Originally posted by OffroadX:
How the heck could operating a winch trigger an airbag? Makes zero sense to me.
?????
Brent
As posted above, inertia, impact, movement...Hell I don't know, but it is a concern. The only people I have seen with a guarantee is TJM. My uncle who owns a shop mentioned this and it got me concerned. I asked, and got a reply. I do appreciate the info gained. If I do get one of these bumpers I will probably disarm/remove the airbags. Having one deploy while half-in, half-out of position...If say winching from the drivers seat you could end up with a broken back. They took the air-bags out of a lot of Police cars here for a similar reason...during a traffic stop the officer would be getting out of his car and the person stopped would throw their car in reverse and hit the cop car. Airbags are a good deal, and they save lives, but they are also potentially dangerous explosives mounted in front of you.
I don't think this is something to be overly concerned with, but I also don't see anything wrong with being prepared and asking questions. I have removed airbags on two vehicles that were used on the track, having them go off during agressive offroading would suck. I go out a lot by myself sometimes more than 100 miles or more from help, and so try to minimize the risk of injury whenever I can.
Anyhoo, thanks for the information Steve.
Cheers.
Charlie