Wouldn't be without one Expat , great in the shopping centre !!! had one on all our 4WD's for last 40 years and haven't hit a thing . Good accessory mate , but if weights an issue keep an eye on the grand total . On our ranger it nearly got us to the line as we had a heavy van and kayaks , plus all the goodies you accumulate .

Fit one when the insurance company gives you a discount for doing so.
..............won't happen..............

Cheers,
Peter

Gday...

I agree that if not usually travelling between 6pm and 6am then a bull bar just may not be that necessary.

But ya never know ... I hit an emu north of Aramac a couple of years ago at 2.30pm in the afternoon .... emu certainly did not come off as well as the bull bar.

No damage to the bar or the vehicle though. If you are in outback, then roos etc are always around even during the day.

And a bull bar is certainly good insurance in city traffic ... slow speed prangs barely affect the bullbar

cheers - John

I have a bull bar fitted to the Collie and wouldn't leave home without it. I am one of those that like to leave just before daybreak so heaps of things around that could appear out of nowhere. I also have 'roo stoppers' fitted to the sides of the bull bar.
Yep, I reckon they work as I have seen roos look up as I approach and off they go in the bush etc.

I'm sure it has nothing to do with high power rifle fitted the the bar either. 

Thanks for all the comments, next step is which one. Let the shopping begin.

If you use your vehicle as a Toorak Tractor then you probably wont get much benefit from having a bull bar.
If youre using your vehicle in the country and remote areas then one day, somewhere, the bar will go a long way to saving you some grief.

Last roo I hit was between Kimba and Cleve at 3.30 in the arvo.
Very slight damage to the bar and no Damage to the vehicle.
Without the bar it would have been LH front mudguard, LH front light assembly, Bonnet and standard front bumper bar and worse than that, possible damage to LH front door as well.
One of my employees hit a roo north of Cummins at 8.30 am in a company Ute without a bull bar. This vehicle was the only vehicle that I unwisely decided not to fit a bar (I call this pennypinching)

As a result the entire front of the vehicle was damaged including radiator and belts and pump on the engine.

It was off the road for near on five weeks and I had to hire a vehicle to complete work obligations.

If a bull bar saves you from inconvenience with getting repairs done in remote country areas and allows you to have repairs done in major centres then this is a big plus.

I generally fit alloy bars mainly for the weight saving but I hate polishing them.

I have had a couple of steel bars over time but I am really not a bush basher anymore so the alloy is fine.

I have never had a plastic bar so can not comment.

In my opinion the perfect bull bar would be alloy and powder coated to suit car if you are concerned with cosmetics.

I personally have never been game to run the extra cost of powder coating past the minister for finances and housework. 

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Monday 29th of January 2018 10:43:17 AM

Possum3 wrote:

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Go for Steel buy and get fitted by specialist like ARB to ensure Air bag deployment is not compromised - Steel can be repaired whereas alloy will need replacement after any strike. www.arb.com.au/

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 Unless you dont have insurance then either bar is covered in the event of an accident provided the bar is stated on the insurance policy.

I alwYs thought some where making up for other inefficient things ? But having been hit by kangaroo last year . The bar was just pulled back into place and new spot lights . With out the bar it would possibly have been front panel damage including radiator . This on motorhome .

Have travelled extensively in outback QLD, done the big lap and also down the centre. Wildlife are out and about all day and night. Emus are getting to be a big problem in south west QLD.

I don't have a bull bar.

I have hit two kangaroos. One when I was visiting my home town (outback) where up to the age of 40 had never seen a roo (it was in an 80k zone). and home in ACT where they are a real menace on the roads. One even hopped up my driveway. For a while I thought they were out to get me, I had only just missed one on the road in the traffic the day before.

As for fitting a bull bar? Not essential but might save some grief. Make sure you get the right one. They can interfere with the operation of air bags.

I would say 'don't go for steel'. They are old tech, heavy and they rust.

The new alloy bars are stronger than steel and are very light, lighter than body work. If you were to weigh your vehicle pre and post fitment your car will be lighter after an alloy bar is fitted.

PLEASE, don't ever watch someone fit a bullbar to your car. The amount of body work that is cut OFF the front of your car with an electric jigsaw is terribly disturbing to most folks.

Don't expect a bullbar to NOT be damaged in an accident or large animal strike.
It is most likely going to be seriously bent up in an accident/cow/camel strike, and probably just minor bent in a big roo or emu strike, but that is NOT why you get a bulbar.

The reason for a fitting a bullbar is that your car will remain relatively unscathed, will remain up on the roadway and not out of control off the road, and will still be drivable after an animal strike, with most damage just to the bulbar and perhaps some cosmetic damage to things like headlights and the bonnet.
Without a bulbar, if you hit a good sized roo or emu, your first worry is IF you can keep your vehicle from crashing off the road. Then, you will need to call a tow truck, assuming you have mobile reception, because it is unlikely to be drivable, and that can be VERY expensive when you are out back, like up to a $1,000 per 100km expensive!

If a towie has to travel 250km to come get you then expect a $5,000 bill which your accident insurance is unlikely to cover. Insurance will however cover your bullbar. Then if you have a caravan in tow over 7 meters in length, the towie is not legally allowed to pop your car up on the flatbed and the van on his towball, so now you either leave your van on the side of the road or pay for TWO tow trucks at $5,000 a piece.

The biggest voice against bullbars is from stupid pedestrians (sorry but my safety is more important than theirs) or from those that never drive outback or have never hit an animal.
First time you ever bounce off a 2 meter tall western grey or emu, at 100kph and you have a bullbar, you realise their value.

And, your car will have far better front angle clearance with a bulbar.

I went with Smart Bar , polyethelene, on cruiser in May 2017. Weight was around half of steel, vibration is zero compared with steel ARB. NSW ambulances run this brand. They are now owned by ARB. Polishing alloy ones is a filthy task and their powdercoat is a seriously rough finish, hence hard to keep clean imho.
Smart bar material is the same as poly tanks which have been around for a long time now. cheers Craig

I have been a 2am to daylight driver all 44 years of long distance travel with a boat in tow. I would not ever do it without both a Steel Bull Bar and Side rails. Roo's are so unpredicktable.

Since the advent of ARB. I have had them on all my vehicles. My 1981 Toyota Hi Lux ute had the works. Bull bar and rails plus their pack rack fitted to the canopy.

Then the Parado.

Today it the same. with the 200TTD.

Jim

Jaahn; ARB and TJM (the above mentioned brands) are NOT backyard boilermakers ; Both companies employ senior design engineers, I am also familiar with Old Man Emu (OME) that came into prominence by re-engineering suspension systems (in Australia) for Baja Desert Race in California - Their systems modified mainly Japanese manufactured vehicles to be able to withstand very rugged country that were vastly different to the imagined conditions of vehicle designers concept as they had never imagined any thing worse than a potholed road in Tokyo.

As I stated in an earlier post -Depends a lot on where and when you are driving - Narrow bush roads in the mountains an absolute necessity to have Bullbars fitted, particularly if travel is necessary during dawn and dusk. You are correct in that animal strikes are directed down or to the side - Large kangaroos, cattle and particularly hoses will kill occupants if they come through the windscreen.
One normally doesn't have dead roos every 50 meters except on Highways where trucks are running through the night.

A couple of Nomads travelling between the hours of 10.00am til 4.00pm is far different to those that live or work in the bush - most of whom started driving motorbikes, tractors, trucks and cars from age 5 on rural properties.

Some good points John..