ARB or Warn Front Bumper?

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evilpresence

NAXJA Member #983

Location

Arnold, MD

• Jul 7, 2004

• #1

My XJ was hit head on a couple weeks ago, parked on the side of the road while I was playing basketball only 50' away. An ass in a 5.0 took a corner a little fast and gave himself about $3000 worth of damage. My bumper was a little bent, but it could have been a lot worse if my XJ wasn't lifted. Regardless, I got a check in the mail for $609.75 from his insurance agent.

Should I get the ARB bull bar or the Warn front bumper with the grill guard? So this thread doesn't go on a tangent, I'd appreciate it if we stick to the topic of Warn and ARB. Yes the TrailReady bumpers are nice, but $950 for the front and $850 for the rear, that is a bit much.

 

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gmanxj

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Taylorsville, UT

• Jul 7, 2004

• #2

If you want to stick to those two, then go with the ARB. It is strong, it looks good, and it is proven.

If you still cant decide, check out
www.rigidco.com
then you have many options, and you will not have to go back in the future to purchase an additional steering box reinforcing kit, it's already included.

Good Luck

 

JeepinAudiophile

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Northborough, Massachusetts

• Jul 7, 2004

• #3

OHHH you are the man... I got in a accident last night and had front end damage...damn drunken bimbos, but legally it's my fault. so i figure i have the $500 deductible, i might as well make good use of it and get an offroad bumper... you are my hero, i hadn't even thought of that...

 

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evilpresence

NAXJA Member #983

Location

Arnold, MD

• Jul 7, 2004

• #4

Yeah I'd like to pay off my XJ but I think that the $609 coming would be better spent on a bumper.

I'd figure that someone would have thrown out a pro or con about each.

A buddy of mine said he had to cut the ARB to fit his 35s. I have 31s right now and don't plan on going to 35s but you never know. With the Warn I wouldn't have to.

 

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evilpresence

NAXJA Member #983

Location

Arnold, MD

• Jul 7, 2004

• #5

JeepinAudiophile said:

OHHH you are the man... I got in a accident last night and had front end damage...damn drunken bimbos, but legally it's my fault. so i figure i have the $500 deductible, i might as well make good use of it and get an offroad bumper... you are my hero, i hadn't even thought of that...

Click to expand...

That makes no sense that it is your fault if you got hit by a drunk driver. Even if you were driving on the otherside of the road a sober driver would probably have moved and avoided an accident, where a drunk driver might not have. I know a guy that wanted a new car and got into an accident. He was charged for not trying to avoid an accident. You need to look into the fine detail of the Mass... law. In Maryland, regardless of who is truely at fault, the drunk driver will be charged.

 

Yucca-Man

NAXJA Member # 683

Location

Castle Rock, CO

• Jul 7, 2004

• #6

evilpresence said:

You need to look into the fine detail of the Mass... law.

Click to expand...

You have to remember, that is the same state that keeps re-electing John "Short Tour" Kerry and Jabba the Kennedy. Common sense seems to be lacking in the former hotbed of patriotic fervor.

I know that at least in Cali, the driver who is in reverse is at fault, regardless of the actions of the other driver. My X got hit by a lost guy who was speeding through the company parking lot...because she was backing out of the spot she was at fault although he was going far too fast for the conditions. If he had been DUI I'm sure they would have pressed charges on that but I'm not sure if there woul be blame assigned to one or both parties in that case.

I'd like to know more about how JeepinAudiophile was at fault for getting hit by a drunk driver...

 

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Sephrion

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Missouri

• Jul 7, 2004

• #7

maybe the drunken bimbos were in his jeep at the time :shhh:

anyways i say go for the ARB

 

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Atl XJ

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Atlanta

• Jul 7, 2004

• #8

I know this isn't a very technical response, but I love the way the ARB bullbars look.

 

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PC-UT-XJ

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Park City, UT

• Jul 7, 2004

• #9

im not sure if the Warn bumper is set up for air bags, but i know the ARB one is. i have the arb and ive come down on it really hard on some rocks, used it like a shovel, pulled someone out with it, hit a few shopping carts, and used it as a hi lift point; it's held up really well, tho i kinda bent it upwards with that shovel incident. nonetheless, it still looks great and scares the shit out of people when you're right on their tail for doing 50 in a 65 fast lane.

 

Ramsey

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Shreveport, LA

• Jul 8, 2004

• #10

i havent looked at either in a while so i cannot tell you, but you might want to go with which ever has the best approach angle. i also thought the warn gaurd was up there in price with the trailready

 

lesslimited

Official MWC Brewmeister

NAXJA Member

Location

Clarkdale, AZ

• Jul 8, 2004

• #11

For that money you could also get a C-ROK bumper that has a better approach angle than the Warn or the ARB
http://www.c-rok.com/frontbumper.html

The burgundy jeep on that page is mine, I've had the bumper for several months now, abusing the heck out of it and it's held up great. Greg is great to deal with, and if you need one customized in any way, he can do it.

