11 Reasons why we chose a GT Bumper as our Hilux Front Bar
Looking for a front bar for your Hilux? Well, read on because this article might just be what you're looking for.
Very recently one of the young lads in the office purchased a new SR5 Hilux. When it came time to choosing a front bar for his Lux, as like many other younger males these days, he decided that he wanted a hoopless (non hoop) front bar so when it came time to choosing one, he needed one that one he could A) afford and b) one that was of good quality and last the test of time!
Coming in at just $1799 the Rockarmor GT Bumper ticks all three boxes as its an ADR approved front bar, looks pretty good when fitted to the vehicle and 3 and has no hoops Bingo!
Here are 11 Reasons why we chose the Rockarmor GT Bumper for Adam’s Hilux!
1. Build Quality! We chose the GT bumper 1st of all for the build quality. For the last 2 years, we have been very happy with Rockarmor's quality! Their GT Range of bull bars & hoopless bumpers have been perfect. As well as being finished off with a High quality powdercoat, we like the fact that they go the extra mile and take the liberty of e-coating as well as salt spray testing the steel bar work, meaning you are bound to get a long life out of the GT front bar, regardless where you live in Australia.
2. Its ADR approved for use! The sr5 is a 65k+ vehicle, so why would you buy an expensive vehicle and then go and add some cheap & nasty products to the vehicle that have not been tested. For peace of mind, the Rockarmor GT Bumper has been tested locally by Australian credited testing plants and fits like a glove, no grinding or any extra drilling is required to fit this bar to your Hilux.
3. The price! Retailing for only $1799 it's about $500 cheaper than some other big branded bull bars out there.
4. Hoopless (NO Hoops) Its not everyone's choice, but for some like Adam, who don't like a 3 hoop bull bar on the front of their vehicle, a front bar like the GT Bumper is a better choice then leaving the front bumper as it gives way more versatility when driving offroad and more options to store more accessories.
5. Compatible with vehicle Safety Features The SR5 Hilux comes standard with front parking sensors, as well as a front radar assist module that sits just behind the Toyota Badge. The Rockarmor GT Bumper is compatible with both and will not effect any of the factory safety features.
6. Full Bumper Replacement - Makes fitting this front bar a whole lot easier!
7. LED Light Bar & Driving light options - The bar has an Internal housing just above the winch location, which allows for fitment of a led light bar giving you more ways to penetrate more light in dark conditions plus you have the option for another 2 driving lights on top!
8. High Approach Angles - When driving off road with a factory bumper you are very limited, and bound to come back home to a scratched or damage bumper, especially if the vehicle has not been lifted. The GT Bumper gave Adam the ability to fit bigger tyres on the Hilux without scrubbing his front bumper when his steering wheel is at full lock, which then gave him muc higher off road clearance when driving on tricky tracks.
9. Winch Compatibility - The GT Front Bumper’s 1 piece mounting cradle has been designed to store a winch. If you are travelling off road in some remote places, and you have the ability to carry a winch, get a winch! You just never know when you going to need it!
10. Rated Recovery Points - In the case you don't opt for a winch, and you are lucky enough to have someone tag along on your trip, or if your winch was to fail, next best thing are rated recovery points and Rockarmor have come again with the goods, making sure their Hilux front bars has rated recovery points standard in the their mounting system.
11. Access for a UHF Antenna, believe it or not, alot of these fancy 2k+ front bars don’t even have options for you to store a UHF Antenna! Well never fear, the Rockarmor GT bumper has got you covered!
Testing the GT Bumper Offroad!
After installing the bull bar on Adam’s Hilux, we decided to go a camping trip with the boys, we couldn't venture out anywhere too remote, seeing we had to be back to the office in 2 days.
We decided on taking the rigs over to the Bridle Track just near Bathurst only 3 hours west of Sydney. The bridle track offers some of the best camping spots in Australia with the winding Macquarie River spreading down the guts of the track, offering some fantastic views and the winding cliff side road from Bathurst to Hill End, makes driving out in the bush so nice!
The Bridle track is nothing too hard, some say you could get a Corolla in there and it make it through to the other end, even if it does say 4wd’s only in big writing at the start of the track. Saying that the roads are rough and thats exactly what we wanted, with a couple of creek crossings in between we could see how the Rockarmor front bar reacts to bumpy corrugated roads and off-road clearance when driving through a creek bed.
The GT bumper didn’t let Adam down, it held up perfect, being an IFS vehicle where the body is moving separately to the chassis, you need to make sure when fitting a full bumper replacement bull bar you give at least 15 to 20mm gap between the body work and the body, this allows for when the chassis and body move independently, the front bar which is mounted to the chassis, will not scrub up against the bodywork or front headlights. In this case, the GT bumper was fitted perfectly by the crew at Aussie Offroad Sydney and no damage was found to the bodywork or headlights.
Our Final Thoughts
As well being a sexy looking front bar, the Rockarmor GT Bumper is a very practical front bar, the steel body offers some good protection to the front of the hilux if one was to hit something and it certainly does give you more options when touring offroad with the support of a winch cradle, recovery points, access for more lighting and higher ground clearance!
If you got yourself a new model Hilux, browse our 08/2020+ Hilux Accessories online collection of 4x4 Accessories.
