[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by aardvarcus

Before you bolt anything sticking out on the front of your truck, remember that your truck has factory airbags that are sensored off of deceleration. The front of your tacoma includes a crumple zone, which means impacts don't instantaneously decelerate, instead the impact is spread out over time as the front crumples. This translates into less deceleration for the same impact versus having no crumple zone.

Why does this matter? A front hitch would be rigidly mounted straight to the frame with no give, basically "bypassing" the crumple zone for impacts to the hitch. With a steel tool carrier in the rigidly mounted hitch it is possible that a small impact could result in more of a jarring force from the almost instant deceleration and set off the airbags when they are not needed.

If you look at certain steel bumpers marketed as "airbag compatible" for tacomas, like ARB, they actually include special bumper mounts which actually act like crumple zones in an accident to prevent this from happening.

I just wanted to make sure you were informed of this potential issue.

Thanks