 

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evilpresence

NAXJA Member #983

Location

Arnold, MD

• Jul 8, 2004

• #12

Prices I have found without really searching or talking people down (I love doing that).

ARB - $650 plus s/h
Warn - $619 plus s/h

I could if I really had to pick up the bumper at Essentials in PA.

You have a very good point PC-UT-XJ with whether or not the Warn is set up for airbags. That is going to be a HUGE factor, if not the determining factor now. Thank you for that input.

 

JeepinAudiophile

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Northborough, Massachusetts

• Jul 8, 2004

• #13

the boozer chicks slammed on the brakes in front of me when they were cut off by a car full of drunken fools, when we were leaving a Dave Matthews Band concert last night... my rear "auto-adjusting" drum brakes never seem to be adjusting properly... it's time for a manual adjustment, so i skidded with just front tires, almost at a full stop when i hit the chevy cavalier... my plactic grille dented and marred her trunk, without doing any damage to my PLASTIC grille. I hate those stupid little cars...but it obviously stops faster than my jeep...

 

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lickdj

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Abbotsford , B.C , Canada

• Jul 8, 2004

• #14

The decision between the ARB and the warn would be a hard one , the warn looks real nice and clean and solid , but everyone with cherokee's i know either makes there own or uses the ARB's and apparently ARB goes threw thorough of real life situation testing with there products such as making sure on an airbag equiped vehicle that in an accident the airbags still go of as and when they are supposed to.

 

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ucilxj

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Cincinnati, OH

• Jul 8, 2004

• #15

go with warn bumpers, I have both front and rear, and they are very strong. . front bumper is rated to like 10000 pounds, and has a really good approach angle, and looks great. my site is http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/555752. . .check out the bumpers. .

 

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DXJ

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Livermore, CA

• Jul 9, 2004

• #16

I have never owned or crashed into either bumper. The following opinion is based on my personal tastes:

I have never really cared for the look of the Warn, especially the grill guard part. I think the ARB looks great and I like the fact that the winch (if you're getting one) doesn't sit right in front of the radiator on the ARB.

 

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Northern Pride

NAXJA Forum User

Location

New Hampshire

• Jul 9, 2004

• #17

I have the Warn and I love it! I got the BPI brushgaurd for it and I like it a lot. Go to Offroadtoystore.com for the Warn bumper $507.00 with Shipping! great deal! The BPI brush gaurd with black powder coat was $160 with shipping. You can not beat the price at off road toy store with shipping. I think Rustys was a bit cheaper but the shipping was like 3 or 4 times as much. That's how he makes his money, on the shipping.

 

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MistWolf

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Washington

• Jul 9, 2004

• #18

Let's bottom line this for you: Most aftermarket bumpers are far too heavy for XJs and especially the ARB Bullbar, and HEAVIER doesn't always mean STRONGER. I bolted a couple of simple 6x2 pieces of rectangular tubing to mine to act as bumpers- each weighing no more than 50 or 75 lbs- and they kept my Cherokee from being damaged by an errant Escalade. To my mind it's silly to spend so much money to hang something from your rig that limits approach and adversely affects it's handling. Find a fellow Jeeper who's into fabricating and bribe him with a pizza or a BBQ

 

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evilpresence

NAXJA Member #983

Location

Arnold, MD

• Jul 9, 2004

• #19

ucilxj

I was debating on getting either the Warn or AEV Conversions rear bumper and tire carrier. AEV hasn't come out yet as we all know (ok a few were produced a couple of years ago), so I was going to wait and see how that was.

DXJ

I agree with having the winch sitting inside of the bumper. I was told that the M8000 is the only winch that will fit in the ARB, anyone know if this is true or not? Since the M8000 is an 8000 lb winch, isn't the rule of thumb double your weight plus a little more. I'd be over that 8000 lb mark without the little more.

Northern Pride

Thanks for the site.

MistWolf

I can see what you are trying to say, but I know a few guys with the ARB and they don't have any problems with adding some weight to the front. I have RE 4.5" coils and will be getting Daystar spacers when I get the bumper, whichever it might be. Personally, I'd love to fab a bumper, but not having a welder and not having ANY experience, I don't think a front bumper is the place to start. Did I mention this is my daily driver and I would like it to look nice, not saying yours isn't, I haven't seen it, but a rectangular tubing... hmmm, I can only imagine. And I am getting this bumper for FREE.

 

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MistWolf

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Washington

• Jul 11, 2004

• #20

The weight of the bumpers isn't a problem concerning static height- especially with stiffer springs. The problems become apparent while driving. Any weight ahead of the front axle creates handling problems- the Jeep will have a slower response to steering input and it works the springs harder- even stiffer springs. Heavier bumpers also promote and accelerate chassis cracking. The same is true with rear bumpers and rear mounted tire carriers. I learned through hard experience that XJs live longer, happier lives when bumpers and other accessories are kept light. (Sometimes free ain't.)

With a little fabbing, rectangular tubing bumpers can be very good looking. After all, most after market bumpers begin their life that way