ARB verses The Rest

[doc evil]

Thanks people.
as mentioned, it wasn't my intention to have a go at ARB products. I love there stuff and if and when I get a new vehicle, I dare say there will be a lot of ARB product on it. My question was, and I probably should have been a bit clearer, is there obvious reasons as to why lighting products around the middle of that $1700.00 price gap shouldn't  be considered. And maybe get an idea of alternatives from members. I fully get quality of bullbars, safety gear etc are a totally different story.

Again, It's the same old chestnut..............Quality, R&D, warranty (if any), customer service/satisfaction and product knowledge.

Too many of the cheap lights dazzle you with lumens and wattage output. Reputable brands again , test their product and can give you knowledge as to what lux at what distance.

NOT COPY a product that has gone through the hard yards developing their product.

Remember when Lightforce were the ducks nuts in incandescent lighting even shooting their product with a shottie,  they still are at the forefront of lighting development with HID and LED technology however, so many have copied their lights. Like Hella et al, the can and do give you lux figures NOT watt or lumen output!

[Redback]

I bought ARB gear as a newby mainly because there was a local branch, they had the advertising and the reputation and I didn't know enough to evaluate other options. Every thing I bought is still going strong 5 - 7 years later.
The only ARB product I feel it would be fair for me to comment on is their fridge. So far I have owned ARB, Engel and Ironman fridges. I would rate the ARB the best of that group.

ARB don't make fridges, Waeco make the ARB fridge and the Ironman fridge as well as the 4WDSC fridge

I am fairly sure ARB don't make a lot of the stuff you see apart from maybe lockers and bar work, even the bar work is rumoured to be done in Thailand nowadays, I could be wrong though, I often am

I have an Opposite lock bar, has been great so far, I've had a couple of strikes, it's come out with no damage and protected the car, I'll put a big thumbs up for lightforce spotties, tuff as and was hit by an EMU and not a mark, just a bit of blood and a few feathers on them and the bar.

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

Redback, ARB freely admit they have a production facility in Thailand.

[Redback]

Redback, ARB freely admit they have a production facility in Thailand.

So is it totally done there now, they did at one point have it so only exported bar work was from Thailand and for the local market it was made here.

[Chris.]

ARB bars, lockers & associated bits are made in their factory at Kilsyth in Melbourne, you can do a tour & see it all being made. While some smaller items are made OS, the bars etc are not made in Thailand.

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

Haven't asked them specifically.

But this is on their website.
https://www.arb.com.au/products/protection-equipment/bull-bars-frontal-protection/

[vern]

lol
I would have another arb, just can't see why my disco arb bar was 1800, yet my Amarok was going to be $4800 only 2 years later, both were deluxe winch bars


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My amarok bar was around $2k fitted and colour coded!

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[lloydus67]

My amarok bar was around $2k fitted and colour coded!

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And had I got that quote, I would have an arb bar on the front, clearly the local distributor did not want the business. That's franchises for you


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[vern]

That franchisee needs his franchise revoked! You should have sent the quote to head office!

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[D4D]

ARB bars, lockers & associated bits are made in their factory at Kilsyth in Melbourne, you can do a tour & see it all being made. While some smaller items are made OS, the bars etc are not made in Thailand.

Correct, only roof racks and export market items are manufactured in Thailand.

[DrewXT]

Correct, only roof racks and export market items are manufactured in Thailand.

Not so... Most dual cab bull bars are made offshore, as are anything out of series 1 vehicle.  e.g. 200 series bull bar is now manufactured in Thailand unless they have critical demand in Australia, which is when Kilsyth ramps up production.  Kilsyth is more R&D and getting the machines dialled in than full-time plant these days.

They do, however assemble most of the compressors at Kilsyth - not sure where they mill the components though

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[Bird]

Not so... Most dual cab bull bars are made offshore, as are anything out of series 1 vehicle.  e.g. 200 series bull bar is now manufactured in Thailand unless they have critical demand in Australia, which is when Kilsyth ramps up production.  Kilsyth is more R&D and getting the machines dialled in than full-time plant these days.

They do, however assemble most of the compressors at Kilsyth - not sure where they mill the components though

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I'll let ya know... planning another club trip out to the plant soon, but waiting on a call back from the bloke twice now for last 5 months to confirm.

[trinityalyce]

Horses for courses. ARB mostly make awesome quality stuff. I wouldn't rank ALL their stuff as better than the competitors, but some of their stuff is definitely my/our preferred preference. Between all our vehicles we have a lot of ARB gear - both the Jimny and Patrol have ARB deluxe bars, compressors, and lockers just for starters. But it all comes down for what's right for each and their own - consider your own budget, preferences, etc. and decide what's best for you.

