Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hi all, i have an alloy bar on my sierra which i dont like the look of, im tryna get hold of another style im after, but also is it safe to have a winch on it? im assume alloy is no where near as strong as a steel bar but is it safe enough to hold a winch?

anyone run an alloy winch bar? any problems? bending/deforming under winch load?

cheers, Islandvitara

it's not the bar so much that holds the winch but the winch cradle. If you have a decent one of those attached to the vehicle the alloy bar holding it should be fine, if of course it is a winch compatible bar

I've never seen an alloy winch bar...

no reason why a custom fabbed one wouldnt be able to be made though - steel mid section bolting to chassis and winch and alloy bar bolted over that?

Still, why not got steel and just use a thinner wall? same strength as alloy, a touch heavier, but no stress cracks and can always be bent back into shape if it gets a bump...

No dont use a winch in an alloy bar unless it has steel reinforcement.

hmmm i like the look of polished alloy so thats why id like to have an alloy bar but in the future i'll need a winch - so a non-winch compatible alloy bar, can that be modified with steel reinforment or something to make it winch compatible?

AFAIK, alloy bullbars can't be made strong enough (feasibly) to take winching forces long term.

The problem is the cost of the alloys required to build that kind of strength and durability, quality control in the welding process (including heat treatment?) and the method of mounting.- i.e distributing the load.

My guess is that an alloy bar that was strong enough to take heavy winching would cost many thousands of dollars to produce, and would likely require chassis modifications to add enough load distributing mounts.

anyway, that's kinda off the topic. Alloy bullbars used with winches have a steel cradle inside them that the winch bolts to. The bar itself won't be strong enough for winching, and on a sierra, the weak point is going to be around the mounts.

In any case, alloy bars are a terrible choice for a 4WD that sees off road use. They fatigue, they're brittle, and they're never strong enough to prevent damage to the vehicle in circumstances where a steel bar would just need the paint touching up.

I have owned a car with an alloy bullbar. It did all of the stuff mentioned above.

Get an ARB bar and spray paint it with chrome paint is you want a shiny winch bar.

Just my 2C.

Steve.

i was thinkin of puttin a winch but i have a alloy bar, the way i was thinking was to fab some brackets up to bolt to the chassi and have the winch bolted straight to the new mounts behind the alloy bar. so it works seperately

I have had a few alloy bared 4x4's and have been happy with the performance of the bars, they have been used in anger (boucing marsupials, a small bovine) A few trees, some ruts and rocks, sure they are not ultimatley as strong as a steel unit but for most of the population they work well enough.
Especially when you consider the weight penalty of steel bullbar and winch Vs alloy bull bar steel cradle and winch.

Biggest issue with most alloy bull bars is they are UGLY.

Gwagensteve wrote: Get an ARB bar and spray paint it with chrome paint is you want a shiny winch bar.

Just my 2C.

Steve.

something i'd do if i could get my hands on chrome spraypaint hahaha thanks steve


as for ugly - ive seen a great looking alloy bar on a sierra up here in townsville, different to mine and polished looked hot!! i'll find pics of the style im after and post em along with pics of mine...

as for danssurf82 -

i was thinkin of puttin a winch but i have a alloy bar, the way i was thinking was to fab some brackets up to bolt to the chassi and have the winch bolted straight to the new mounts behind the alloy bar. so it works seperately i was thinking that aswell!!!

i was thinking this too - would this be an ideal option for those of us wanting an alloy bar and winch setup?
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I'm planning on fitting a Warn 6000 or similar behind my alloy bar, which I believe was made by ECB.



My plan is to make up a steel winch cradle behind the bar that does all of the work, then bolt the bar to that. I hope it will work because I like the look of my current bar, and so far it has done the job well! If my plan doesn't work out then I will be forced to go an ARB winch bar I guess... Hopefully someone has successfully made this work?

Cheers,

Pez

thats the style of alloy bar im talking bout!!! but chromed up lol hope someone's done the mod we talkin bout!! if so how'd they do it?

Yeah I like it. It works well too - it has a good approach angle and so far has survived a few knocks. Mine is painted in black hammer-tone.

There is a fair bit of room behind the bar for a winch and cradle. I'm still a few months off getting onto that project, but I'll keep you posted!

Pez