bullbars

[colindavies]

hi all.
i am atempting to make some bullbars for my van.
does anyone have a picture of the underneath of the van where the bullbars attach.
ive had a look,but cant figure out where they fix on.
cheers colin.

[teaspoon]

dont make any,,,,,,, they might not be leagal,,,,,,, try find some factory built ones,, because they are a factory option,,, home made ones are not.

[J J 007]

i would check it out first as some are now illegal

[Bryan]

Bullbars are probably illegal but let's face it - on the Rascal a pedestrian doesn't have much chance anyway since they're gonna get hit full height regardless of whether there's a bullbar on it or not. It's different with the jeeps where the bonnet is about chest height and if that hit you with a bullbar it'd be a different story.

The bullbar mounts to the front tie rod bolts (outter two bolts in most cases but I have seen one that only used one bolt).

I'll be making my own set up soon too once I get hold of a pipe bender.

[Pirate]

Bullbars on a rascarry are a good idea, as without them your legs are part of the crumple zone 
I have them fitted to my bambi & am on the lookout for some to fit my van.

[J J 007]

After my prang,fit them might cause. more damage to the motor but less to you

[RASCAL NI]

Yeah, they are definitely a good idea if you can get away with it. Should have seen the state of my vans front when my neighbour bumped into it...scary!!!

 A friend of mine made a bull bar for his Supercarry a few years back and went through Mot twice without a mention but maybe he was just lucky.

[Sham Courtney]

I'm gonna keep mine on just of the safety aspect. I also want to paint mine so they look good. I got quoted 270NZD (135GBP) to get them powdercoated but I might do it myself. Has anyone here painted their bullbars by themselves? Cheers, David.

[RASCAL NI]

I painted the bull bars on my Land Rover last year. Really easy...a coat of filler primer to so smooth them, and 2 coats of black vinyl finish paint. Really hard wearing & look as good as any powdercoating.

[rangerman77]

Hi All

Recently had mine repaired and have done the same - high build Primer and a few coats of gloss top coat.  Not perfect as over 20 years old and had a few repairs, but I'm pleased with the results for about £15.00.  More importantly the spare wheel can be re-mounted on it as well.

I believe with the correct brackets made up you can convert the Suzuki Jeep bars - there always seem to be a few sets of those on ebay.  Where as the Rascal ones are like rocking horse dung/chickens teeth.

Hope you manage to get a set.

Cheers

Mark

[Donk's Dad]

I have a pictur of a Bambi that had bull bars fitted that was in a head on smash with a car.

You cannot see any of the cab as its disintigrated and the car was rottaled.

The driver and pasenger of the Bambi both sustained just leg injuries, but unfortunatly the car driver died.

I am SURE the bars saved the ocupants of the Bambi. !

[spacehopper]

Hi All

  More importantly the spare wheel can be re-mounted on it as well.

Cheers

Mark

Sorry but I have to say this is a very bad idea - a bull bar AND a spare will make the vehicle very front heavy. When driving empty you are dangerously increasing the risk of rear wheels locking and skidding on braking.
 However of course if the vehicle is a bambi or other camper then the weight of the rear body will counterweight this and it will be ok. But for a van, I really would advise against this.

[rangerman77]

Must admit, the reason we've re-fitted ours after a few repairs is for the spare wheel storage, it is awkward in the campers as the only other place in in the camper itself - bit of a pain when your touring. 

On balance we do prefer the looks with it on.  I think the safety of a vehicle is always going to be subject to the design/materials used, but primarily how old it is/when it was built and the regulations that apply at the time. 

The classic mini is a case in point - even though they fitted airbags towards the end, it was still a 40 year old chassis design and crumple zones etc probably hadn't even been thought of at the time.

[RASCAL NI]

Would the spare mounted on front really make such a difference? I suppose when you think of it extended outwards in front of the bull bars its bound to alter something.

I'm plannning on mounting my spare on the bull bars...although I'm planning an interior fit out in the rear so hopefully I will be adding enough weight to the rear.

[Pirate]

I think mounting the spare on the bullbars should be ok on a van if you have some weight in the back, but doing it to an unloaded pickup is asking for trouble 
I have no worries with the bambi, due to the amount of weight at the back, but my spare is staying in it,s intended place....