Thread: D3 Bull bar pricing.

I've been through ARB's bullbar factory at head office in Kilsyth. They have an open day every year in December which you can just book and go through the factory and see their manufacturing facilities. Unless I went through an intergalactic tunnel, I don't think I went to China! Seriously though, it was amazing to see and the machinery was first class.
I had a bullbar on my D2 which would have been about 11 yrs old when I hit a roo and had it replaced, there was absolutely no signs of rust.
I believe the 8-10 week turn around time would be due to all the other orders in their system .
Dave.

As per a recent thread, ARB's cheaper bars for older cars come out of their factory in Thailand, the versions for new cars are made here.

As for a Thai manufactured D2 bar, it would be comparable to an Oz made bar, Thai manufacturing is very good.

Originally Posted by DI5CO

I've been through ARB's bullbar factory at head office in Kilsyth. They have an open day every year in December which you can just book and go through the factory and see their manufacturing facilities. Unless I went through an intergalactic tunnel, I don't think I went to China! Seriously though, it was amazing to see and the machinery was first class.
I had a bullbar on my D2 which would have been about 11 yrs old when I hit a roo and had it replaced, there was absolutely no signs of rust.
I believe the 8-10 week turn around time would be due to all the other orders in their system .
Dave.

ARB does manufacture some of their bars in Asia (not sure if it's in China or elsewhere in Asia). These are the "high volume" bars, usually for rice burner utes and the like. The "lower volume" bars are still manufactured in Australia.

Like you - I have had a few ARB bars over the years - some of them on old dunga's that have been pretty roughly treated (in the mining game). I have NEVER encountered rust in any of these bars (other than the odd bit of surface rust where the paint / coating has been damaged or worn off). I have an ARB bar on my current Disco (and one on the work HiLux) and wouldn't choose any other. The thickness and quality of the steel used by ARB in their bars is in general superior to any other brand readily available in Australia.

The ARB bar and rack on the sons puma rusted very badly.

He had them both recoated by a local powdercoating company,and their job was way better than the ARB coating.They couldn't believe how poor the ARB coating was.

My white ARB bar on the D4 is rusty in places,although the coating seems better quality than the original Puma bar and rack coating.

The ARB bar on the last D2 I had also rusted in places,particularly the lower panel.

The ARB tow bar on the Puma rusted very badly,it was replaced under warranty.

Originally Posted by scarry

The ARB bar and rack on the sons puma rusted very badly.

He had them both recoated by a local powdercoating company,and their job was way better than the ARB coating.They couldn't believe how poor the ARB coating was.

My white ARB bar on the D4 is rusty in places,although the coating seems better quality than the original Puma bar and rack coating.

The ARB bar on the last D2 I had also rusted in places,particularly the lower panel.

The ARB tow bar on the Puma rusted very badly,it was replaced under warranty.

The review site I posted to earlier, showed a lot of people with rust complaints for ARB bars.

I just do NOT get it. Its straight forward to paint something, for goodness sakes. How can a high tech operation have any rust at all, many years later? Their Disco unit costs something like $2,700. How much do the coatings cost? I have an ARB air compressor for the tyres, I bought a roof rack system from ARB and had them install it all ... sheesh ... cars don't rust these days. Why not galvanise the steel and then paint it, and give it a long warranty?

I am tempted to buy an East Coast Alloy bar. It will get damaged if I hit a roo ... but it will offer some protection. And it won't rust. Plus, I save wear and tear, and the vehicle will handle better, and the front tyres will last longer. I wish they made a heavier - thicker - alloy unit actually, it might handle a hit better.

Regardless of how well something steel is painted if the paint has been abraded then it WILL rust, there is also the effects of chemicals and sunlight to consider.
I have had some great alloy bull bars on my previous 4WD's that survived many a roo strike But they were multi post designs and were probably just as heavy as a modern steel bar.
Anyone that has had anything to do with boats will be well aware of the effects that sea water has on steel (Painted or not) and there wouldn't be too many 4WD owners that didn't take their truck down the beach every now and then.
Also gravel roads and bush tracks can and will cause stone/sand damage to exposed paintwork which will lead to corrosion eventually, So unless you are constantly touch painting these damaged areas of course the steel bullbars and towbars are going to eventually rust.

The Missus had a factory bullbar on her Hilux ute when she first bought it and her first encounter with a roo destroyed the bar along with the bonnet and both front panels.
We had an ARB bar fitted when the truck was repaired and she has had at least half a dozen roo strikes since and the bar AND truck are still just fine.
Yes there is now some small areas of rust on the bar But after over 10 years of use (and abuse) the bar is still fit for purpose.

And it wouldn't cost a fortune to remove, clean up, and repaint if you so desired.

Originally Posted by trout1105

Regardless of how well something steel is painted if the paint has been abraded then it WILL rust, there is also the effects of chemicals and sunlight to consider.
...

Anyone that has had anything to do with boats will be well aware of the effects that sea water has on steel (Painted or not) and there wouldn't be too many 4WD owners that didn't take their truck down the beach every now and then.
Also gravel roads and bush tracks can and will cause stone/sand damage to exposed paintwork which will lead to corrosion eventually, So unless you are constantly touch painting these damaged areas of course the steel bullbars and towbars are going to eventually rust.

I am a yachtsman and started sailing dinghies when I was 8 years old. I've been a member of my yacht club for so long, I don't have to pay dues anymore! I've had many boat trailers, and those get salt water all over them. They hang low to the road too. While the boat is protected from stones, the trailer isn't. Actual trailer rust is something unacceptable to competitive sailors. Some fittings might rust though - a poor winch handle, cheap lights perhaps, maybe springs that have been ignored - but the trailers don't rust. Go down to a boat ramp and check the outboard boat trailers parked in the boat ramp's carpark - rust will be a rare thing. Because Australian trailer makers galvanise them.

My cousin made a 55 footer himself and then lived on it in Mooloolaba after sailing around Australia and on the way some of SE Asia. His boat was made of steel over 30 years ago and its still going strong. Ships are made of the same stuff too. All boats have issues though - and with metal, its often about electrolysis.

Australian bullbar manufacturers could make bars that would not rust (in fact alloy makers already do) - the fact they don't currently seem to, is simply their choice of engineering standard. From my reading, many bars did not rust - and some reviews have shown owners of old bars to be very disappointed when they bought new bars and their new ones they then quickly rusted.