simple cage ideas

[chaser9478]

My jeep is a daily driver/toy. I don't have the tools or money for a full cage yet but I would like a roll bar for safety. I would also like to use it to attach my seat belts and be able to add on in the future. Has anyone got anything like this with some pics?

 

[DieselSJ]

You will need more than just a "roll bar" if you want it to have any function at all. You should at least plan a 4 point cage, with 6 point being even better. And I would not suggest using it for a seat belt mount unless you also have your seats mounted to it.

 

[chaser9478]

I plan on a full cage sometime. I need a place to mount the upper part of a 3pt harness. I have corbeau suspension seats on the corbeau mounts. I was thinking a 2pt cage just for the start would be a good place to mount upper part of the harness. Have you seen the blue xj on "trucks" the so called Cheap Jeep? They had something like I am thinking.

 

[crazyjim]

I plan on a full cage sometime. I need a place to mount the upper part of a 3pt harness. I have corbeau suspension seats on the corbeau mounts. I was thinking a 2pt cage just for the start would be a good place to mount upper part of the harness. Have you seen the blue xj on "trucks" the so called Cheap Jeep? They had something like I am thinking.

Never EVER use TRUCKS as an example of the right way to do something. A 2 pt. "cage" isn't a cage at all, it isn't even a roll bar. It's going to rip right off the mounts in any sort of collision. Mark is right, you need at LEAST 4 pt., preferably a 6 pt. Also, while you're doing it it'd be just as easy to mount the seats to the cage by running some tubes from pillar to pillar along the floor.

 

[chaser9478]

Your right. I guess a small 4 pt cage with the seats on it would be just as easy. Then later I could add to it. I am by no means talking about a race vehicle or one that flys thru the air but I do want to do it right. Has anyone got any pics of a very simple cage?

 

[crazyjim]

I don't have any in Jeeps, as most people continue back, but this is the very minimum I would trust my life with in a cage.

It would be VERY simple to build if you have access to a bender, which I'm assuming you would if you're going to build a rear hoop. Also, running a bar from pillar to pillar with some seat mounts would be easy.

 

[julio_a]

you can get the t&j cage and use that as a start, then add to it as you go along in your build.

 

[chaser9478]

That is nice.
A buddy of mine has a hot rod shop so I have access to most tools. I just need to find a compromise between function, money and everyday use. I plan to put 4 suspension seats in it f/r and do away with the rear bench. I just need to get over the headliner and mount the roof rack to a cage as well. Wow this xj is was supposed to be a cheap toy. Boy was i wrong..... I love it though.

 

[DieselSJ]

I don't have any in Jeeps, as most people continue back, but this is the very minimum I would trust my life with in a cage.

It would be VERY simple to build if you have access to a bender, which I'm assuming you would if you're going to build a rear hoop. Also, running a bar from pillar to pillar with some seat mounts would be easy.

That is the minimum that I would run also. Without those rear diagonals even a 4 point will tend to fold backwards in a roll.

 

[chaser9478]

I think that would be pretty easy to build. I would incorporate cross bars in the center, may be an x and make mounts for my seats.

What vendor sells the flat panels so you can shut the doors? I have seen them some where. There is a weld in kit for like $300 on E-bay. I don't if it would be cheaper to buy the steel or go with the kit....

 

[crazyjim]

That is nice.
A buddy of mine has a hot rod shop so I have access to most tools. I just need to find a compromise between function, money and everyday use. I plan to put 4 suspension seats in it f/r and do away with the rear bench. I just need to get over the headliner and mount the roof rack to a cage as well. Wow this xj is was supposed to be a cheap toy. Boy was i wrong..... I love it though.

Price difference would be minimal.

I think that would be pretty easy to build. I would incorporate cross bars in the center, may be an x and make mounts for my seats.

What vendor sells the flat panels so you can shut the doors? I have seen them some where. There is a weld in kit for like $300 on E-bay. I don't if it would be cheaper to buy the steel or go with the kit....