I personally wouldn't justify the price on the spotties this thread started out comparing. No way. Good options at much lower price that'll suit me just fine. But I would steer clear of the 4WD Supa Centre stuff too. A $35 action cam sounds like a great buy until you end up throwing it in the bin. So I've learnt my lesson with 4WD Supa Centre. LOL

I haven't heard of inflating prices as much as the Amarok bar getting discussed, but I have had different quotes from different ARB stores on occasion (usually only small differences, or someone else is more willing to discount to get a sale, that sort of thing). I live in the city, its easy enough to find one who wants my business with only a few phone calls.

[Me]

One of their canopies that I bought.

http://i68.tinypic.com/21kh34m.jpg[/img]]
http://i66.tinypic.com/nmg3eu.jpg[/img]]

Gap between the rear window seal & the tailgate when fitted.

http://i65.tinypic.com/260u0xh.jpg[/img]]

The seal between the tub & the canopy also fell out.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2zrg8z9.jpg[/img]]

[Rumpig]

It's hard to be too critical of ARB, sure they ask a lot but for the most part they sell quality products that are well fitted, on the other side is that they have invited into the marketplace plenty of competitors, ie TJM, Opposite Lock, Ironman etc who largely exist because people aren't prepared to pay the ARB tax. It's the old story, they are sitting ducks in the marketplace but they have made it that way.

I had TJM on my first 4wd long before I'd heard of the name ARB, it's not like TJM are Jonny Come Latelies by any means.

Not so... Most dual cab bull bars are made offshore, as are anything out of series 1 vehicle.  e.g. 200 series bull bar is now manufactured in Thailand unless they have critical demand in Australia, which is when Kilsyth ramps up production.  Kilsyth is more R&D and getting the machines dialled in than full-time plant these days.

They do, however assemble most of the compressors at Kilsyth - not sure where they mill the components though

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that was pretty much my understanding of the current situation also.

[vern]

I would say that is the fitters crap quality of work there Me, not ARB's poor quality product.

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[Chris.]

Most dual cab bull bars are made offshore, as are anything out of series 1 vehicle.  e.g. 200 series bull bar is now manufactured in Thailand

Wrong, my brother has worked at Kilsyth for the past 7 or so years, bull bars sold in Australia are made here.

[DrewXT]

Wrong, my brother has worked at Kilsyth for the past 7 or so years, bull bars sold in Australia are made here.

That explains why everytime I've ordered a bullbar recently it's had to come from overseas?

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[DrewXT]

I'll let ya know... planning another club trip out to the plant soon, but waiting on a call back from the bloke twice now for last 5 months to confirm.

You must be waiting for the same guy to call you back as I am

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[paull]

I had TJM on my first 4wd long before I'd heard of the name ARB, it's not like TJM are Jonny Come Latelies by any means.that was pretty much my understanding of the current situation also.

As far as I know TJM were started before ARB, but I could be wrong on that. Either way, they've been going for a while.

I have always found ARB overpriced. I believe in supporting companies that do their own R&D on their own products rather than just copying others but the price still has to be justifiable. In some cases I've also found their design philosophy to be a bit "just like the last one" which doesn't always work.

I was going to buy a Ranger and was looking at canopies. ARB's Ascent canopy was somewhat pricey BUT I felt had points of difference over others (such as the hidden side window locks etc) and therefore was justifiable and I probably would have got one if I'd bought the Ranger.

On the other hand for the bar work on my 200 (which I bought instead of the Ranger) ARB were a good bit more expensive than TJM for a bar that seemed to be an inferior product in my opinion and didn't suit the car as much as others. In that case I though their prices were overinflated and not justifiable. When you see some of the ARB showrooms you can see where the money goes though!

For me the 3 criteria I look at when buying stuff are:
1) Did they design it, or copy it/design it to a price? - I prefer to buy from companies who designed it, even if it cost more. If you buy a copy you're assuming that the company who were too lazy to design it themselves were competent enough to copy it properly. If it's designed to a price then you'll get what you pay for.
2) How vital a component is it? - If it is something that you're going to expect to save your life or you are going to depend on it greatly then perhaps the extra money for the better brand is worth it for peace of mind, both on terms of quality and overall support. If it's just a "nice to have" then risking the lesser brands stuff could well be a good trade off to save money.
3) How often will I use it? - If it's something you will use very often then again, buying the better brand is probably worth the extra money. if it's something that you'll use once every blue moon then the lesser brand may be worth the punt (pending the answer to point 2).

