Ruffstuff

 

I like mine. a little more challenging to weld them though

 

Well none of the others turn out and give you a bolt through ledge for cage plates etc. As well as that turn out being another major structural benefit to being more rigid.

 

ah is that what those are for? I've seen them welded to the floor but mine didnt fight tight enough to try to do that. I like ruffstuff the best though. 3/16's is necessary for heavy rocks

 

Does anybody have examples of damage from not having frame stiffeners. Seems like the lochness monster or big foot here.

 

Google images has tons of pictures....I never took pictures of mine, but I dented the crap out of my rails before I put the stiffeners on my last rig. And a word of advice, it is much easier to weld these things on -BEFORE- you get dents and bends in your frame....afterwards it takes a lot of work to form them to the rails once they are beat up.

 

What words are you searching for? I'm not having any luck finding pictures of damaged, bent or twisted XJ frames.

Also, I'm wondering what alternatives there are to the standard stiffeners. Full internal roll cage?

 

Yes a roll cage will help prevent twisting and torsional forces on the rails. But it won't help when you drop off a 4 ft ledge and land on a rock with a frame rail, and get a big ole dent in it.

 

Check out OMC offroad

 

This. The unibody rails are some thickness of layered sheet metal stamped together and tack welded? Is this strong? For daily driving and street use sure. For offroading with say heavy 33's in rocks and especially 35's with some good flexing and forces applied throughout the unibody, no. Everyone knows the purpose behind stiffners, but it is more or less a preventative step in ruining the unibody rails from them twisting and breaking themselves apart. There are several threads and pictures on NAXJA with unidbodys being ripped and torn all to hell. In roughly 98.7% of decent one ton build threads, the unibody is plated in some form of 3/16's angle, channel, or rec tube. I could tell a differnece when i installed my HDO stiffners middle and front just on the road. Especially after cutting off the stock LCA mounts.