Ironman4x4 Bull Bar

[Little T]

I had one of the original Peak 1.5" leveling spacers in the front before my ARB bumper and winch install temporarily to pick the nose up. The bumper and winch definitely brought it back down a bit. My plan all along has been to install a new suspension lift with an upgraded spring rate in the front to deal with the increased weight. I think your install turned out great. Well done!

 

[sweet5ltr]

I had one of the original Peak 1.5" leveling spacers in the front before my ARB bumper and winch install temporarily to pick the nose up. The bumper and winch definitely brought it back down a bit. My plan all along has been to install a new suspension lift with an upgraded spring rate in the front to deal with the increased weight. I think your install turned out great. Well done!

How bad is the install on the leveling kit, I'm doing the front only.

 

[Little T]

Very easy. Strut top spacers are not as bad as everyone says. They are a great temporary fix. Mine like most had zero impact on my driving or ride quality. It did allow me to keep my 35's out of the fenders and not have rubbing anywhere.

 

[sweet5ltr]

Ironman Apex bumper made it out to Moab. No sensor issues. Everything is working, before and after the Christmas week wheeling. Quick shot taken at Thelma and Louise Point, drove from Canyonlands National Park back to Moab via Shafer Trail / Potash Road.

Made some quick on trail adjustments of the outer black bash plates attached to the center silver bash plate. Couple bends to those outer bash plates for clearance with the fender liner and it's good to go.

 

[Mtn40]

I found pics on IM's Instagram of the bumper without that center bar that's above the main bumper.
Is that bar removable?

 

[sweet5ltr]

I found pics on IM's Instagram of the bumper without that center bar that's above the main bumper.
Is that bar removable?
View attachment 55697

Def not removable!

 

[sweet5ltr]

So we've been wheeling in Utah the past week, around Canyonlands NP, Moab, and Capitol Reef NP. Mix of 2-5/10 trails on OnX.

Most insane was the very wet, South Draw Trail road heading out of Capitol Reef NP to Dixie NF, rated 4/10 when dry. Last 10% was a very narrow, gnarly hill climb on the side of the mountain that is completely washed and rutted out. It had been raining for a few days prior, so it was super-soft (where it's not recommended to do this trail). Had to commit the entire way up once choosing a line. It's so rutted that people have gotten bogged going down it from Dixie. Usually I'm not sketched out but doing this with 9" of ground clearance on 33's is a lot different than a Jeep Rubicon on 37's.

We survived, the line I chose held in 4L, rear locked, and 2nd gear pinned, and so did the bumper. We actually got closer to getting completely bogged on a section rated 2/10 in Dixie. Small creek crossing and two seemingly innocent puddles, checked the creek crossing and it was firm, but the soil where the 'small puddles' were was super, super soft. Again, 4L, rear locked, and 2nd gear pinned, land cruiser sideways rocking the wheel to inch out of that one.

After that we went to Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, UT (Matt's Off-road Recovery location) and drove in the dunes. Very fun little trip. Took it easy after and did a 3/10 trail to some Dinosaur tracks.


Bumper is still holding on, no bolts have fallen off, and other than that minor adjustment I haven't touched it. We've logged around 80-90 miles off road.

 

[gissentml]

Thanks for sharing man. I've been looking and patiently waiting for the right option. I think I'll go with this one too. what Oem buttons have you found? I have one from sticker fab that is pretty cool.

 

[sweet5ltr]

I finally got the winch wired up, BSS battery cutoff mounted in the rear cup holder for easy access.

Broke down and ordered a F55 Flatlink E and the additional protector plate, as the standard hook just wasn't a great fit up front.

One thing that's a bit ridiculous, barely touched the rear AC outlet cover in the back, snapped completely off. Couldn't believe it. Japan using Chinese AC outlets? Now, I've always had a surge protector plugged in 24/7, but didn't expect it to just snap off.

Not sure if it's just the cold weather (25° outside while I was working) but haven't seen that happen before.

Oh, and the red polymer cover for the positive terminal on the battery, yeah, the upper half snapped off too. Great quality Toyota! At least this was sort of expected, as I took it off to trim it in order to snap over the BSS 300A fuse block.

So this LC is definitely looking like I worked on it now!

 

[@Luke_Schnacke]

View attachment 55503

Finished up earlier with the bull bar and winch install, I'd say overall expect to have 16-hours free for the install. This was a job, 57-pages of instructions and be prepared to re-do your work a few times before finishing up to get it all dialed in. Parking sensors and all that are working like OEM.

Works with the FE skid plate as well, zero issues.

Instructions were excellent. I never felt out of my depth during the install.

Looks great, and on behalf of IRONMAN4X4, thank you for being one of the very first to get this new APEX bumper.

 

[Mtn40]

Looks great, and on behalf of IRONMAN4X4, thank you for being one of the very first to get this new APEX bumper.

Luke, do you have any idea why the US version has that bar across the middle and the Aus versions doesn't?
See my post #25 above.
If I could get the bull bar without that crossbar in the middle, this bumper would be the winner for me.

Or maybe I should say, Can you get that Australian version here?

 

[wpage]

It time for items like this to come out.

Unreal its taking so long for these products to come forward.

 

[@Luke_Schnacke]

Luke, do you have any idea why the US version has that bar across the middle and the Aus versions doesn't?
See my post #25 above.
If I could get the bull bar without that crossbar in the middle, this bumper would be the winner for me.

Or maybe I should say, Can you get that Australian version here?

It was purely a styling preference between the US and AUS teams.

AUS has a mix of hybrid and non-hybrid 250's; I don't believe this matters for the bumper fitment itself. So YES, we could pull one in from our international warehouse.