Roll Cages-

[IXNAYXJ]

For an Overland vehicle, people rarely think about roll cages. I present my case for them:

A good friend was heading back towards camp in the evening and got blinded by the sun. Dusty windshield, looking straight into the sun, zero viz. He hit the brakes to come to a controlled stop, but by the time he'd reached 3 mph and could see again, his front tire was already going off the edge.

Doug estimates a 100 yard near verticle drop, rolling at least three times and coming to a rest with the nose pointing straight up in that air, resting on the hatch and the roof wedged against a tree. This kept him from rolling down the cliff further. He's more or less okay, bad bang on the head and stiff muscles, but okay. As you can see in the pictures, he got very, very lucky:

Get a cage folks.

www.thoseguysrodandcustoms.com

If you're in the PNW, these guys do great work. They built my cage a couple years ago and I've had nothing but good luck.

-----Matt-----

 

[XXXpedition]

i'm glad doug came out of this fairly ok! not something any of us wants to experience!
and man, that was a nice xj before it rolled...

i see your point! but on the other hand, that could happen on every road in any car - and most cars don't have roll cages...

my point is: there's a lot of money going into a decent cage, and if you are not seriously rock crawling i still wouldn't put one in.

unfortunately accidents happen for a lot of different reasons. but when a semi hits you, a roll cage might not help either. we cannot prepare for everything, although we try...

 

[BIGdaddy]

holy crap.

those cages in your link are nice...how much? $1500?

 

[IXNAYXJ]

i see your point! but on the other hand, that could happen on every road in any car - and most cars don't have roll cages...

You could get hit by a bus crossing the street, that's not the point.

By the nature of what we do, we put ourselves in more danger than a regular driver. Shoudn't we take extra precautions as such? A basic cage can be cheap and not get in your way in an expo rig. I realize space is always at a premium, but almost every expo type rig has a roof rack...why not incorperate the two? Etc, etc. This was meant to be a thought provoking and discussion starting thread...so have at it.

-----Matt-----

 

[IXNAYXJ]

holy crap.

those cages in your link are nice...how much? $1500?

Depending on options, number of bars, etc, I think you're about right. That would include rocker replacements/rock rails, too. Mine was the prototype, so I'm not totally sure what the pricing is. It's saved my bacon a number of times, and stiffens up the unibody a bunch for us XJ guys.

-----Matt-----

 

[Magoo]

is it worth it?

I'm working on a roll cage for a Porsche Cayenne that will be used for rally racing and adventure travel. Fab guy wants $2700-4000. Some concerns are building something strong enough for the weight of the vehicle, interior and wiring conflicts and the fact that the tubing will take up 2" of space.

Might not be pretty or for everyone, but I can see the value. I slid off a trail once and was held up from the 100" drop by a 1-1/2" sapling. 4x4 tow cost $175, but had the tree not been there the cost would have been ???

 

[getlost4x4]

so one question i always love to ask.

how do you know the cage actually works? have these guys actually rolled a jeep with their cage design?

my commander has side air bags and a much stiffer unibody then the old cherokees. you can have the suspension flexed out, thenopen all the doors & hatch, then close them all without any binding. try that with a cherokee. if you have a fairy stiff chassis then i think for the most part you will be fine.

 

[el_jefe]

Personally, I'm not a fan of roll cages in vehicles that will be driven on the street (Wranglers are exempt, as they were designed for the cage, and it's not a real cage anyway). Not a big fan being a vegetable from bashing my head against it in a minor fender bender.

As far as getlost4x4's question, a real cage fabricator is usually certified by several racing organizations, and those do see real world testing. A friend of mine pegged the accelerometer on his race car at 61g's at impact in an accident once, and he walked(limped) away.

 

[ddog45]

I'll take a cage anyday

I will be having a cage built by rokmen as soon as I am done with all of my other mods. I have a soft top jeep that is used almost once a week as the family trail jeep so saftey is always on my mind. My kids have learned that the hard trails that are tippy and bumpy are the fun trails.

 

[sami]

so one question i always love to ask.

how do you know the cage actually works? have these guys actually rolled a jeep with their cage design?

Guys who build high-dollar chomoly cages for race trucks/cars will use CAD software that helps them figure out the best placement, tube size, angels, bends, etc for optimal load path..


Good rule of thumb: triangles, triangles, triangles..

I'll be starting on my go-anywhere FJ55 pickup project this winter.. It will have a custom cage. You can't put a dollar amount on your safety...

 

[kjp1969]

I dunno- when it was all said and done, your friend wasn't hurt. What if he had the same crash but bashed his head on a 1.75" cromoly tube every time he went over? The truck will be a writeoff either way. . .

Rule of thumb in the SCCA racing community is that a cage is great if its padded and if you're wearing a helmet, but a liability if not. A properly designed and built cage will be difficult to live with on a day-to-day basis.
See WRC cars for examples.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/wrc%20cage%20design/imafreeskier/bur_STI.jpg

 

[getlost4x4]

i'm not saying cages are a bad idea, but in a street vehicle, i don't think they are safe.

i had one in my 85 toyota extended cab. it was a pain to live with, but the roof in those are extremely weak. i hit my head on it once while 4 wheeling. i almost knocked myself out, but my son had a good laugh. can you imagine hitting you leg on the down tube in a wreck? or hitting your head on a bar? padding is fine but its not like any of it has been put through crash testing.

i do know that one of the owners of my old toyota rolled it down a hill 10+ times and was able to walk away. the whole roof had been smashed down over the cage. so for that guy the cage was beneficial. i just don't think one would be beneficial in my commander because of the air bags.

 

[BIGdaddy]

exocage?

 

[alosix]

exocage?

thoughts as well

There is so little extra room in an XJ that I really wouldn't want to be putting a Cage in one.

At least in a TJ you can get the bars out of the way and mostly just use a thicker tube than stock. Enough TJs have been tumbled with aftermarket cages to get a good feel for performace, even though the stock one seems to hold up pretty well to most spills offroad. It does tend to be 'single use' though.

Jason

 

[Metal Twister]

I have built allot of cages for my own rigs and many of our customers. I build long travel sand car frames as well. I am also the son of a Coroner and have seen first hand what can happen to a vehicle without added protection. Im not saying that all street vehicles should have a roll bar or cage, but if your pushing the envelope of any vehicle I would rather error in the safe side.

We have tested our workmanship many times, and by a few members here on this site while racing the Baja a few years back in their FJ80.

We just finished up this rig a short time ago...