I have been pricing the two of these out and the warn is about 210 dollars more... thats rediculous.. its not even a bumper, and its made in the US so there is no import cost... WTF is up with that, anyone have a clue?

 

-says warn on it

-doesnt replace oem bumper. (yes, there are those that still want to keep that look AND still run a winch..dunno why though )

-umm says warn on it?

that one in the pic looks like a portable on a craddle though? i thought the trans4mer's were permanent winch mounts?

 

The transformer can either be a permanment mount or multimount... I want the muliti-mount setup... as I move from hard core wheeling to trail riding with the family a winch that can go front and back is more important... And it will be nice to remove the weight when not in use... as well as the less weight of the trans4mer vs ARB... but man its pricey...

 

Or you could get a shrockworks bumper that's $200 less than the ARB.

 

If they make a real sheetmetal bumper for your rig buy it, for those of us with rare models (T100) they dont make ones that are winchable without costing an arm and a leg.

From what I gather the warn has some +/-

+ Multi-mountable, remove winch when you dont need it/
+ Modular, buy just the buard or the side guards

- Strong but nowhere near as strong as a real bumper
- Costs more for what you get. You could just have an ARB/TJM or whatever bumper made to accept a hitch. Then you buy the warn winch crade that can be mounted on a hitch. Cost is a bit more for that set up...
-Must buy all warn mounting stuff, winchguard, lightbar, etc.

Overall I was looking into the transformer for sometime, but the cost is insane. I can buy a real sheet metal bumper thats custom made and stronger for about the same price w/o shipping.

 

Ehh, might want to check pricing on the Tacoma ARB, i don't think the shrockworks is $200 less than the Tacoma bumper.

 

Best quotes I have seen so far are

ARB: 799 + shipping (my folks live clost to ARB so no shipping, just wait for them to visit.. with a baby on the way.. no big deal at all)
Warn Trans4mer (cardle, hitch, light bar, etc..) 1011 to the door... (4wheel parts quotes 1225 to the door...
Shrockworks:$9,999.99 (but not released yet, so price SHOULD drop.. 4runner bumper is $979... Not cheaper than ARB


But the HUGE advantge is the off the shelf flexability, and there is acutally room for more lights on the Warn setup, and you dont loose the OEM fogs..

 

I'm confused, what are you putting it on? A 4th gen 4Runner or a 2nd gen Tacoma? In your sig, you list an '03 4Runner.

There is no finer front bumper made than the ShrockWorks. I love mine, as doe's EVERYBODY that has bought one!!

It's better designed and more functional w/ better approach angles than the ARB. As for that Warn set up, I'm sorry, that's just nasty. And it had no advantage at all for approach angle. Just my 2 cents...........

Get the much superior ShrockWorks bumper, and you won't be disappointed.

Just click on the picture, and it will enlarge.

[IMG][img=http://thumb9.webshots.net/t/32/32/0/64/16/2952064160086613829faTQWo_th.jpg][/IMG]

 

late model taco... buying one in the spring...

the shrockworks just doesnt do it for me... dunno why, its better than the demello... but I still like the look of the ARB best...

I will be going with the warn setup thou... its way more functional for my intended use. I am getting away from wheeling like I do in my 92, and going for a family camping/ mild wheeling rig. And a multi-mount winch is a better setup, less weight and removabale.... not overly worried about approach angle... sure the warn looks a little goofy with the winch installed as its in a basket, but i still think it looks pretty good..




on a side note, why not just put the whole photo in the post? they load so much faster in a post than they do on the website... and when you enlarge you now have another tab/window... its slow and you cant see em all at once... never understood that... maybe its just me... it usually doesnt bug me too much, but for some reason its super slow loading them on your host page tonight... and all the photos in the threads are loading super quick..

 

what about the TJM, they are cheaper, look good, and just as funtional as the ARB or any other

 

they dont have one for the new taco yet, and actually neither does shrockworks... multimount is what I plan to do on my next rig, I have had it before and it was more useful than fixed...

 

They're developing the SW bumper for the new Tacoma now. There's a good thread on the project on TTORA.

 

yeah i have seen it....