Protecting Your Vehicle’s Front-End: Why Bull Bars are Considered the King of 4×4 Accessories

Drivers who regularly spend time off-roading or driving through rural areas know that a good bull bar setup can be a lifesaver. Roos, wallabies, and even wild boars are a reality of rural driving in Australia, and the prospect of one of these animals unexpectedly crossing your path between dusk and dawn makes bull bars a necessity.

Not surprisingly though, actual wildlife strikes aren’t the only cause of animal strike damages. Swerving to avoid an animal and striking a tree or another object can mean even more damage than a direct wildlife strike would have caused. And although the incident would be completely out of your control, your insurer, as well as TAC, may be hesitant to pay for any damages outside of physical injuries.

This isn’t a situation you want to find yourself in. And that’s why if you have to travel through remote areas at night, you want to make sure that you and your vehicle are as protected from frontal impact as much as possible.

Bull Bars and H-bars are Heavy-Duty Protection for Your Front End

Let’s be honest: while bull bars have always been a topic of contention, there’s no debating the fact that buying a high-quality H-bar or bull bars online for your ute of 4×4 can easily turn out to be one of the wisest decisions you’ll ever make. They’re essential safety equipment for travelling on any class of regional, rural, or remote road, and the reinforced safety they have to offer is second to none.

Australian Design Rule (ADR) compliant hoopless H-bars and 4WD bull bars are designed to be bolt-on replacements for a complete range of factory ute and truck frontends, and don’t require any cutting or fabricating. Both begin with a fully welded, 2.5mm thick steel plate bar that’s not only impact and corrosion-resistant, but is engineered to incorporate a host of features that include:

• Full frontal protection, as well as underbody skid and bash plates;
• Rigid high lift jack and recover points, rated for an equalized lift of 3400kg; and,
• Integrated indicator, parking, and fog light capacities

Most importantly though, there’s no loss of OE functionality or safety with an ADR-compliant, heavy-duty H-bar or bull bar package. SRS airbag testing and certification means that in an emergency, you can expect a top-quality H-bar or bull bar bumper to activate, and protect you just as effectively as your OE bumper would, but with the added benefit that your vehicle’s front is also better protected now than ever from impact.

Bull Bar Coatings That Lock in Good Looks and Lock Out the Elements

Superior quality H-bars and bull bars for sale are more than just heavy-duty protection, though. They also feature a 4-stage powder coating treatment that’s designed to keep them looking their best even after they’ve put in years of solid, sunbaked protection, on and off sealed roads.

• Pre-treatment. A phosphatizing process that starts by removing all the surface impurities from the raw steel, and then using phosphoric acid to apply an initial protective layer.
• Cathodic electrocoating. This is an adhesion process that applies corrosion and chemical-resistant epoxy to the complete surface of the bull bar.
• Prime powder coating. This is an added layer of corrosion and chemical resistance that also helps with removing surface imperfections.
• Top powder coating. This is the final, ultra-reinforcement layer that adds on, and locks in a smooth finish surface layer.

Make no mistake, though: no one should ever buy bull bars or H-bars simply because of their “outback aesthetic”. They’re meant strictly for use in regions where there’s an imminent likelihood of a wildlife strike. That doesn’t mean that they have to be unappealing, though; and these bull bar and H-bar bumpers are coated to look good.

Solid Hoop Specs for Bull Bars That are Built to Last

Although H-bars and bull bars share the same basic design, the bull bar’s strength and reliability come from its easily recognizable tube hoop. These ADR-compliant appendages can be found in either single or triple hoop configurations, and provide the crucial grill, bonnet, headlamp, and even windscreen protection that’s needed to prevent a wildlife strike from becoming a vehicle totalling collision.

Hoops also help to reinforce the body of the steel bumper and to dissipate shock in case of an impact. The key is in the materials, and rugged hoops rely on features that include:

• Mandrel bent, high-grade steel construction;
• 2.0 – 2.5mm thick / 49mm – 63mm Ø steel tubing; and,
• Full welding through the 2.5mm steel plate bumper.

Suffice it to say, these are the types of durable, long-lasting bull bars Australia needs for resilient rural protection; and they’re available for a full lineup of Oz’s most popular utes and 4x4s, including:

• Toyota N70 and N80 Hiluxes, and 70,76, 78, 79, 200, and 300 series Landcruisers;
• Mitsubishi MR and MQ series Tritons;
• Ford PX and Next Gen Rangers, and Everests;
• Nissan GU and Y62 Patrols, and NP300 Navaras; and,
• Holden RG Colorados, and Trailblazers.

Properly Provisioned Bull Bars and H-bars for Any Contingency

If you’re the type of 4×4 owner who truly spends a lot of time off-roading and driving through rural areas, there’s a good chance that you need an H-bar or bull bar that can do even more than just prepare you for a wildlife strike. You have to be ready for a variety range of contingencies when you’re travelling through remote regions, and you can find tough 4×4 bull bars for sale that are built with that kind of versatility in mind.

You can buy 4×4 bull bars that are already set up for accessories like:

• Electric recovery winches;
• LED spot and floodlights; and,
• Antenna masts and brackets.

With a new H-bar or bull bar, you’ll never have to worry about getting into a spot that you can’t push through, or pull yourself out of. It’s a level of safety and preparation that you’d never have expected from just a bull bar, but there it is.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, while a bull bar isn’t an accessory that you want to have attached to your 4×4 in urban surroundings, it’s absolutely vital for rural environments. No one wants to be involved in a wildlife strike, but if you are, you want as much on-the-spot protection for yourself and your vehicle as possible.

With a quick search for high-quality H-bar or bull bars online, you’ll quickly discover that there are ADR-compliant options available to protect yourself when you’re travelling through remote areas. It’s protection you never want to use, but it’s vital to have it with you.