Seems like next year is the magic year for 4th Gen with ARB.

ARB front bumpers will be out sometime in spring. If they modify the current Prado bumpers they will look similar to pictures below.

Rear lockers is the same as previous, but front lockers seem to be listed for availibility in 2005.
See note on application guide
http://www.arbusa.com/alac/215110.pdf

Lastly it is rumered that OME suspensions will also be out in 2005. I have not gotten a validation from ARB on this one. Need to contact them again.

Good news as it seems they are catching on, and we will be able to get some more stuff. Now to save the $$$ to actually get from mall queen to trail rig. Next year is going to be very $$$ with the 4R. Who said a Toyota is cheap to run

The Prado body styling is very similar to the GX470, so the Lexus drivers wight just be lucky.

To give you an idea what they will look like.

 

haha,
first glance I thought that thing was a CRV

Bumper looks sweet though! Can't wait to see what it looks like on a 4Runner. I sure hope they bring some stuff, they would be stupid not to. The way Toyota is changing their image and now that ARB has and official US distributor I don't see why they wouldn't.

edit:
hmm, looks like they are only making one bumper and they just have the different hoops now... that doesn't sound so good on the price front since they both look like the more expensive one now, but who knows...

 

Lookse like TJM has one too... Not a huge fan of the aluminum but I'm sure a steel one will come if they don't already have one... (notice the snorkel too )

http://www.tjmproducts.com.au/master_frameset.asp

 

Interesting thanx, I prefer the ARB one though, on picture value. Might think different after seeing them in real life. Is TJM going to ship one for the 4R or just the Prado?

 

FYI...That first bumper isn't available in the US..IIRC, thats the Deluxe Winch Bull Bar. I wanted that one for my rig since it had the integrated fogs, but ended up with the Sahara Bar.

 

Your guess is as good as mine. I don't own a 4th gen so its not as important to me as is should be to you, but in general TJMs are lighter and I haven't heard as much about them breaking from winching as ARBs but it could be because more people have ARBs I don't know. All I know is it only takes one person to hold my bumper up and my friend almost broke his back holding his ARB up (he also had a winch though). And I also like the modular design of the TJMs (something to think about).

Edit:
another thing I noticed is how both of them are mounting the Winches lower now... the TJMs is all the way at the bottom now. Better leverage when winching, espically if you get a body lift. Whicn reminds me about another bennifit of the TJM, it could adjust about a half inch up when doing a body lift if you ever decide you need a little more room for tires or if you want to get your fuel tank up and out of the way some.

 

Yeah, I'll have to look into it. I think it will be wise to mount the winch low on the 4th gen as the leverage will be bad if you put it higher. The frame ends is pretty low on the 4th Gen, I assume it is to make the impact with cars lower i.e. safer.

 

Austin you have good points there. Unfortunately, that TJM Prado bumper looks too ghetto-fab for my taste. I like the ARB stuff, kinda looks similar to the stock 4th bumper in a way.

Andries,
I don't see too many GX owners jumping on this stuff unfortunately. Maybe that one guy if he goes out wheeling with us...

"mall queen to trail rig"? Andries, don't you have it backwards? mall rig to trail queen. Malls are where all the damage occurs!

Look forward to 05!

 

If they actually come out with a 4th gen bumper I don't think it would look anything like that though... Look at the grilles... your grills are even with the lights, the prado isn't and thats why they have the sides go up like that. Also the hoops are alittle on the high side but the prados lights also go up high (not so on the 4Runners) so it will be interesting to see if they come out with one and also what it will look like... I also think it would look 500x better in black. I think a lot of the is from the bling chrome/alum. look.

 

Yeah I hear you Austin. The more options the better for us so I hope they do.

 

if someone wants to see the pics for the 4th gen. that someone sent us, just PM me -- they asked for me not to post them publicly, but i'd be more than happy to send 'em via PM.

edit:
oh, and they are of the 4th gen. ARB bumper actually on a 4th gen. doesn't look as great as some previous gen. bumpers, but still ... the fact that it's an ARB kinda makes the look grow on you.

 

I always thought the white Prado in the first picture looked great with that ARB.

 

Yeah that's a cool shot w/ the snorkel and all.

 

Where was this rumored (if you can say)? And did the rumors say anything about XREAS capable?

That's good news on the bumpers. The 4th-gen has been waiting to be taken seriously. So I figure if I lift the front 8" and the back 3", by the time I add a heavy steel bumper, a winch, and an extra battery, it should be just about level.

 

The shots above and the pics I have seen of a 4Runner with an ARB on it beg the question, can a Prado Bumper bolt on to a 4Runner. I would think not without extensive mods, but now I am not sure. Let's not forget too, we need an airbag compatible front bumper, the airbag sensors are in the bumper aren't they?

Having experience on my LC with a large bumper I would really like an aluminum bumper if possible. You won’t loose out in strength enough to matter but the weight will be huge on our handling, front suspension etc. The real question is $$$$$$.

 

I think Lance mentioned that the Prado ARB does not line up with 4Runner in a post a while back, IIRC.

All the ARB's are airbag compatible, I'm pretty sure. They advertise they are for the USA

I agree when you're building up a heavy rig, you have to deal with the suspension.

 

Frame mount location differs from the prado to the 4runner so no go there.

The airbag components are not located on the bumper itself so there's no worries there.

 

Would an aluminum bumper have the strength to pull you out of a really sticky muddy uphill situation? Assuming your winch isn't the limiting factor, would an aluminum bumper handle the load? There must be some drawbacks.

 

Typically they add thickness to the Al bumpers to make up for the lack of relative strength Al has vs. Steel. The added thickness is not enough to make it any where near as heavy as a steel bumper. I have used an Al Bumper and a 12,000 lb winch with a snatch block to pull out a buddy’s 4WD tractor from mud beyond the frame. So yes, in my experience, a properly built Al bumper is plenty strong.

 

kickaha,
yes. Jeff the Marmot is running a nice one on his 3rd gen.
The problem is $