ASK ARB – Toyota
LandCruiser 200 Series

Dear ARB,

As the owner of a LandCruiser 200 Series, I am concerned by the recent Safety Recall Campaign issued by Toyota Motor Corporation. The recall relates to a problem with genuine Toyota bull bars, and possible fatigue that these bars can cause to the vehicle’s chassis. Does this issue affect ARB bull bars?

Paul

Dear Paul,

When we released the ARB bull bar for the LandCruiser 200 in the Winter 2008 edition of ARB 4×4 Action, we made the following statement.

The frontal chassis characteristics of this vehicle necessitated the development of the most complex and sophisticated mounting system ever developed by ARB. This has resulted in a mounting system that actually strengthens the vehicle’s chassis, ensuring the bull bar provides a huge amount of protection, and, in the case of the winch bar, serves as a superb winching platform.

Since releasing our range of bull bars for the 200, we have sold thousands of them in markets around the world, and we have not seen a single failure.

One of the unique characteristics of our bull bar mount for the LandCruiser 200 is a tension rod that extends over 200mm into each of the vehicle’s chassis rails, securing to a specifically engineered clevis nut. This feature is an ARB innovation, and is found on all of our deluxe, commercial and Sahara bars. Also, our unique one piece mount brackets are further reinforced to the chassis by engaging at the lower section of the chassis sandwiched under the tow hook. This combined with the tension rod, and the overall strength of our mounting system, ensures that the integrity of the chassis is totally uncompromised.

We constantly try and educate our customers on the importance of mounting systems, and the fact that more attention should be paid to what’s behind the bar rather than its cosmetic appearance from the front. ARB has built its reputation on the integrity of its bull bars, and as stated in our catalogue, the mounting system is the single most important aspect of any bull bar design.

We sometimes receive criticism at ARB for the length of time it takes to develop equipment for new vehicles. In the case of the 200, we were one of the last manufacturers to release a bull bar. However, the long lead times are as a consequence of the massive amount of design, development and testing work we undertake, to ensure our products function as intended, and have no adverse effect on any aspect of the vehicle’s performance.

Rest assured Paul, you have absolutely no cause for concern if your LandCruiser is fitted with an ARB bull bar.

Regards,

Matt Frost
(Marketing Manager)