platform389

I know this has been discussed here before. In fact the solution was found here as well. But this is a situation that everyone with this equipment needs to address.

About two weeks ago, I winched my Tacoma out. When I finished, the ARB bullbar was VERY loose. Came home and removed it only to discover the frame end mounting points were cracked and broken badly. One more pull would have done severe damage to truck and mount.

Cut out all the weak Toyota steel per the photos posted here, and made up two new 3/8'' thick plates as replacements. A welding shop charged me $35 to spot two nuts on the back and weld the plates to the frame.

Everything went back together fine. An email to ARB with attached photos has went unanswered. I am planning a paper letter with photos to advise them of this very dangerous situation. Some other mounting method must be devised for Tacomas.

If you have an ARB bumper and plan to do serious winching with it, you must to this modification for safety. Toyota did not make the frame strong enough in this area to handle this kind of load.

rwmorrisonjr

Remember, these bumpers are designed in Australia for use on the Hilux trucks which have a standard 1-ton frame for all models. The Tacoma is only sold in N.A., and is only designed as a 1/2-ton frame since Toyota knows it won't be subjected to the same load ranges as in other parts of the world, and the fact that Americans will buy a larger truck for the heavier loads. Full-size pickups aren't as available in other parts of the world and are impractical due to their size, especially in rural areas.

That being said, ARB should make some changes or reccomendations for using their product on the Tacoma, especially if the current method can result in vehicular damage or potential human injury or death.

WATRD

You know, every time I bring this up, I get mail from people telling I am reacting like the sky is falling. I am sorry it had to happen to you, but it's nice to see some vindication on a topic that seems to upset people

http://www.wattora.com/mods/endcap/

I have done this on close to a dozen trucks so far and every one of them that has used it's winch before the operation showed signs of failure. Of those that have had the operation, I have yet to see a post procedure failure...

I am glad you made it out... it could have been A LOT worse

Albuquerque Jim

Could you please post pics of the Tacoma mounting brackets?

Flamedx4

Wow! That is ugly! I've designed dozens of custom hidden mounts for removeable towbars and people are always surprized at how much beef and how many attachment points I insist on. (Of course many cars don't have any frame at all so the more attachment points the better!) But I figure if anything is going to fail it's sure not going to be the stuff we did!

I'm in the process of making a custom winch mount for my 1990. I'm going to french it into the bumper the way I did on my '85, and will use existing frame bolt locations - 12 of them! It should hold...

GRNTACO

They should us the Prado mounting system with the Tacoma Bull Bar. I have seen both mounted to Tacoma's and the Prado bar is mounted securely but it isn't air bag compatible. I like the Tacoma Bull Bar but don't like the mounting system and I like the Prado mounting system but don't like how far out the Prado sticks out on the Tacoma. They should make the current Tacoma Bull Bar a non-winch. Then make a Bull Bar with the Prado mounting system (or something similar) for winching but warn about the air bag thing.

WATRD

BTW, the original write up on this mod is at;

http://www.wattora.com/mods/endcap/

Complete with a few additional photos

rpeAMP

A bit OT, but I was considering getting one of these for my 92 4Runner. Are 4Runners candidates for this problem or are our frames adequate?

WATRD

I can't speak to the older 4runner's, but the newer ones don't even have an end cap to begin with, so the problem is even worse. ALL of the winch load is on the bolts that go vertically up through the frame. Those holes start to elongate immediately and it gets worse from there.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I did Rob's mod of my 00 and it worked like a charm.

http://www.drawhorn.org/front_frame_end_mod.htm

Good luck!

amusement

Impressive engineering and welding skills!

platform389

OK, here is the very latest on this.

Heard back from ARB today via email. They are pulling their test mule Tacoma in to examine the frame for damage. Also, the photos and links to the upgrade websites I sent are being forwarded to their engineers in Australia for further examination.

Hopefully they will come up with something better for those who haven't yet upgraded their frames to handle this.

Should I learn more from them, I will advise. Thanks to this board for having the answer to this serious issue!

mchombuilders

I have the same problem with my bull bar. ARB more less told me to shove it over the phone, but mentioned a newer gen design in the making for tacomas. this was over a year ago, however. in the meantime, I removed the end cap bolts to prevent further cracking. the result is a bouncy bumper, but it still gets me out of trouble. Im packin an xd9000 too, and tilt up 20' sections of sheared 2x6 walls. I found that pulling upward helps bend the saggy bull back into position. Just make sure to check the bolts frequently. P.S. If you have a body lift, plan on custom mounts anyhow. that 2"gap looks like turdz on a $600 horseweeny of a bumper.

Crux

Did ARB ever come up with a solution for this problem?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Did you read the thread? There is a solution already, just not ARBs.

FilthyRich

my turn at the frame mod. what a cheap design. oh well at least there is a true fix and it's not too costly.

RockComa

I not to sure it's an ARB problem as much as a tacoma frame problem. I use a custom built bumper myself and it attached to the factory points but also attaches through the frame rails on a mount that has nuts welded inside the frame then is bolted though the frame from the sides and top. The mount is class 5 tow hit material and actually has a bit of wobble to it after almost 4 years of abuse. From what I see the frame is actually weakining from all the years of weight and winch pulls. Of course my bumper is also heavier than an ARB.

On the prado note there is a tacoma I ride with that has the prado bar and I like it. Only really needed to make you happy is to cut the top bars off due to they cause a glare at night especially in the rain b/c of the design. Heck I even like the prado snorkels better just b/c they runn almost the length of the fender like the older trucks do

Ducky

Yea it doesn't help when you drill kinda diagonally too =)

Yea this is HIGHLY recommended to do to anyone with an ARB... I had Rob and Chrisco, and Jowie helping me, did it when I installed my winch, a good time to do it...

FilthyRich

the design of the ARB sahara bar i.e. bumoer brackets, attach to the outside and bottom of the frame and then a bolt horizontally through the frame to the bracket. The fact the bracket is not attched through the frame is the culprit. gotta love re-engineering expensive things. LOL

yotaluver

the problem with making the bumper really strong is if you hit something hard u r gonna mess up your frame