Now bullbars under threat - survey

[dno]

Hand a little whoopsie into the arse of a car the other day and brushed the paint of my bar, $7000 damage to the other other car.. May have been a lot more if i copped damage aslo...

[shanegtr]

If you've never hit anything, you might think bull bars are all about cosmetics, and that plastic is OK.
A few years ago, on a dark moonless night, we hit a cow at 110km/h on the Hume freeway, near Wandong.
I'm staying with steel..........

Depending on the size of the cow do you really think a steel bar will make any difference. With some of the cattle on the roads up here it makes no difference what you have on the front. We where traveling home one night a few years ago and came across a coaster that hit a cow, driver was trapped in the bus with his legs pinned and that had a nice solid steel bar on the front

[alnjan]

If they made the smart bar less offensive to the eye, I feel there would be more who could sway.

Personally, if the smart bar wasn't so ugly, I'd have one. I don't care if others think it looks great, I can't stand the look and I'd have to never walk past the front of my car again. But functionality is great. I had one on a mining ute, you could bump into things, push other cars etc, really handy. It was just so ugly.

The reason I don't like the Smart Bars is not there looks but their lack of practicality when a winch is attached, and this also applies to some other big name bull bars.  Anyone that has actually used a winch one thing you need to be able to do is to see the winch drum to check how the wire/rope is winding on the drum.  We had an incident at work were the winch was used and unless you are lying under the vehicle (good spot to be when winching) you can not see the drum, at all.

Bull bars, across the board do need to be refined and improved, not only in looks, but in practical use, apart from vehicle protection and further research and development to be pedestrian friendly.     

[D4D]

I think that is the real point Danbri, the anti-campaign has been responded to primarily by the 4X4 version of 'ricer boys' who are more interested in looks than functionality. 

Based on what research?

[Barry G]

Based on what research?

Danbris earlier post clearly indicated direct experience of using smart bars.  My point is that, by contrast, none of those railing against anything but steel had indicated any use of the alternatives - and heaps of the posts referenced the LOOKS of the smart bars as a major concern.

[Barry G]

If you've never hit anything, you might think bull bars are all about cosmetics, and that plastic is OK.
A few years ago, on a dark moonless night, we hit a cow at 110km/h on the Hume freeway, near Wandong.
I'm staying with steel..........

Have a bro who has lived in those parts for years, 1 x Cruiser and 1 x Tarago, no bar on either.  I also visit and travel late.  At night I try to drive within stopping distance of my lights, but Black Angus could easily be indistinguishable from the road.
If there is a need for bars on the Hume then maybe driving is just too damn dangerous.  The number of trucks on that road you were unlucky to not just come across 'diced beef'!

[D4D]

Danbris earlier post clearly indicated direct experience of using smart bars.  My point is that, by contrast, none of those railing against anything but steel had indicated any use of the alternatives - and heaps of the posts referenced the LOOKS of the smart bars as a major concern.

They don't make a 120 version so there is no alternative for me

[happycampers]

I read about this in the Camper Trailer Australia mag.... I wonder how many people will die from hitting large animals like kangaroos, cow, horses, camels..... once they're no longer allowed to have a bull bar.  4wding will become too dangerous not to mention farming! 

CAT mag says that animals esp roos were responsible for over 20,000 collisions in 2009.

Another survey if anyone is interested.  www.4wdcouncil.com.au.

Bureaucrats wake up.

[Alloy C/T]

Alnjan, Smartbar actually make a winch bar, uses a steel cradle and mounting points to the chassis ,

[alnjan]

Yeah I know, but they do not make it so that you can see the rope spooling onto the drum.  When you are winching it is a very handy feature to see how the rope is spooling to be able to prevent any potential fouling of the rope