[TASSIE TIGER]

This is the 1st time since joining that I have posted anything on here.

Since towing my Grand Cruiser 3T+ caravan all the way from Brisbane to Tasmania I have been busy sorting out many things like renovating a property.
I recently decided to go driving at night on the back roads in my area, now I know why there are so many utes / trucks in Tasmania, the critters come out to play on the nice warm roads.
Several decided to play chicken and well you can guess the result, yes heaps of damage to the front of my Touareg.

It is still drivable but will have to go into the smash repair shop to be fixed.
So now I am in the process of designing a sort of bull bar that can be attached using the recovery points plus the chassis rail ends by adding heavy steel plates that will drop down just under the plastic front tray.

I found a Touareg for sale that has a home made bar on it and this has confirmed I am on the right track with the design. I will add more tubes to make it more like a traditional looking bull bar.
Yes the sensors are fitted to the bar and work as normal. The owner hit a roo not long after fitting it and while there was damage to the grill and other front items he still drove away instead of having the car written off.
If I do get it made and fitted I propose to offer this for sale and am wondering how many other owners would be interested in buying one and what sort of prices people are prepared to pay?
Can other members please indicate your interest in this project.

I do 3D mechanical drafting and design plus my background has been in welding and fabrication of all metal types, so once I have the design modeled I will post here for you guys to review and make constructive comments etc.

 

[seafarer28]

Here is a pic of one I found in AU for sale and saved a couple of years ago which you may find useful in your design stage.
Apparently it was commercially fabricated but was not cost affective/attractive and may be the only one made. I fear your issue will be with meeting ADR regulations or is there some way to bypass for low volume items?

 

[TASSIE TIGER]

Hi, thanks for the reply, I had found this one some time back and like many have decided it looks like it belongs a ford territory.
But so long as it does the job and I guess passed the ADR inspection.
I put out some feelers with a contact in the region where it was made and no one can tell me just who did make it.
Although I wonder how many people know just what tests a product has to be subjected to, to meet the ADR rules.
The big one is being smashed to destruction.
As the saying goes, it is easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
The low volume thing might be a solution, I will do some research.

 

[Singh]

Makes sense to have some sort of protection for when driving at dawn dusk etc.
There aren't as many buyers so not many options from companies like arb etc to sell one, so it's pretty much DIY....
I would like to see how effective really the night vision combined with anti collision is in the CR, it would help to prevent in certain cases but given its an assistant feature it cannot be relied upon 100%, so a bar is the final level of protection if you do hit an animal...

 

[2013 TDI]

Bar is mounted using the tow hook receptacles. Parking sensors relocated into the bar. Aux lights with filters to color & shape beam. 2" receptacle has a Factor55 link for the D ring. We also stab our Come-UP winch for recovery using the same 2" recepticle. Winch is stored inside mounted to the roll bar. The winch pins our ARB fridge to one side & National Luna battery box to the other.
Note bar was custom fabricated 9 years and 122k principally off-road miles ago. We both off-road & endurance rally. Travels have been from the frozen Arctic at Tuktoyaktuk down to the hot Chihuahuan desert.
.

 

[TommiT]

Doing this on my phone and not wearing reading glasses...

However some photos in this thread look similar to the purposeful looking bar on that white Touareg for sale and it seems it was compliant - but not cheap!

Touareg Bullbars

I was just looking around and found this Buffalo Fabrication - Heavy Duty trays and trailers for work or play.

www.clubtouareg.com

 

[PRY4SNO]

I'm interested in one, but it's definitely pending design/functionality/cost.

I like the look of the Eurowise one but it doesn't seem like it would do enough against deer, etc.

A unit similar to the one posted by @2013 TDI would be great if adapted to a Touareg.

 

[TASSIE TIGER]

Thanks to all who have responded so far.
I may not have been clear enough regarding the info you are including with your responses, I have done many many hours of searching the internet and thus have found all of the info you are mentioning.
It will be very different in each country but here in Australia we have some of the most demanding and restrictive laws in the world regarding motor vehicle modifications and accessories.
So even though it may not have been approved as an ADR (Australian Design Rule) compliant product, it can still be fitted and removed with ease for those annoying yearly inspections required in some states here.
Maybe someone can provide helpful info regarding the low volume point mentioned by SEAFARER28

CONCEPT DESIGN
Below is my concept design so far, there are still some more tubes, cleats, plates, mount brackets etc to be added and I will do this over time.
My intention is to go for powder coating for the finish, this provides a choice of colour to be similar to the vehicle it is going to be mounted onto, it is also easy to touch up with paint if chipped etc.
Mirror polishing ads many hours of work and therefore cost.
The recovery eyes will be an option as they are not cheap and a suitable bolt can do the job.
Any custom front bar is going to be costly when producing in small volumes, but what are the alternatives when considering the level of protection vehicle owners are wanting?
I want to stay away from the sheet metal design as this will take a lot more work and unless it can totally replace the plastic bumper then will still look less than attractive.
Plus there is the ADR issue to consider.

 

[mondial]

Doing this on my phone and not wearing reading glasses...

However some photos in this thread look similar to the purposeful looking bar on that white Touareg for sale and it seems it was compliant - but not cheap!

