I bought a front end "bull-bar" and it literally came with no instructions. It has the bar, some bolts, and brackets. Can anyone help me with instructions? Do I need to take off the bumper? Skid plate?
without knowing what brand your guess is as good as anyones, but I will caution you that if you get in a front end accident with it on, it will do a whole lot of damage that wouldn't be there if it wasn't on the vehicle.
Absolutely incorrect. It's cheaper to replace plastic and glass than a twisted unibody and radiator supports, especially when it comes to tweaking the steering and suspension and alignment which might not ever again be corrected to spec after an impact. And it doesn't take much of an impact.
it takes the impact, and because it is bolted to the front frame rails, it bypasses the foam absorber and impact bar that are designed to absorb and distribute energy.
Then you have them bending back and into the hood and grille, going so far as to take the core support upper tie bar , ac condenser, and radiator in the process.
The same people who tell you that brush bars are good are the same idiots that say leave your draw bar in the trailer hitch.
I have totaled vehicles that would have been easy fixes if the bumper had been hit instead of the hitch acting like a big lever and bending the frame and rear body.
Same thing for brush bars.
There is a reason they are never ever factory installed or a dealer installed add on.
oh did I mention it is not going to play nice with the air bags
Bull bars and brush guards on frameless vehicles like RAVs can cause a lot of damage in even slow speed impacts, as mentioned. They can be useful on full frame vehicles such as pickup trucks, especially if the frame part where the guard is mounted has been extensively reinforced. A friend in Australia hit an adult 'roo at 50 kmph with his truck equipped with a guard and had no damage.
Yes! Even full-framed vehicles can suffer significant frame damage from a BULL BAR impact. Reinforcing the mounting points and where the impact load would eventually spread out is highly recommended and really should be mandatory.
Hi Jax! Just curious... Do you ever figure out how to mount your bull bar on a 2011 rav4. I have. Bull bar that the company said was compatible but I can't figure out how to mount it.
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