Yea I can see how that would be a PITA and take alot of time.

 

The joints at the a pillar make a handle to get in and out as well as the weld along the radius of the tubing creates somewhat of a gusset there. The notch is much larger than normal and of course the tube is a natural gusset so it worked out for that situation. Simplicity is also recommended. I'm Gonna stay of of the exo cage argument.

A

 

I like doing inside and exo cages. If done right they look good and are functional. I like to make a halo that fallows the roof line as tight as possible on the inside and run tubes up from the floor. That way you don't have any welds on top you cant get to. As others have said, triangulation is key. As for the exo; I would run tight rails down each side of the roof that stick out just enough to protect the body. Use a hole saw to cut the roof and do several short tubes to tie it into the mane halo.(Do this first to make sure you get to all the welds.) You could also run them down threw the fenders and tie into the sliders and even tube fenders. You don't need huge tube ether, I use 1-1/2 DOM with a .120 wall. Its small enough to fit in tight places, and more then strong enough. The tubing is no place to skimp on. Don't be afraid to spend some money and do the job right. Seamed tube in no where near as strong as DOM, remember, your life may be on the line. Also, use good size plates on the floor, and slugs when you go threw the floor. If the bolts sheer off the slug will prevent any part of the cage separating.

 

then what bender do u recommend?

 

i use a JD2 manual bender.......works great!!!! no kinks or smashed tube.

my buddies dad is a machinist and wrote a tube bending program..i just put in my measurements, and it tells me exactly where the bend will start, end, and how much tube it will take up.

this program makes it way easier if you have tubes with multiple bends!!!

i know there are other bending programs out there.

 

I have the Pro-tools 105 HD.

As for tube size.. I strongly recommend 1.75x.120 for a cage. XJ's when fully outfitted are some heavy a$$ rigs. Mine tips the scales just shy of 5000LBS. Thats with spare and Hi-lift jack. 1.5x.120 is fine for rigs that weigh less the 4000lbs.

I agree with the previous post about triangulation and gussets. Also having your seats mounts as part of your cage is important too. Where you locate your harness shoulder bar is just as important as your cage design. Bad placement of this can cause serious back issues in the event of a rollover or a flop.

As for bending programs for your bender I strongly recommend Bend tech pro or bend tech se. I know they are money, but they will minimize waste and screw ups.

 

here's mine...hybrid cages are the way to go.
















door bars:

 

I like the cage, but at 6'5" tall, there is no way I could get in and out of your rig with the seat bar like that. Are you seriously rockin the "shocker"?? LOL!!

 

thats my buddy matt....worked with him to design it and he installed/welded it up. anything that my life may have to depend on...i have him weld ha...

pretty sure you could still get in....my dash is a lot smaller now:
(my buddy is 6'2 and gets in no problem. the bar is mostly to help you stay in the seat and not bounce out!)

 

Maybe true, but not necessarily. My rock crawler is built entirely out of 1.5 and weighs more then 6,000. Not to mention a 1300HP big block. I don't mean to ruffle any feathers, just saying.

 

mines 1.5 as well...but its a stripped out xj...under 4,000 lbs.

 

I hope you never test roll your rig. I did a slow speed flop in my truggy and ended up bending 2 bars from it. Both of those bars were 1.75x.120. My truggy weighs in right at 4200.




I also would like to see some pics of your rig.

 

You mean like this

This was before I removed more of the interior plastic. Even with the busted windows and top chop and I am over 4000lbs. I know there is a slight differamce in weight in tubes, but not that much. Might want to reweigh your rig.

 

I have a stripped X to, and I know its heavy. (and an 8 way power adjustable racing seat!)As for my crawler, Im sure its fine just the way it is. You guys ever hear of Jimmy's 4X4? My chassis was built by them, and then I added a bunch to it. All I have now is a phone for a camera so I don't have any recent pix but these should give you some idea what I do.

The top pic is my car. It currently has 15 sticks of DOM in it, that's why its so strong. I have added a lot to it that's not shown here. A couple of these pix are from my good friends at Wicked mag, and I do have permission to use them. There from an XRRA final, at that time I had a good camera and we shared a lot of pix. The black car is a lot like mine, the pink one was a good friend who is sadly no longer with us.

 

Cool rigs I liked to see more pics. I think I am headed in the tube buggy way for my next rig, just have to finish getting parts.

I am just speaking from experience when I say 1.5 is small for a cage if you think you are going to roll/do endos. I can show you lots of pics from a local wheeling spot where 1.5 inch tubes have been bent on samuri's (sp) Thats why I say what I say about the 1.75.