Do I really need… part 4 – Bullbar

Bullbars are very much an ingrained part of Australian 4WD culture. You’ll see some variation of bullbar on almost every 4WD out there, as well as a whole lot of “normal” cars.

Bullbars are seen as essential safety items for anyone that drives around country, rural and semi-rural roads. The reason for this is that in Australia while we don’t see too many collisions with cows and other livestock, wildlife strikes are very common. A good bullbar will protect the front of your vehicle from a 50kg (or more) kangaroo going through the front of it, and rendering the vehicle undrivable.

The second reason for adding a bullbar to your vehicle is to increase your angle of approach and add strength to the front of your vehicle.

There’s a lot of different styles of bullbar, all of which offer different levels of protection. You can get the massive 5-post steel bullbars that are more popular in outback areas where their huge size and weight isn’t as big of a concern as their strength. You can get your standard steel and alloy loop bullbars which give a good amount of front protection to any vehicle. You can get bars that are only bars with no loops that offer better strength for rock steps and abuse, but don’t do much for collision protection. There’s also some ranges of new-age plastic or polymer bars that give a decent level of protection but are more light-weight and flexible then a metal bullbar.

I almost wanted this to be a ‘Must Have’ but in reality not everyone truly needs one. Bull bars are great for front protection, but if you’re not driving in places that need that protection, you’re just adding weight (and a lot of expense) to your vehicle for no reason.