what peoples thoughts on the Rovacraft Land Rover Defender Tubular Winch Bar were? I like the minimal look of it but not sure it would provide enough protection. Does anyone have one and are they happy with it?

I'll let you know next w/e - just ditched the ARB bar for a Rovercraft tubular.

I went through a bit of dilemma over this decision - weight savings, approach angle (and maybe a little bit of vanity) won out.

Was looking at the new ARB bar (I had the old style one) TBH, while its a nice piece of gear, I'm not entirely convinced it offers much more protection than the tubular bar in the event of a substantial roo hit - both will protect the raditator extremely well and are likely to fold at the wings if you cop a big hit (as is the case with pretty much most bars).

IMO the old style ARB is probably the best mainstream option for roos - it has great clearance between the bar and the truck (at the expense of approach angle) which allows for significant distortion of the bar before it hits the body work. Having said that, the new style ARB is a much nicer (i.e. intergrated) product for sure.

Personally, if I was after a full protection bar now, I'd be inclined to consider one of the Grover bars.

Originally Posted by n plus one

I'll let you know next w/e - just ditched the ARB bar for a Rovercraft tubular.

I went through a bit of dilemma over this decision - weight savings, approach angle (and maybe a little bit of vanity) won out.

Was looking at the new ARB bar (I had the old style one) TBH, while its a nice piece of gear, I'm not entirely convinced it offers much more protection than the tubular bar in the event of a substantial roo hit - both will protect the raditator extremely well and are likely to fold at the wings if you cop a big hit (as is the case with pretty much most bars).

IMO the old style ARB is probably the best mainstream option for roos - it has great clearance between the bar and the truck (at the expense of approach angle) which allows for significant distortion of the bar before it hits the body work. Having said that, the new style ARB is a much nicer (i.e. intergrated) product for sure.

Personally, if I was after a full protection bar now, I'd be inclined to consider one of the Grover bars.

Do you know if the rovacraft is ADR approved?

Going through the same process myself as I want to get a bar on the front of my MY12 D90. Got quotes from both TJM and ARB and both are similar ie $1400 to $1500 installed. However, ARB did mention that their bar won't fit the Limited Edition models with the SVX grill. That's how close the bar is to the front! I much prefer the TJM I think, and will book my car in for the fitting in March some time.
cheers
Andrew

Originally Posted by MuzzyDelta90

Going through the same process myself as I want to get a bar on the front of my MY12 D90. Got quotes from both TJM and ARB and both are similar ie $1400 to $1500 installed. However, ARB did mention that their bar won't fit the Limited Edition models with the SVX grill. That's how close the bar is to the front! I much prefer the TJM I think, and will book my car in for the fitting in March some time.
cheers
Andrew

Do you know how clearance you would lose with the TJM bar?

Originally Posted by ProjectDirector

Do you know how clearance you would lose with the TJM bar?

Judging by the photos that the TJM people sent with the email, it doesn't look like you would lose very much, but then unless you attack the front of your vehicle with a tape measure you won't really know.