Why fit a bull bar?

[JimmyC Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JimmyC]

The advantages I see of a bulbar:
- A place to mount equipment
- A place to rest items such as tools, spares, beers and the hip when getting a real country style lean on
- A place to tie swags, washing lines, etc
- The ability to knock small branches and stuff out of the way without worry
and above all
- A damage reducing device. See my thread on car vs roo and you will see what a bullbar does. Had I not had the bar I would have been stuck on the side of the road in no mobile reception for at least 12 hours. Hit that same size roo at the same speed with no bar and the damage would be 10x worse.

If it's an issue of money then ARB and TJM both offer 'commercial' bars which are a cheaper option.
In regards to the points made originally:
- Damage to people: How many people are you planning to hit?
In the end a bullbar is all about risk reduction. Lowers the risk of damage from an animal and lowers the risk of a spilled beer that was carelessly placed on the ground.

[peter_mcc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peter_mcc]

Think about it this way, when you do have an accident with an animal strike, your vehicle is disabled, you become someone elses problem. You are stuck with a disabled vehicle. I'd rather not be stuck in the middle of no where.

That's a big one for me - with work & kids school holidays I don't really have the spare time to sit around waiting for a damaged vehicle to be fixed. Having seen how hard it is to get things fixed up at Cape York recently I imagine if the vehicle was immobilised somewhere else remote it would take while to get moving again.

[peter_mcc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peter_mcc]

I've always thought of fitting a switch to my brake lights to have a similar effect.

Just touch the pedal lightly - it won't slow you down but will turn the brake lights on...

[peter_mcc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peter_mcc]

So, one year on, we've got a (now bent) AFN bar fitted and so far I've hit 4 (perhaps 5) kangaroos. The bar has done it's job - all but the last have hit the bar and gone under the car with no damage to the car (but unfortunately terminal damage to the kangaroos). A few weeks ago, on the way to Mt Isa about 10pm at 110km/h, I hit a bigger roo that was further off the ground (jumping? taller?) and have smashed the grill and bent the middle bit of the bar. The car's still driveable - which was the aim of getting the bar - so I'm glad we got it.

I'll post some photos and more of a story in the AFN thread when I get a moment.

[Warhamster Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Warhamster]

We decided against one when we got the Prado, but 5 weeks later here's what happened.

We do a lot of country driving and have had our fair share of near misses, and one hit. I think the next time luck doesn't go our way I'd prefer having one than not!

https://imgur.com/a/EVkpf

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

So, one year on, we've got a (now bent) AFN bar fitted and so far I've hit 4 (perhaps 5) kangaroos. The bar has done it's job - all but the last have hit the bar and gone under the car with no damage to the car (but unfortunately terminal damage to the kangaroos). A few weeks ago, on the way to Mt Isa about 10pm at 110km/h, I hit a bigger roo that was further off the ground (jumping? taller?) and have smashed the grill and bent the middle bit of the bar. The car's still driveable - which was the aim of getting the bar - so I'm glad we got it.

I'll post some photos and more of a story in the AFN thread when I get a moment.

I managed to dodge plenty of Roos, dogs, cows etc for 20+ years, but recently driving around Warwick there were heaps of roos, I slowed only to about 90k, because they were fairly small. In the Fourby, I don't do much dodging, more drive in the middle & brake if impact is imminent.
It's confirmed, bullbars work a treat to save damage. Just a bit of fluff, lol..... Sorry skippy.
It's all because I chose to leave Brisbane at 4am to get to melb at a decent time. So if you did it in daylight, no need a Bullbar. Rolled into Melb at9pm & no roos seen at this end.
Hitting a cow will hurt, with or without a bar, you have to some serious damage & hopefully not injuries.

[OzDriver Member Find all posts View Profile Close OzDriver]

Has anyone looked at or fitted the latest ARB Alloy Bar. It is supposed to be 'almost' as strong (has some steel inners) but lighter. I cannot see any specs that say how much lighter though. I saw the Toyota alloy bar in a car part and was not impressed - far too thin.

[Nik83 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nik83]

I understand that alloy bars can just snap on impact whereas steel has the tendency to bend... I know this could be utter folk-law but that's something to keep in mind... alloy can be far stronger than steel - but I'm sure that comes at a price. That said, all I am saying here could be fluff. ARB is not Toyota, and Toyota is not tuffbar.

If you're buying a bar, then I wouldn't bother with a toyota alloy bar - they look like crap compared to anything else you can buy and I imagine they provide just as much if not less protection compared to the competitors at roughly the same price.

Also, on this, your suspension will droop with a bar on front regardless of what is installed (it's a heavy weight at the extreme of your car). You don't need to upgrade it immediately, but you might want to upgrade it or plan to do so at some point in the future - and you'll be amazed at the new handling characteristics. There are far more experienced members of this forum that I'd take advice from - of the posts immediately above, ############# and peter_mcc are good sources of information. Insurance is insurance, even if you're not paying a company for it.