Touareg Bullbars

I was just looking around and found this Buffalo Fabrication - Heavy Duty trays and trailers for work or play.

www.clubtouareg.com

I had checked with them, but they said the previous owner had left the business including with those designs and they were not interested in making them in any case.

 

[mondial]

Thanks to all who have responded so far.
I may not have been clear enough regarding the info you are including with your responses, I have done many many hours of searching the internet and thus have found all of the info you are mentioning.
It will be very different in each country but here in Australia we have some of the most demanding and restrictive laws in the world regarding motor vehicle modifications and accessories.
So even though it may not have been approved as an ADR (Australian Design Rule) compliant product, it can still be fitted and removed with ease for those annoying yearly inspections required in some states here.
Maybe someone can provide helpful info regarding the low volume point mentioned by SEAFARER28

CONCEPT DESIGN
Below is my concept design so far, there are still some more tubes, cleats, plates, mount brackets etc to be added and I will do this over time.
My intention is to go for powder coating for the finish, this provides a choice of colour to be similar to the vehicle it is going to be mounted onto, it is also easy to touch up with paint if chipped etc.
Mirror polishing ads many hours of work and therefore cost.
The recovery eyes will be an option as they are not cheap and a suitable bolt can do the job.
Any custom front bar is going to be costly when producing in small volumes, but what are the alternatives when considering the level of protection vehicle owners are wanting?
I want to stay away from the sheet metal design as this will take a lot more work and unless it can totally replace the plastic bumper then will still look less than attractive.
Plus there is the ADR issue to consider.
View attachment 248522

My review of the ADR suggests that the following:

• protrusions may be an issue (e.g. recovery points)
• the brackets for lights/aerials etc would have to sit behind the bar not in front

Other than that it didn't look too onerous.

Your fixing strategy would be problematic - it would move the bumper bar support forward by the thickness of the plate and thus the bumper would not fit.

If I was doing similarly I would mount it on brackets that protrude through the lower grill (on my T2) welded to the bumper support (or in my case bumper support/winch mount). I discounted it as all too hard and plan to stick with light mounts and good lights.

I look forward to seeing how you go.

 

[TASSIE TIGER]

I have added plates for mounting the parking sensors and for mounting lights.

 

[PRY4SNO]

What materials do you have in mind for the bumper?

 

[TASSIE TIGER]

The bar will be made from ALLY, upper tubes will be 50mm dia, lower tubes 40mm dia. the adaptors will be steel.

 

[mondial]

I think there is a reasonable chance you could make a design that fits both 7L and 7P. This would give you access to a broader market.

I think the chassis rails are the same. (Still I don't understand how your plate can mount to the end of the chassis rails without moving the bumper support forward by the thickness of the plate, so a solution for this issue still seems to be needed). There are various different front skirts to take account of too - R-line is different, for instance. There are 6 front parking sensors on a 7L. Not sure on 7P.

 

[2013 TDI]

Off-Topic but while y'all are at it look at our rock sliders in our above photo.
These do not extend outward or down beyond the body lines. Did not want to increase vehicle width or reduce ground clearance. The front and rear mount points pick up the respective jacking pads - with another added in the middle. They do work w/o deformation - we have had them power coated again for cosmetics and corrosion.

 

[TASSIE TIGER]

The mount plates will not be between the front extension and the rails, they will pickup existing bolts (these will need to be replaced with longer versions).
I hope this explains how the mount plates will be attached to the front.

 

[TASSIE TIGER]

I think there is a reasonable chance you could make a design that fits both 7L and 7P. This would give you access to a broader market.

I think the chassis rails are the same. (Still I don't understand how your plate can mount to the end of the chassis rails without moving the bumper support forward by the thickness of the plate, so a solution for this issue still seems to be needed). There are various different front skirts to take account of too - R-line is different, for instance. There are 6 front parking sensors on a 7L. Not sure on 7P.

My bar has been set up based on an R-line, I believe the only difference is the air inlet holes, that is why there is a gap between the main tube and the smaller tube below where the bash plate is attached.
The whole idea of this design is to permit a fairly quick removal and refit process.

I have seen a couple of 7L models around here but it would need the owners to allow their vehicle to be partially disassembled to get the mounting points sorted out.
The shape of the plastic bumper bar is different between the L and P series, just how much different is yet to be worked out. Additional sensor mount plates can be added as required.

If there is an owner of a L series who really wants to get a bar and lives here in north Tasmania then maybe we can work out a way to get the bar to fit both or maybe develop adaptor kits, it all depends on how much that owner wants to get involved with this project and will allow their vehicle to be pulled apart.

 

[TASSIE TIGER]

Off-Topic but while y'all are at it look at our rock sliders in our above photo.
These do not extend outward or down beyond the body lines. Did not want to increase vehicle width or reduce ground clearance. The front and rear mount points pick up the respective jacking pads - with another added in the middle. They do work w/o deformation - we have had them power coated again for cosmetics and corrosion.

Your photo/s did not upload, please try again.

 

[mondial]

The mount plates will not be between the front extension and the rails, they will pickup existing bolts (these will need to be replaced with longer versions).
I hope this explains how the mount plates will be attached to the front.
View attachment 248556

hmmm. You wouldn't have that much face to fix to on a 7L which has a smaller lower part to the bracket.

 

[mondial]

Your photo/s did not upload, please try again.

See post #5 - the porsche...