How durable are after market bumpers

I was wondering if anyone had any accidents with any of the after market steel bumpers, and how durable are they? are they just for show ?

 

You original bumper is just for show, as well.

There really is no winning an argument on what bumper is best.

Any bumper is going to deform on an impact. That's what they are supposed to do.

 

Durable enough that a hard hit can bend the frame they are attached to.

Light hits will do much better than the plastic bumper covers the vehicle comes with.

 

I've always been interested to know how they stand up to hitting a deer.

I hit a small one in my old Gen 1 taco at about 40, and it bent the bumper in enough that it was contacting the tire. Was able to bend it back enough to limp home. Repair bill was around $3500. I'd like to think a steel bumper would have survived that just fine. Scared to think what the bill would be on my 3rd gen.

 

Good thread here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/plate-bumpers-after-impact-with-pics.379600/

 

ARB is one of the more stout, and are “airbag certified”.

 

Aftermarket bumpers are not designed for high speed impacts. They are designed for low speed impacts with rocks, trees, the ground, etc. as well as being a place to mount recovery points, winches, and tow hitches. In fact they would probably fair worse in a high speed crash because they did not crumple optimally.

 

Something has to give... The more inward the week point, the more expensive it'll be.

 

With the exception of the ARBs which are crash tested and airbag rated

 

Yea I am not a high speed driver anyway, I am looking for something that low iq morons at parking lots can scratch instead of my car.

 

Which is skeptical at best. It's a great marketing ploy.

How do you verify or refute it's effectiveness.

Not every front bumper accident is the same as another.

Don't get me wrong, I think the ARB bumpers are some of the best built ones out there, but buying one because they claim they are air bag compliant is a bit miss leading.

 

Having installed both 1st and 3rd gen ARBs and seen the hangars they mount to first hand, I’m confident they are designed to and will crumple in a way that a solid hunk of steel bolted directly to the frame will not.

 

I don't disagree.

As a person that rebuilds wrecked Toyota trucks, I'm very familiar with what damage occurs when a front end collision occurs.

I don't think there is anything available that will prevent frame damage, no matter the bumper. Vehicle frames are designed to fold at remarkably low impacts and trigger the air bags.

My opinion is to run whatever you find appealing. It's not gonna matter if you hit something.

Factory or aftermarket bumpers are still going to result in frame damage. It sucks, but it's usually the case.

I just got done doing this truck. Amazingly little structural damage, but still 4 air bags deployed.

 

I understand where you’re coming from better now! Valid points.
My standpoint isn’t that the design would prevent damage to the vehicle but rather that it is safer to drive with at highway speeds, since it (theoretically) allows airbag deployment at or nearer the intended OEM design than other offerings.
If anything that would make the ARB more fragile than other options since it’s prioritizing passenger safety over impact resistance?
Idk… I daily drive this hog and their marketing worked on me anyway. Figure if it’s good enough for a ‘roo it’ll help me out with a moose, at least a lil

 

unable to agree,2 weeks ago before i installed steelcraft fortis, a guy on acura 2003 thrown his sedan under mine tacoma (lifted 2 inches) - i think it was a fraud attempt and i was saved by dashcam, so i hit him with my right side of OEM bumper at less than 5 miles, his left fender was smashed, ive got minor scratches on bumper, that's all

 

Pros:

I don’t know what speed this impact is but:




Cons:

https://youtu.be/872WWcUoqpY?si=VtxT4OjbokMjaki3