Another Hybrid Cage Build

Lowrange2 said:
Do you think that tweaking the harness bar the way you did would make it weaker? Assuming that it did make it weaker would it not collapse in a HARD side roll? Wouldn't you be concerned that your child's head would be in the direct path of both the halves of the harness bar?
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This was my thought too. I like the idea, but I think I would have tried to brace it more.

kmanxj5050 said:
Why'd you make it removable?
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I can't speak for the OP, but I made mine removable for painting and repair if needed. Mine is very tight to the roof and there would be no way to fully paint it.
 
Lowrange2 said:
I may be over exaggerating a little here so take it as so.

Do you think that tweaking the harness bar the way you did would make it weaker? Assuming that it did make it weaker would it not collapse in a HARD side roll? Wouldn't you be concerned that your child's head would be in the direct path of both the halves of the harness bar?

Now, it may take a t-bone from a Semi to make that happen but I couldn't help but envision that.

Otherwise, it looks much better now! Certainly my favorite style of cage.
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I certainly considered that putting that dip in the harness bar would weaken it. I had originally thought of just cutting it out completely, but I wanted to keep the two B pillars tied together laterally. This was the best way I could come up with. I did make sure I gusseted the connection to the "dip" to try and keep it as rigid as possible.

I had also considered running a cross brace from the bottom side of the dip to the foot plate on the floor, but that would eliminate room for a rear passenger's knees. The back seat is tight enough as it, and not that I have someone other than the baby and the dog ride back there all the time, but I still want it to be usable for at least short trips.

Thinking about adding some tubing here:
cagetweaks.jpg


The other nice thing is once my daughter hits 20lbs (she's at 17.5 now), I can turn the seat around and her head won't be in there. There is some extra room on either side of the seat and the rounded ends, so it's not like the cage is touching the chair.

Do I want to put her in harms way? Hello no! I "think" this is the best solution I could come up with though.

At some point this winter I am going to add a few other pieces of tube to the top halo to cover up the front and rear passenger compartment a bit more. Still debating on how to do that. Some x bracing would be nice, but we'll see. I don't want to add too much more weight to it.


And FWIW, the roof sliders work awesome. Used them this summer down in Ouray. I was able to slide the roof line along a big rock in a v notch. Worked great until the Jeep slid off the rail and I put the rock through the my passenger rear cargo window! Oops...
 
kmanxj5050 said:
Why'd you make it removable?
Click to expand...

Just in case. Mostly in the event I bend or break something that needs repair. I should have left some more room to replace the front windshield if necessary, but at least if I pop the top I can still get to it. It's not like removing the top halo would be a piece of cake (have to remove front fenders and get in under the headliner), but at least it's possible. Plus it's not like I haven't ever changed my mind about the direction of the Jeep, so it gives me some flexibility.
 
kmanxj5050 said:
How olds your kid? They say 30 lbs or a year old here, until you put them forward.
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15 months. I think the law varies by state.

Child Passenger Safety Law (Colorado)

Law Summary
Colorado’s law requires children ages 7 & under to be restrained in a child restraint system.

Children less than 1 year of age who weigh less than 20 pounds must be restrained in a rear-facing child restraint system in a rear seat of the vehicle.

Children ages 1 through 3 who weigh less than 40 pounds, but at least 20 pounds, must be restrained in a rear-facing or forward-facing child restraint system.
 
South Carolina's Laws read the same.

Law Summary

South Carolina’s law requires children ages 5 & under who weigh not more than 80 pounds to be secured in a child safety seat or belt-positioning booster seat in the rear seat, unless the child can sit with his or her back straight against the vehicle back seat cushion, with his or her knees bent over the vehicle’s seat edge without slouching.

Children less than 1 year of age or who weigh less than 20 pounds must be secured in a rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seat.

Children ages 1 through 5 who weigh at least 20 pounds, but less than 40 pounds, must be secured in a forward-facing child safety seat in a rear seat.

Children ages 1 through 5 who weigh at least 40 pounds, but not more than 80 pounds, must be secured by a belt-positioning booster seat in a rear seat.

Children ages 5 & under who can sit with their back straight against the vehicle back seat cushion, with their knees bent over the vehicle’s seat edge without slouching may be seated in the back seat and secured by a safety belt.
 
kmanxj5050 said:
Huh maybe I'm wrong, doesn't matter either way. My kids a beast, 9 months and 27 lbs. Hell be 30 by a year anyway.
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9 months and 27 pounds?!?! That's a big boy! Our daughter was 6 weeks early too, so she started out small. She hasn't quite caught up to the growth chart, still in the 2 percentile or something.

Regardless, I wanted to make sure she'll be able to go out with us next summer. I don't use the Jeep much in the winter, so she should be turned around by then.
 
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