Thread: ARB Winch Bar for ABS - bend up on recovery

Hi Chosen, I to have an empty winch bar. Mine has to deal with air bags. Ive had a bugger of a time trying to get it to sit up straight and level with the rest of the car. Where it bolts to the chasis rails is along way from its centre line across the bullbar. Im wondering how it will go with the weight of a winch pounding along pothole roads.
I think winching will be ok, but dont think snatching off the recovery points on the bar is a good idear. No shock loading when winching. On my Zook, which also has a winch I have used the loops to snatch off, but still think I need to fit some hooks to the chasis ( not much room though ) I'll also be looking at every Disco to see if it has proper hooks.
Back to your queary, ARB make good bars and should be fine for heavy winching. Regarding the bar bending, imagine what my have happened to your chasis if the bar didnt have some give on the ends.

Originally Posted by chosen

G'day All,

Here's a question for ya and it came to me while viewing ROVERNIT's post:

Any metal fabricators...

With regard to the ARB Winch Bar for ABS vehicles - I have one, they look nice but when I last went rock hopping I gently dropped my nose on some sandstone and up stayed that side of the winch bar.

If it can bend up so easily, wouldn't it bend during a heavy winch recovery (I wanna get a winch)?

If I used the recovery points on the bottom of the bar for snatching is it gonna bend up big time?

Anyone with/without experience with these bars wanna comment...

On ya all,

chosen.

You might want to get these - sorry if it seems like a pitch

http://www.aulro.com/apc/showproduct...duct=944&cat=6

Some say don't snatch off the bar and other say it is fine. I used to snatch off the standard eyes on the front until I realised the errors of my way. I now have reinforced plates and hooks welded on the front of the bar directly in line with the chassis rails. This for me is a much safer way. I also had chassis mounted recovery points, but for certain recoveries (burried in mud or up against a rock) you physically can't get to the points underneath, so directly out front works better from an accesibility point of view.....even if the bar flexes slightly during recovery.
As for winching, yes my bar has moved when bumped even slightly and when being recovered, but I am confident it will stand up to the demands of winching even if a shock load is applied. Fair point about the bar flexing and not the chassis too

Bottom line IMO, the ARB winch bar is considered and engineered solution designed specifically for the job, and is therefore more than acceptable. I have no real engineering know how so I have to put my faith in those that have tried and tested. Having said all that, always, healthy to ensure these products continually justify themselves, by end users asking questions of them

Again, watching with interest on this and the original thread.

Aye, Mck

Originally Posted by Zute

Regarding the bar bending, imagine what my have happened to your chassis if the bar didn't have some give on the ends.

Come on, it was a little tap - now I have in a very short time become a Land Rover man, I love 'em! BUT My old Hilux's winch bar was solid as, it would've rather me be stuck on that rock than bend out the way.

However the hilux didn't have Air Bags - Imagine if that little tap bumped the car so much that the Air Bags went off bloody nose I think!

Speaking of the Air Bags sensor, anyone know how much of a tap it takes to set them off? (off roading is fun but blood noses and broken arms just because you slipped into a rut and the Airbags went off isn't)


chosen

Doesnt the winch mount to the chassis and not the bar ? I have a tjm winch bar and my winch bolts to a cradle that bolts to the chassis.
You mentioned abs but not airbags? its the airbag bars that are mounted using crush cans abs doesnt affect a bars mounting. My mate has an ARB airbag bar on his and the winch is mounted upside down on a cradle set back from the bar bolted to the chassis.

The bending is caused by the crush cans crushing as designed. I gave mine a good thump one day and the ARB bar tilted down, ripping into the gaurds ($3500.00 worth of damage). I have a winch on mine, and ARB asures me that the bar is designed to be winched from, the crush cans are designed to crusn, not to expand.
The front eyes on my bar are directly inline with the chassi rails and are bolted to the chassi, I personally think they look a bit too slim but personally feel that you could do some light recovery using them. I have fitted proper recovery points to the chassi to use for recovery.
I Have not had any problems with my bar shifting as some people have indicated, and I also have the extra weight of a winch.

Originally Posted by chosen

Come on, it was a little tap - now I have in a very short time become a Land Rover man, I love 'em! BUT My old Hilux's winch bar was solid as, it would've rather me be stuck on that rock than bend out the way.

However the hilux didn't have Air Bags - Imagine if that little tap bumped the car so much that the Air Bags went off bloody nose I think!

Speaking of the Air Bags sensor, anyone know how much of a tap it takes to set them off? (off roading is fun but blood noses and broken arms just because you slipped into a rut and the Airbags went off isn't)

chosen

Airbags are set to go off only when the car is going a certain speed be it 30-40km/h

So you will not have a issue of a bag going off when off roading unless your going to quick and being a dick.

Originally Posted by Cameron_Def

Airbags are set to go off only when the car is going a certain speed be it 30-40km/h

So you will not have a issue of a bag going off when off roading unless your going to quick and being a dick.

Cheers for that, good to know that unless I'm travelling above 30 odd km/h I'm safe.

It'd be good if the winch is mounted to the chassis instead of the winch bar.

Oh LOANRANGIE, thanks for pointing out the obvious, yeah I made a mistake in the title of the post - I did mean Airbags but with so much constant maintenance to on my Disco I just lost track.

chosen