rust on tjm bullbar

[vol]

Hey everyone, I just happened to look at the front of bullbar and noticed the paint has lifted away around the hole in the centre of bar its about 150mm long and 50mm wide where the paints come away, the bar is about 2 years old has anyone else had this problem with there tjm bar before I ring them this morning

[Lunny]

I am having mine replaced in 2 weeks time, but mine is in the loop where they did not seam weld it all. Though mine was only 3 months old when first reported.

[vol]

I think mine would be from not enough paint on the square edge . And being underneath you need to have a good look. But for a reasonable person you expect paint to last longer than this so it should be fixed.

[Lunny]

Mates tjm bar on patrol has done same thing, they didn't cover it but its 3 years old

[heps]

I have a ARB winch bar and a few spots on it not as good as they used to be mate has a Prado with same and his is shocking even with the electronic rust preventer he was sucked in to buying, I hear they athe bars are made in China now ....

[Cowboy Dave]

Look the ARB bars being made in China thing has been done over and over. The Vic boys went and toured the factory and ARB has posted a video of them being put together - in Victoria.

In any event, even if they were being made in China, that wouldn't necessarily mean they were no good. As has been said in another thread this weekend, the Chinese are capable of making decent stuff. Not saying they always do, just saying they can.

[Earthmover]

I've got two tjm t13 deluxe bars on mn tritons and both of them have got rust bubbling up under the paint, and coming through on the uprights where the joints are.
One of them came missing the plates underneath that protect the washer bottle and 8 months after reporting it to the place of purchase/fitting and them trying to get a straight answer out of tjm, still no plates.

[Lunny]

Been five months for me.. Getting painted in the next week to be fitted the week after

[Earthmover]

The same plates Lunny?
Glad to hear you got them, I'm starting to wish I had of got mine powdercoated to match the hammertone on the tray, don't think I can be bothered going through the hassle of trying to get the bars replaced due to rust when the new ones will probably do the same thing...
But even with the rust issues and missing bits I still think the t13 is the best looking bar on the triton, and seriously heavy duty.

[vol]

When I asked them about it they seemed to have done plenty . So hopefully something gets done . Id still buy another but get it powdercoated for thicker coverage of paint . They must laser cut the parts but haven't prepped the edges for painting well enough.

[heps]

yeah ok they not being made in china so what they not as good paint work wise as they used to be

[Cowboy Dave]

So what? Well here's a couple of so whats for you.

Firstly, there is a forum rule against slagging off companies and as ARB is a forum sponsor you'd have to expect that applies even more strongly.

Secondly, if you're going to slag off a company it ought to be based on fact and not hearsay that is manifestly and demonstrably untrue.

Thirdly, where's your evidence that the paint ain't what it used to be? Because you and one mate had rust spots on yours? Did you take it back to ARB and did they refuse to fix it? Do we know it was a poor paint job that caused it? Have you had their bars before and never had one rust and because this one did it just has to be the paint?

Honestly mate I think you just need to be a bit more careful chucking accusations and suppositions around, and even more so when this thread wasn't even about ARB products in the first place.

[Lunny]

That's the same as people bagging old man emu(arb)and most other companies other than ultimate ain't it?

don't get me wrong, I'm getting ultimate myself, but just a thought to add to this conversation

[Cowboy Dave]

It would depend on the basis of people's comments on the ome product. There were a few members who tried it and found it underperformed and posted of their personal experiences. Combine that with reports ome weren't offering a full 50mm and you'd have to wonder whether they're offering a one size fits all option without a full understanding of the Triton and what can be achieved.

Beyond that I think you need to look at it case by case. What you do see though is a number of people who move from other brands to ultimate and are happy with the improvement. I can't recall ever seeing it go the other way ie upgrading from ultimate to something else.

[heps]

Geez you guys arent happy unless you read what you wanna read.... little bit dramatic i think waz only saying what the state of my bar was not really bagging any company i have heaps of ARB gear on my triton, and i couldnt care less if ARB is a sponsor of this forum good honest comments from individuals.. go and live in china mate they love your style of regulation.....

[Duck]

Hey Heps, Not good that is has some rust but as they say judge a company on how they deal with problems

So what have they said about the rust spots ?

As for reading what we want to read, that is simply not true I read the girly magazines all the the time not because I want to just for the interesting articles in it.

[Cowboy Dave]

If asserting firstly that ARB are making their bars in China and secondly that their paint isn't what it used to be and thirdly implying that rust issues due to poor paint are common isn't bagging ARB then I guess I need to go back to school for some more education and such. As I think I said above we need to be a bit careful about how we frame stuff that we say about others in a public forum.

As for whether you care less or not, at the end of the day there are rules to how the place is run and we all have to observe them if we want to continue to access the forum - this is the rule in question:

1.1a If you have a problem with a particular company DO NOT post it up on the forum at all. This is easily construed as slander and bears legal issues. There are always two sides to every story and without the other persons view it is not fair to post your issues.

The rule isn't just there to protect the forum owner from legal consequences but also members for potential ramifications of ill-advised posts. People can and do get sued for what they say online after all and it takes no time at all to get behind any perceived anonymity that people think they have by posting with nicknames or whatever. Something people should bear in mind I think, rather than taking a more careless approach.

Anyway I wasn't trying to give anyone a hard time, just correcting an obvious inaccuracy the first time and it seems to have gone from there.

[Longranger1]

I have found some people's expectations are unrealistic with rust issues on accessories etc. The paintwork that is usually done locally can be of questionable quality - this isn't the fault of ARB or TJM (colour coding, not factory finished). It is a local franchise issue. They will choose the cheapest spraypainter they can get and this has often lead to unsatisfactory outcomes. Original factory finishes, if faulty, should be a warranty fix.

Of course, if you have salt encrusted all over your vehicle from a week of beach work and don't give a rat's and don't wash and maintain your vehicle - then expect rust.

Nothing more certain, except death and taxes.

[NowForThe5th]

Very true, but remember that most of these bars are powder coated first and the colour coding done over the top. Powder coating can be a bit hit or miss, depending on the amount of preparation, just like anything else.

[Cowboy Dave]

Yeah my opposite lock bullbar was a local job. The colour match was never right and there are a couple of bits where the paint has flaked off suggesting poor preparation. Hopefully the black underneath is reasonable. With the ARB bars I think it depends where you get them. I gather a lot of the Sydney ones for example go through the ARB warehouse at Chipping Norton and that they have a paint facility down there. Then on that bullbar construction video that ARB posted they were being painted in Victoria. You'd expect both of those places to be a pretty decent setup. Not sure where my ARB canopy got painted but it was a bloody good job and a superb colour match.

[vol]

Just spoke with Laceys TJM in Rockhampton and they said my new bar should be here tomorrow . I have to either change it myself or pay for them to do it but I was going to install a new runva 11000 winch which is why I seen all the rust in the first place so i'll take the bar home and change it out (have to pay a $1100 security so I bring the bar back though) So im very impressed that its all happened so fast . Maybe I should get a coat of jam on it before I put it on.

[Lunny]

They want you to pay for warranty replacement??

[vol]

Yeh I thought that was a bit wrong, I was actually steaming over the idea if they asked me over the weekend, but seen as I am actually looking to bolt on a new runva 11xp winch that I got at home next weekend I would just go along with it . Thought it would be a bit rude to ask them to put a different brand winch in while they were going , if I had a better look earlier I might have bought a TJM winch instead and got them to do it at the same time.