smart bars

Better weight ,impact rebound,nil polishing/painting,nil rust/tarnishing,self repairing after moderate impact and as for recovery the idea is not to get yourself into strife in the first place and tow hooks f/rear are chassis mounted.

Some of these plastic alloys are very impressive. We have vandal proof security cameras that we use that have plastic alloy dome covers and cast alloy bases. I've seen the bases crack and give way before the plastic bits!

I don't really know a lot about the smart bar, but I reckon with the types of plastics they are making now days I can't see why it wouldn't be strong enough to do the job with all the weight advantages etc.

Oh and Truckster,
"cant wait for someone to recover off of one"

Do you use your bullbar for recovery?? bloody hell, I wouldn't be doing that IMHO.

Rated recovery hooks on the chassis mate.

I'm suprised you'd even say somthing like that hey, I thought you would have been a bit of a natzi about the rated recoery point issue!

Jeff, yes ..
The ARB bar has 2 spots for recovery hooks on them same as the old 40 series and 60/80 series, and MQ, and many others. You can drag people out of chit with them no problems...

Still waiting for my painted bar to tarnish, rust or need polishing.

Fair enough, point taken. I just remeber that knob head on TV one of those outback shows, who put the snatch on his old yoto's bullbar and ripped the whole bullbar off! LOL

I'm not knocking your steel bar either truckster, I'd probally go steel if putting one on the surf but I would certainally have a look at the smart bars as I think these new plastics are under estimated by most people. Alloy is a total pain in the ass, I've had them on both my previous 4bies and they look great when new but then turn to chit unless you spend your weekends polishing them!

G'day Karl,

I have always thought of them as being too "weak" to do the job, but did see a set-up in Adelaide last year at an exhibition where they had a bar mounted (on the back of a trailer I think) and had a wind-up ram type of gizmo that they could let go from about 10 meters. It impacted on the bar and bent it a bit, but if you went back later (like about half an hour), it had regained it's original position. Quite good really I guess; except that IMHO you really don't want it to "flex" in the 1st place......on impact, it could flex back and allow damage to the lights/grille/radiator etc then bounce back to original position, leaving you with a bill to fix the broken bits. My experience with steel bars is that, in a similar collision (like a roo strike), the bar will totally protect the vehicle and the only thing that will distort will be various bones of the animal.

Anyway, I would certainly rather have a smart bar than no bar at all and in fact if they outlawed steel bars and you only had a choice between aluminium and SMART; I would go for the smart bar without hesitation.

Cheers,

Roachie

Pajero NM, $950 fitted.

I guess their price has dropped considerably as their popularity has increased.

Utemad
I got mine in 2000 for $695 direct from rapid plastics. Is the same as the rodeo so someone was either having a lend or into serious mark-up ;-)

Tony Harding

I can't remember where I got that quote from but I remember being very shocked. I almost bought a Rodeo with one already on it though.

Oops! should have said Team poly not rapid plastics, they are nice people but they don't make smart bars ;-)

Tony Harding