1.75" square tubing EXO ??

B

barillms

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Eastern Ohio baby!
I'm not going to buy a tube bender... so I'm gonna make my EXO out of square. This is an off road only Jeep, and I don't care how it looks to be honest.
I can get 24' sticks for dirt cheap compared to HREW or DOM.
I think my local shop sells full sticks of 1.75" .25 wall for $50-60.

First off, using 1.75" square, what wall thickness to use? I don't want to add TOO MUCH weight.

Second of all....
At my bends, should I notch a pie wedge out and bend, then reweld the seam
OR... just butt-weld the ends together?

Or is there a better way to do this using square tubing?
 
An exo can also be used so you preserve the room inside. I don't care much about my sheet metal. However I have 4 other people myself and 2 dogs to fit into my jeep sometimes when we go to the lake. A cage inside will not work with all of them. I am going the exo route to help protect us and not loose the function of a cherokee.

Just my thoughts, Not sure what kind of square steel you should use.
 
barillms said:
At my bends, should I notch a pie wedge out and bend, then reweld the seam OR... just butt-weld the ends together?

Or is there a better way to do this using square tubing?
Click to expand...

Do you have any experienced buddies that could help you.

If you dont know how to mate box tube you dont have a chance at notching round tube.
 
ashmanjeepxj said:
Do you have any experienced buddies that could help you.

If you dont know how to mate box tube you dont have a chance at notching round tube.
Click to expand...

I'm not using round tube, so I won't be notching it.
As far as butt welding square tubing, it's not rocket science... I think I can handle it.

As for the first reply up top... External cages aren't to protect sheetmetal. Girly-men that care about sheetmetal shouldn't be wheeling in the first place.
Exo cages, and ALL cages for that matter are to protect the driver and passengers. Sheet metal, lol.

And I agree with you 100% about the room factor. I have an MJ, you put a cage inside an MJ cab and it's gonna be cramped bad.
 
barillms said:
External cages aren't to protect sheetmetal. Girly-men that care about sheetmetal shouldn't be wheeling in the first place.
Exo cages, and ALL cages for that matter are to protect the driver and passengers. Sheet metal, lol.
Click to expand...
I don't know about the "girly-men" bit, but I have always wondered about the whole exo-cage-being-to-protect-the-sheetmetal thing. I figured, if someone cares so much about his sheetmetal, he wouldn't be wheeling it or putting a scaled-down version of the Eiffel Tower around it.
 
The plans that I have invisioned for an Exo were based alot on the fact that I am a big guy that needs the space. I do run with my wife and kids in the rig also so the safety factor is why I have even thought about a cage.

I have seen Toyota guys build out of square stock and it doesn't look that bad. Noching different angles I believe would be the hard part.
 
Think about this... Full stick of 24' square 1.5" square .25" wall is $73.
1.5" square 1/8" wall is only $49 for a 24' stick.

I'm gonna get a stick of each to start (.25" wall & .125") Use the .25 wall for main supports, and the lighter 1/8" wall for tube fenders and other things to save weight.

24" of 1.75 OD x .25 wall DOM or HREW is much much more!
I can't afford that shit.

Plus, I don' have a tube bender, and don't plan on getting one.
Square is cheap, strong and I can work with it easily in my garage.

Plus not having to notch out each round tube end to mate them is really nice too. Notching square will be cake.
 
I was looking at a square exo for my XJ as well. Let me know how it works for you and if you decide to notch or cut and butt. Once you do start - post up some pics so we can see how it's going. Best of luck!
 
a guy here in tx did this with his zj and it held up but the looks where questionable.
i used 1 7/8 1/8 wall tube that is 27 bucks for 21 foot and bought a HF bender and whent to town on it and was easier than i thought it would be.
the notching is easy just try to make as many 90 degree notchs as possible.

the HF bender is 70 bucks and the notcher was 25 bucks.

The problem with cut and weld joints on square is when you roll and land on a weld joint the square will rip at the weld instead of bending to absorb the impact. Thats why most cages try to have the main hoop one piece up and over or front to back.
juswt my 2cents
 
I have an internal cage and have no issues with room. I still have four seats and a lot of cargo area. I'm 6'4" and the interior space is fine. A square exo will look like crap, be rediculously heavy, and basically suck. Why not just oder a D&C cage and call it good? A cage is not something that you should skimp on, it's too important to be cheep with.
 
Well I am building a exo, becuase I want to protect the body, I like wheeling, and wheeling hardcore, but I also like my jeep to look good, the cage is good for that, it also will end the expensive stuff like smashing windows etc. and most importantly it will allow me to lean up against trees and stuff to get through tight spots on the trail, and if I were to roll the damage is kept to a minimum protecting the unibody. I dont think protecting my investment makes me a girly man, it only makes thoses that say that sound like an ass
 
Nobody is joking here. Not all us rich-boys can afford to grab dad's plastic and have the local fab shop build us a custom cage for $3,000.

A square tubing cage is strong if not stronger than round.
An exo can be tied into the front bumper, and rockers acting as an addition to the unibody making the overall vehicle stronger and more rigid all around.

The difference is, the material is square... that's it.
There's no show and shine contest where I wheel, just lots of trees and mud.

If I can build a strong, functional external cage in my garage at home for under $250 then why not do it.
 
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