Bull bars.... Why?

jdk62

jdk62

Joined
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As the title really.

Have seen quite a number of Motorhomes on our current trip with them and wonder why?

Personally I can’t see the point
 
Cheshirecat57 said:
Are they even legal under condition and use laws? I honestly don't know
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They are not illegal under UK C&U law. The Department for Transport however did issue advice (opinion) that they should not be used and only those that bear an approved mark could be used after May 2007.
 
jdk62 said:
As the title really.

Have seen quite a number of Motorhomes on our current trip with them and wonder why?

Personally I can’t see the point
Click to expand...
Enlighten us please, where have you been to see all these motorhomes with bull bars fitted, were
they driving, parked or at a bull bar owners club meet?. I've possibly seen only a couple in nearly
10 years of motorhoming. Autotrail fitted them a few years ago but it was only a short production
run.
 
They're for when you want to squish people who annoy you, such as campsite wardens etc and don't want to damage your MH ... they are not bull bars, as in the animal, but bullsh*t bars ... :D
 
Must admit I've never seen them on a MH. Will have to keep a look out.
 
Oh bugger, should I cancel my order for the accessories for the Beast then :rofl:
sprinter_van_conversion_the_adventure_portal_10-820x560.jpg

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Cheshirecat57 said:
Are they even legal under condition and use laws? I honestly don't know
Click to expand...


The law says :-

From 25th May 2007 for motor vehicles categorised as M1 (a passenger carrying vehicle not exceeding 3.5 tonnes and not more than 8 passengers) or N1 (a goods vehicle not exceeding 3.5 tonnes) it will only be legal to manufacturer and sell bull bars that comply with EU Directive 2005/66/EC.

It will be illegal to manufacture and sell bull bars that do not conform to this legislation punishable by a maximum penalty, to be imposed within the UK, of 12 months imprisonment and/or a fine of £20,000.

So it's the usual grey area that refers to manufacture and leaves it wide open if you have them on your vehicle and I'm sure it would be a great way out for your insurance company.
 
Two on Tour said:
The law says :-

From 25th May 2007 for motor vehicles categorised as M1 (a passenger carrying vehicle not exceeding 3.5 tonnes and not more than 8 passengers) or N1 (a goods vehicle not exceeding 3.5 tonnes) it will only be legal to manufacturer and sell bull bars that comply with EU Directive 2005/66/EC.

It will be illegal to manufacture and sell bull bars that do not conform to this legislation punishable by a maximum penalty, to be imposed within the UK, of 12 months imprisonment and/or a fine of £20,000.

So it's the usual grey area that refers to manufacture and leaves it wide open if you have them on your vehicle and I'm sure it would be a great way out for your insurance company.
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I don't agree, if it is not illegal then the insurance company cannot do anything about it.
 
Many years ago I wish I had them on my old VW pickup truck when a suicidal sheep jumped out in front of me coming over the moors from Buxton. It wrote the truck off.
 
Minxy Girl said:
I don't agree, if it is not illegal then the insurance company cannot do anything about it.
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Are you sure ?, they could use the part of the road traffic act that loosely says as long as the bull bars do not cause an increased risk to “passengers, pedestrians and other road users”, what do you think, would an insurance company use that tact ?
 
It's "horses for courses" - useful in big game regions like Africa. We had a scary moment when a large kudu lept out of the bush right in front of us. A few milliseconds earlier and we would have been squished severely, probably fatally. Driving a VW campervan at the time with no bull-bar protection.

Driving at night through camel country in the middle east is highly risky. The camels like the warm tamac. If you hit one it's usually fatal as the body falls through the cab. Only a full height bull-bar would save you in that scenario.

My brother-in-law hit a deer at night in the Ashdown forest in Sussex. Fortunately it didn't come through the windscreen. So it does happen but bull-bars are generally unnecessary in Europe.
 
I would imagine they are more popular in the Nordics due to the Moose on the road.

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I don’t need builbars I need bullshit defenders for my ears
 
Basically re legality of having one on a vehicle any model made after 2007 should not have one as it would have to have been made or supplied after the cut off date .
I have one on my land-rover it has the winch mount built in , it was for overland travel , and operation in Australia , where it was tested out by 3 Kangaroos , and one Emu ! Just before I left UK with the Landy it
was hit part head on by a ford car on a country lane , I had come to a stop , the ford was write off , the bull bar had a quick spray can tidy up . No one injured . The landrover has a separate chassis , they don't work with modern crumple zone vehicles. I made a front bar in Aluminium for my RV , as there was no structure untill nearly three feet behind front body panel . It served purpose of mounting point for extra headlamps for continental use, also a mount for recovery point . It also would prevent a normal car from submarining under the front of a 12 ton vehicle in the event of a head on impact . The same purpose as served by a rear under-run bar on a hgv .
 
I don’t think the bull bar per se would be a reason for the insurance company not to pay out.

But unless it was part of the manufacturers original specification /factory fit option it would be a modification, which you would be obliged to disclose. The presence of a bull bar would definitely increase the risk to third parties (not frequency, but cost).

So if you have a bull bar and didn’t disclose it and your insurer refused to pay out, you are the author of your own misfortune...
 
My father had them on the front of his Discovery years ago and the insurance came down dramatically when he took them off.
Probably saved a gallon a week as well.

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We have managed in 15 years in France to clobber a deer and a wild boar (no ... not me ... a real one) with our Citroen ZX, modest damage each time, would not normally consider bull bars ... but ... these days in France .... maybe .... just maybe ... to push the bloody Gillet Jaunes out of the way, maybe a very good idea.
 
jetlag03 said:
We have managed in 15 years in France to clobber a deer and a wild boar (no ... not me ... a real one) with our Citroen ZX, modest damage each time, would not normally consider bull bars ... but ... these days in France .... maybe .... just maybe ... to push the bloody Gillet Jaunes out of the way, maybe a very good idea.
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I hit a hare with our old Citroen zx and it smashed the bumper glad it wasn’t a deer
 
I see quite a few around on older Motorhomes. Usually Transit based
 
Always liked the look of bull bars..
I reckon firms are missing a trick too
Make them out of soft(ish) plastic...Get the look with no weight, help protect the front end, AND be pedestrian safe ( actually night even be safer for pedestrians ! )

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