tjm vs. arb?

[drum655]

ok so i know a lot of you guys hate arb and tjm because they offer no recovery points and all all that. but with that aside, i really want one of thw two!!! i think the look is better and i love the fact that they are both air bag compatible. so....if you had to chose arb or tjm, which would you go for? please tell me...and if anyone has anything good to say about either brand please enlighten me!!!! you guys rock!!!

[rmuller]

When I chose between the two, I went with a TJM.. better approach angle, cheaper and just looks better in my opinion..

Now that I've had it for almost 2 years, I'm ready to get rid of it and go with a RTE A-Bar model..

[drum655]

can i ask why you want to get rid of it? is it giving you trouble....ever had problems with t?

[keptin]

Out of those two I would go with TJM for the same reasons......

....I would assume he is getting rid of it for a spankin' new RTE bumber YEAH!

[bernardmann]

I third the RTE with A-Bar. That's what's going on mine...

[rmuller]

Originally Posted by drum655

can i ask why you want to get rid of it? is it giving you trouble....ever had problems with t?

Well, there are a couple of reasons.. the first is definitely the approached clearance angle of the RoverTym over TJM is huge.. with myself wheeling more and more, it'd definitely come into use..

I also don't like how the winch is.. since its mounted under the bumper, it's a pain to get to.. like right now, my winch is broken, but I can't work on it until I take the whole bumper off.

Also, when you go through a muddy water crossing.. it gets filled up with mud, and it's a pain to clean.. you can blast it with the power washer, but you can't really tell if you got everything out.

Also, I've "hit" the bumper a few times and it has shift up, made it all cock-eyed, had to readjust it back to normal..

Some of the things I'll miss though, is the fact that it's airbag compatible.. many mixed opinions on that, but its a little bit of reassurance.. also, I like the way the brushguard looks on the TJM, but when I go with the RTE I prefer their A-Bar over their full brush.. so I'll lose my limb risers also..

[keptin]

Originally Posted by rmuller

but when I with the RTE I prefer their A-Bar over their full brush..

heehee....I knew it.

..drum....its the same stuff I talked about in the last post....the things that make them air bag compatable are the same reason they are not as good as an off-road heavy duty bar. There is a ballence between what is good on road and what is good off-road....with all the high tech of today, its still hard to get products that are both.

It will usually come down to you asking yourself, "how much do I off road and how much do I need it?", "if I get more xtreme off-road wise will I have to replace it at a great cost", "how much worse on road is the off road one?", "how much worse off road is the on road one," etc. etc.

In this case, many of the ARB and JTM bumpers are being replaced for the reasons mentioned above....they look great and are safer for collisions, but they are worse off road for that same reason. I believe that due to the size of them, they actually take away approach angles from a rover with the stock bumper cut. RTE has pretty much been determined by many Dweb threads to be the best HD bar hands down that you can get for your rover. Its very very strong....supposedly better built then the similar looking Safarigard bar; comes in multiple versions; customizable to a certain extent from RTE; has the RTE support; flat out great product, etc. etc.

The RTE bar isnt much more then the ARB bar, though it does cost much more then a non-winch mount plate TJM bar, and a bit more with the mount. Perhaps the look will grow on you...I know it did to me. You also have to see one in person....I had doubts till then, now I want one with a passion.


You will have to make your own choice........choose well, for the right bumper will give you a better approach angle, the wrong one with take it from you.

[drum655]

well right now i don't wheel much....but with my mods that are coming i hope to change that!!! but still the air bag thing is a concern!!! my disco will be my daily driver and i think the tjm will have to improve over the factory bumper as far as approach angles go. has anyone actually had an issue with a tjm bumber limiting an approach or is this all talk?

[rmuller]

Well.. yeah, i've had multiple times where my approach has been limited.. but thats just as far as you want to push it..

I've never compared them side to side, but i'd bet the TJM has a better approach angle than a cut bumper.. plus, it's better to scrape the metal than the plastic thats just hanging there.

Airbags, search for it.. especially on DWeb, its been talked about.. the RTE doesn't "disable" airbags, supposedly it just changes the timing of it since you don't have crush cans.. it supposedly will make it come out quicker than if you had a "compatible bumper" .. that being said also, a non-compatible bumper doesn't always mean it wont be perfect.. it just means that it hasn't been tested accordingly.

[drum655]

ok...well tell me this... if i were to do some fairly difficult trails but nothing outragious.... would the tjm bumper be ok... what are the situations in which you have been limited by the approach angle?...oh yeah...and is recovery without a winch possible on the tjm?

[rmuller]

Yeah, you should have no problem in easy to moderate conditions.. I've had times where I've been trying to get up steep inclines, most of the time after I come down a decline (think of a stream crossing) where I've hit the bumper..

As for recovery options.. the only safe way where you won't injure yourself or your vehicle that has been found is to put two recovery hooks on the side of the winch tray since it's mounted to the frame and not the crush cans... some people have tried mounting directly to the bumper and found that it has twisted the bumper. So, add $140 or so for the tray, plus I think about $50 for the hooks/backing plates.

I mean, don't get me wrong.. it's still a great bumper, looks real slick and is functional.. just personally, I'm deciding to move on!

[keptin]

Originally Posted by rmuller

I've never compared them side to side, but i'd bet the TJM has a better approach angle than a cut bumper.. plus, it's better to scrape the metal than the plastic thats just hanging there.

hehe...yeah (plastic scrapage), but dude.....its got to be pretty close....

....assuming that I didnt have the bull bar;





As far as airbags go...what ryan said is true....it doesnt disable the bags, it just could effect them. I believe they deploy off of intertial sensors of some sort.....that detect when you go from 60MPH to Zero in half a second and determine that they should maybe possibly kinda like deploy the airbags.

[drum655]

i totally understand the moving on thing...i just need a starting point. and i think the tjm is a great idea, not to mention that i think it is the best looking bumper/bull bar out there!!! i just want to be able to get my rover off the road and on the trails! you don't by any chance want to sell your bumper do you? if so....let me...i am seriously interested!

[rmuller]

I'll probably be selling it within a month or two.. but I'm not sure if I want to deal with the hassle of shipping it.. it's quite large!

[drum655]

oh come on dude!!!! sell it to me! how much would you be selling it for? i will buy it tonight if you will let me!