Don't buy that flat bar kit, again, it'll fold in any sort of serious crash. I think it's rock hard that makes them. Contact T&J's and see if you can get at least their a-pillar bars, if not I'll be cutting mine down soon (decided to go through the dash) and would sell them for cheap.

 

[xcm]

once you get into mounting the seats to the cage, and the harnesses. you might as well be building a full cage!

be carefull, you only want to drop the cage ONCE for the 360 degree welds, if you drop it for the first stage, how are you gonna get to the top for the rest of the cage?


go slow, i planned my cage for 4 years, 2 seriously. and i still ended up not doing things exactly the way i wanted. im ready for round 2!

if your buddy has a shop with tooling for 1.5" tube, use that. buy a kit? no waaaay brah!

 

[HollisM16]

Jim, you're saying these flat bar portions from the RockHard 4x4 bolt-on cage would fail?

Their TJ setup seems to have fairly similar A-pillar protection, which looked like it did an alright job:

Probably a slow rollover when at speed you'd be concerned of multiple rollings... What do you think?

I'm still curious to see how one of these RH4x4 bolt-in cages handled a rollover for XJ's...

 

[chaser9478]

I am planning it. I am going to pick you guys brains. I don't need a race cage. If it does roll it will be at 3mph or in traffic. I do want to do it right but I aint trying to get duke boy style and crawl thru the windows. LOL

 

[crazyjim]

Jim, you're saying these flat bar portions from the RockHard 4x4 bolt-on cage would fail?





Their TJ setup seems to have fairly similar A-pillar protection, which looked like it did an alright job:

Probably a slow rollover when at speed you'd be concerned of multiple rollings... What do you think?

I'm still curious to see how one of these RH4x4 bolt-in cages handled a rollover for XJ's...

Yes, that's the one I think would fail, and IMO that cage didn't do a good job at all, because like you pointed out, I'm sure that TJ flopped, not rolled at 50mph. The side plates held up, but I think more of that is poor cage design vs. strength, also type of roll. You have to keep in mind the type of rollover we'll be experiencing if we roll. It'll most likely be at speed, and multiple times.

 

[crazyjim]

Look at the buckle on the pillar plate:

 

[chaser9478]

If that was just a flop it didn't do to well.
Ok let's see some cages then I need some input. This isn't going to be simple so I need all the help I can get.

 

[xcm]

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1027457 heres mine.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

how about a cage thread for next month's TOTM? what works/has worked well, and what has not? it would be nice to see what has held up in the past to some major and not so major wrecks/rollovers at speed. i think expanding it to things other than just XJs would be helpful as well for this one, since cage tech is pretty universal.

just a suggestion

 

[GrimmJeeper]

I am planning it. I am going to pick you guys brains. I don't need a race cage. If it does roll it will be at 3mph or in traffic. I do want to do it right but I aint trying to get duke boy style and crawl thru the windows. LOL

you have to think about more than getting in and out of it when planning a cage. look at how low the top bars came into the passenger compartment, and the angle they bent into it. where is your head most likely to go in a crash? back, then forwards at a pretty good speed... right into where those bars bent down from the top of the a pillar on that wrangler. a poorly designed cage can do much more damage in a rollover than no cage at all. i've seen drag racers come out of a wreck with concussions from hitting un padded bars in cages that help pretty well but bent down just like that one did. a well designed cage should transfer the force from the front driver/passenger areas back towards the rear of the vehicle... the front area shouldn't deform at all in a wreck.

you have to plan for the worst and hope for the best in this area. a cage is definaltely NOT something to skimp on, which is why I don't have one yet. if you can't build it right you'd almost be better of not having one at all. i've slowed waaay down lately, i pushed my xj just about as fast as it could go, and later that day sitting back at camp i thought about what would have happened if i hadn't been able to get it back going straight over some of the big hits that sent my front end up in the air. honestly it scares the crap out of me, now that i know how fast i can actually getoin in the dirt a cage is now my top priority - not just to keep the body from falling apart (which was previously my main concern), but to keep ME or whomever might be riding with me from being seriously injured.