They look pretty tough

 

they're 1/8" thick.

the recovery area (where you put your shackle/clevis in) is a 1/8" thick area with a washer welded to it around the hole to make it "more durable".


they're for looks, and they're 1 hit wonders. you have one good use out of them before they're kaput.

 

my deer slayer...

 

Interesting.... i was kicking myself when i bought the warn HD bumper cuz they were about the same price but i think the ARB looks better. the warn is tough as hell though.

 

I hit a doe with my cummins there on the right... she went under and i ended up in "full draw" on the side of the highway... lol... dang thing broke my vikings license plate! you know how har they are to get in GA!! lol thats all she did though... good eatin

 

the d ring mounts are like 1/2" thick.. and i have pulled a stuck bobcat out with my front end... 8,000lbs. you know.. i am not a rep or nothing for arb, but all of this smack talk about a bumper being smashed after one hit and is an overpriced piece of junk is ludacris. you know.. i do realize that to each their own, but you know... it truly is a good bumper.. managed to stay completely together through a wrecked jeep and a wrecked buick and lived to go on another jeep.

is it overpriced.. absolutely.. i think you pay for the name. could it be a cheaper pricetag... absolutely.. but the bumper is not a flimsy piece of sheet metal.. it is a solid bumper and would take a great smack from a deer. and live to see way more days...

 

the resulting damage of your jeep proves that the bumper did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to protect the jeep.


a 1/8" piece of steel with washers welded to it to make it 1/2" thick around the clevis pin hole is really not that strong.


you swear up and down that they're great...yet, looking @ your pictures, it was completely destroyed (together, but smashed in every which way). had you had a heavier duty bumper, with better tie-in points, your jeep would not have gotten fubar'd.

 

dude you dont get it.. the hood windshield and roof was ripped off of a car that weighed more than my jeep.. hit my jeep in the side.. you obviously dont understand the laws of physics.. it wasnt a head on collision... ANY car no matter what bumper was put on it would have been wrecked from the crash.. no bumper can stop a force like that coming from the side.. no matter how are the "tie ins" are on the unibody it would have wrecked it.. i am completely for making everything.. i made my front and rear.. its not that i am trying to help arb out, but ridiculing a product about being garbage just aint right.. and bashing me about my posts aint right either.. i am stating my opinion for anyone who is willing to hear it. a bumper that survived a crash like that is good to me and if you got a problem with that than that is 10000000% your opinion good for you.

 

and jeepcomj you are right.. it did put a decent dent in the front of my bumper that smashed up the winch mount. but that still is 4000lbs traveling at 25mph you do the calc. for the momentum that car had behind it. the deer has nothing on the force that car brought into the front of my jeep. so you are right there is a dent, but for the fact it was a car.. i think it did quite well out of the situation.. and i say 25 because the car was doiong 45 but slammed in his breaks in the intersection so i figured he was goin bout 25 maybe a little faster.

 

you were only doing 25mph and (with a "built" front bumper) the xj got wrecked that bad? how fast was the other car going?

...I t-boned a 2dr parts cherokee I had going between 15 and 20mph, and didn't even scratch the truck...though I did hurt my ribs.

my point is not to bash you...I didn't start out that way, but I'm just telling people that this bumper is NOT the choice for them if they want to hit a deer and still have a bumper left when they're done.


the metal is not thick enough. it's so thin, that when you hit something hard with it, it ripples. a well built bumper that is built for protecting a car from deer does NOT crinkle like that.

 

Here is mine. My jeeps is lifted 6.5 inches and sits on 35's. Between the height of the jeep the bumper and the winch I think I am covered. I plated the unibody to help take the hit as well.

 

ok. how about this. to make the arguing about anything stop...

... just get a stout bumper.

end of story

 

no i hear ya.. no i was turning left on the turn lane from a greenlight... i was goin bout 10 mph and the car that hit me hit me in the passenger front fender.. he was goin about 25 or thats what he said.. i thought he was goin a lil faster so he t-boned my front end. it wasnt a head on collision and i didnt t bone him.. he smacked my right side.. thats why i say any jeep getting hit like that would just get totaled. i am all for what you are saying though.. the bumper is NOT 1/4 but if that entire bumper was it would be too heavy.

i feel safe to say if i hit a deer with it head on it would be pretty fine.. but it really aint that bad of a bumper... i have seen way worse

you are right.. a little pricey tho.. and for the record i didnt buy it.. came with the jeep.. bought the 99 with re lift swampers and that bumper on it for 550 cuz they didnt know how to fix the engine..

 

i really dont think jeepcomj meant for it to sound like it was the worst bumper in the world. he helped install mine. saw it first hand. i loved the bumper. bought it used and sold it when i needed money. through all of this, i think he was just saying it isnt the best bumper when we are talking about "deer proofing" a vehicle.

 

good point and life's too short to be too serious man