That's just my take on it. Everything has a value proposition and that proposition is different for everyone depending on the expectations of the product.

[Chris.]

As far as I know TJM were started before ARB, but I could be wrong on that. Either way, they've been going for a while.

Yep TJM started a year or three before ARB.

[Rumpig]

Yep TJM started a year or three before ARB.

i honestly have no idea who evolved first, just know that TJM have been around a long time here in Brisbane atleast, and for the earlier post from another Swagger to insuinuate ARB have paved the way for them is rubbish. ARB have become a very successful company and good on them for doing so, but they are to expensive for my liking now...most of their gear that I owned has never let me down, but the rear locker they installed leaked diff oil through the breather big time, which I've read many other people having the same issue also.

[Hoyks]

I looked around for a while before buying a bullbar.

What I did find is that a lot of the cheap gear is cheap for a reason.

The bar that you see on the outside might look nice and solid, but there is as much steel again in a good one just in the mounts holding it to your chassis.
I found a cheap one on the Cape, it had been bolted to the mounts that a steel bumper bar liner attach to with a standard bumper. The mounts were still attached to the bar, but the vibrations saw the ends of chassis cracked off.... it was abandoned beside the track BTW.

ARB make some good gear, but I do agree that there is an ARB as well as the 4x4 tax, if I could afford it I'd probably get more of their stuff but can't justify it at the moment.
TJM make some good gear too, it cops a 4x4 tax as well, but overall I generally find that the design of most ARB stuff just looks more refined.

I'm a tightass, I couldn't justify full price for even TJM stuff, so found some 'factory seconds' on eBay for 1/2 price. It had a few scratches on it from being shipped to Australia, but I'd just add more and wasn't too concerned and touched it up with a rattle can of satin black.
My driving lights were a similar deal, a TJM discontinued line for a 1/3rd of retail but still a good solid product. They aren't the best or brightest lights around, but are more than adequate.


So to drag the thread kicking and screaming back on track; Are the name brand lights really worth 10 times as much as the cheapies?

Probably not. ARB would have kicked in $$ for R&D and the reflectors in the LED's might be better focused and the housing better waterproofed, mounts better assembled and you would hope after sales support would be better than the superstore. But I think they are pushing their gear as a Premium Product and pricing it to match. It will last though.
Most of the gear out of the Superstore isn't just cheap, but also nasty. Bugger-all spent on R&D, they just get some Chinese factory to copy something someone else has developed and chuck their name on it. If you get a few years out of it, you have probably done well.

[rags]

I used to think the same, but got quoted $4800 for my Amarok bar
Ironman sold me a deluxe winch bar for $850, $150 to have it painted the same as my truck and $150 fitting
( I will say that I wasn't happy with the finished fitting, but that was the local installer, I refitted it myself and am very happy with the bar. I have since parked up next to a genuine ARB deluxe winch bar and compared, other than my bar has a winch cradle(a plus in my eyes) I can't see anything structurally different with the actual bar
Lloyd

I think your ARB franchise dealer was throwing in a free winch for your price. It seems exceptional and hard to believe as each and every dealer is committed to follow the ARB price structure that is freely published on the ARB web page https://www.arb.com.au/download/?fl=41280 . It will be part of the franchise agreement. You can squeeze 10% of for parts excluding labour for a decent order and show specials.
Looking at the one I have saved as a PDF (March 16) a amarokmbar should be around $2500 fitted plus colour coding.
Oh well Iron Man is an ok second choice.

[rags]

i honestly have no idea who evolved first, just know that TJM have been around a long time here in Brisbane atleast, and for the earlier post from another Swagger to insuinuate ARB have paved the way for them is rubbish. ARB have become a very successful company and good on them for doing so, but they are to expensive for my liking now...most of their gear that I owned has never let me down, but the rear locker they installed leaked diff oil through the breather big time, which I've read many other people having the same issue also.

TJM 1973, ARB 1975 as fledgling businesses.
I think you are correct Rumpig, TJM in the early days seemed to be the choice on Queensland vehicles and particular Aluminium bars whereas it was steel ARB down south.
I believe ARB have certainly lead the way forward as an innovative company.
As is often said, to copy is a good sign of flattery
Oh well keep talking them up, as the share price has risen 44c today or about the price of a bullbar for an Amarock for me.
I hope they will give me a few dollars in my retirement but I wonder about the future of this industry in 15 years time.