At the beginning...LOL

A lot of planning and prep goes into a cage. First things first, you need to decide is what size tube you're going to use, and what type. DOM is preferred. HREW is another good choice. Poo pipe is NOT recommended, haha...then you need to have a design, and determine what amount of steel to get. You need to reinforce the uniframe to have good tie in points for your cage. Then comes tools. You need a GOOD bender, not a HF kinker, or a "low cost" bender, and a decent bender is gonna set you back some coin. A good notcher is also needed, or a ton of cut off wheels...but a notcher will make it TONS easier, but again, a quality one will cost. Have a decent welder... I also highly recommend getting Bend-Tech Pro, great tool, if you are software savvy, you can design your cage in 3D, and it will give you estimates as to how much steel you'll need to get, and also provide templates for notching, where to start your bends, how long to cut your tube, etc... Then, when you have everything you need worked out, start bending and tacking, and when you have something resembling a cage, start burning. If you don't have mad fab skills, I highly suggest you tackle some other projects first until you get comfortable with fab. A cage is something you want to perform as intended when you need it. Poor design and crappy welds won't get you there...Start reading up on the subject. Research is your best friend.

 

So I've been having some troubles getting logged in lately, and thus got some work done. So here's what happened. Added some structure to the rear, started a rear bumper, added the tire carrier, and braced the bumper/carrier/and added structure all together. Running 1.75" OD with a 1/8th" wall DOM tubing. Also sent my wheels and tires to a buddy to be mounted. Front bumper backbone is one the way, being a winch plate that will be braced and burned into the front. Eventually after all the bracing and such on the rear is done, a 10k winch will be thrown up front. And bam all caught up! Whew!!

 

Looks really really rough, but here's what I'm goin for with the rear end of the cage. From the research I did for the cage I was gonna build for my old rig, and talking to mechanics/fab guys at the shops on base here, I found that at least 8 frame tie ins are ideal for a sturdy cage. Of course these would have to be dispersed amongst the frame to even the load. When I find time between work, I'm gonna try and mock up an idea for the full cage. I'll post that up once I'm done

 

Cool man. Looks good

 

Making way for the rest of the bumper, plus getting rid of a lil more rotten steel

 

That back pic looks like a good design and start man.

 

Should have em on tomorrow thanks to my buddy for getting em mounted up for me! Like em even more with some rubber on them wheels

 

New wheels and tires definitely give the heep a whole new attitude. I'm digging the new look! Gotta do some tweaking to the spare tire carrier as I didn't quite get the penetration I needed on the hub to keep it in place after torquing down the lugs. Good thing it happened in the driveway rather than on the road. Back to the drawing board

 

I didn't like those wheels when you posted what they were but now that I see them on your xj, they look good

 

I'd have to agree with you on that one too... I was a lil iffy with em until I saw them with rubber on em

 

Got the carrier properly braced with the penetration I needed to keep the spare up! Just need a matching spare now!!

 

After getting the heep back on some big tires, had to go throw some mud!

 

Looks good. When I got my tires, I had to test them on a light pillar on my way home

 

I have yet to do that!!! Maybe when I have the lift I'm buying soon! 8" la kit from IRO and running my 2" lift for 10" total

 

Got a few days off, so went out for some wheeling and camping with some friends. Trails were pretty gnarly, makes me wanna get my winch and bigger lift asap