Looks good, so jealous, :-)

Did you check if the bumper was ok with regards to frontal protection legislation here in the UK, or did you just go for it?

 

Cheers, can't wait to get it back on the road, the aev guys are trying to sort things out as I type.

There are a few guys running them. Since the age of the vehicle is older than legislation i should be fine. If not then I guess the hoop will have to get the chop....

 

Mate, the legislation unfortunately applies to all vehicles from end of 2006 onwards. I did a lot of research on this. Have a word with Chris at Surrey Offroad:

surreyoff-road . com

He was actually present when the directive was constructed and was part of the team that made it.

From his website:

The powers that be have decided that it is no longer acceptable to have bullbars and the like on the front of your vehicle. This basically means that it is now illegal to fit anything that strengthens the front of your vehicle. (although the regulations are about as clear as mud!)

Whilst this is good news for pedestrians, it does present problems for working/competition/ expedition vehicles. There doesn’t appear to be any mechanism to allow you to appeal for dispensation, if you are for example, a forester, where you require a winch and some frontal protection for working around trees or need a frame to work ladders from.

As ever, it is a well intentioned but badly thought through plan with virtually no consultation with end users. For example some of the military vehicles and up armoured saloons/SUV’s etc will fall foul of the same regulation.

The new regulations came into force on May 25th 2007. They have imposed punitive fines and or a jail sentence for anyone found guilty of breaching the law.

The regulations are open to interpretation and are not clearly defined. However the crux of it appears to be that bullbars are definitely out, unless they are the soft plastic style that have been tested and approved. ARB style bumpers with integral bullbars are out. Winch bumpers and mounts are a grey area. So far I have been unable to get concrete clarification as to whether they are included in this, but the general view appears to be that the winchbumper and winch are considered to be equipment rather than Frontal Protection and as such are not covered by the regulations at this point. However that may all change yet.

The crux of it appears to be that a winchbumper is Ok providing it is mounting a winch and does not include bumperettes, A frames, an integral or bolt on bullbar.

We are now part of a consultation group for the Department for Transport and will endeavour to fight the corner for common sense on these matters and will keep you posted here on progress.

The future does not look good for 4×4’s continuing in the current vein of having loads of goodies strapped all over the front, the legislation is looking to make things safer for other road users and are out to get the vehicles made as safe as possible. Ultimately the regulations that set out the legal requirements for the contact points on the front of vehicles when they encounter a pedestrian will compromise the approach angles with regards to off roading. There are interesting times ahead!

We will continue working on some alternative ideas, including development of product that will work off-road and on and still meet the new requirements. Meanwhile our demountable winch products help with this problem.

I have attached some links to a few sites that will give you an idea of what is going on with regards to the new EEC legislation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontal_Protection_System

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestr...vehicle_design

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...00L0066:EN:NOT

http://www.frontalprotectionsystems.eu/

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/F...=COD/2003/0226

This means that ALL JKs are subject to the above legislation. That's why I've ordered the LOD Mid-Width bumper without the winch guard loop.

So if you're gonna run legal you'll need to lose that loop..

It sucks, I know..I really wanted the ARB bumper but couldn't risk running illegal and didn't want to butcher such an expensive bit of kit..

He reckons that this legislation will eventually make it's way to Australia and the US, which should cause a few riots..

 

Wrangler07, thanks for that, I thought that was the case, it appears that the legislation is as clear as mud. From my understanding it comes from the EU and Germany has the AEV bumper TUV approved, including the hoop.

So nice to see we are all applying it the same.

Did Surrey fit your Snorkel?

I bought my Jk from Horsham, but we are up in Berkshire.

Interested to see picks of the LOD when you have it fitted.

 

I have spoken to surrey offroad regarding this issue a while ago. It is a European law and judging by the amount of AEV bumpers are being fitted in France and the guys I know running similar setups in the UK, Germany and Switzerland, it shows that the law is not concise and is open to interpretation. The sale of Landrover bumpers with hoops etc is still widely available in the UK and many people are still fitting them, the Jk is no different.

The link below are all JK's from near Paris....

http://translate.googleusercontent.c...jJUNLnFDkY7Rew

Ntgas, do you have any more info on the TUV approval in Germany?

 

[/QUOTE]

Ntgas, do you have any more info on the TUV approval in Germany?[/QUOTE]

tp://www.lauer-suewer.com/index.php have had JK with AEV bumper for sale as new with TUV approval, from what I can gather with my limited German, they approve the fitting as they are a TUV approval centre. When I read up on it, it appears that once you get your TUV certificate then all is ok and the garage that installs it provides the certificate.

tp://www.indiancars.fr/fr/pages/accessoires.aspx?cf=081&ii=1 is listed as an AEV dealer and they also have JK for sale with AEV bumpers.

The equality of the EU, something that is passed by EU legislation is up to the member state to implement how they see fit.

I tend to go with Wrangler07, in that we probable need something without the hoop.

I do know of one JKer that approached his local VOSA office and had confirmation that his bumper was ok.

Not sure there is any way to prove this without a court case. I am involved with other types of legislation and the comment is that it can only be proven in a court of law

I am still envious of you both, as I still have the acre of original plastic up front (for now anyway)

My current thinking is that I might go with tp://www.afn.pt and their JK front and rear bumper, do a search for AFN bumper on the forum and have a look.

 

4x4i mag has a Wrangle mod feature starting in the next issue, I don't think it is a JK, but should be interesting to see what they do.

My interpretation of the legislation is that your not allowed to put hoops/bull bars on anything regardless of the original vehicles age

Mag is out sometime later this month

 

I would have thought anyone who was involved in constructing such a useless and ambiguous piece of legislation would keep quiet about the fact, but then we are talking about Chris Bashall

ScotlandJK, your Jeep is now looking good (apart from all the chrome bits - ho,ho). You will find the AEV suspension a revelation. Ride and handling are greatly improved over the stock stuff. I will be interested to hear what impact running 35's has on the diesel consumption. Mine drops to about 21mpg on 35" Toyos.

Keep the photos coming!

Giles

 

I still think what your doing is great and agree, we need to see more photos :-)

 

I think last time they ran with a Rugged Ridge bumper, though it could have been the Warn Rock Crawler, both sans hoop.

I know a few JKs over here running a bullbar but from what I've researched they are at risk of being prosecuted. It's not just VOSA you have to worry about it's also the police and their knowledge of the subject.

So far, no-one has been prosecuted for running one in the UK but it's only a matter of time. I just didn't feel like running the risk of being the first one.