Use for it depends on a lot of factors. But a unibody vehicle (like many) is that it's designed for a certain amount of give. If you go and stiffen just one single part of it you're going to stop flex in one area and force it to be moved somewhere else. In a YJ or frames vehicle that force may go into somewhere such as the body mounts. Not going to hurt much. In an XJ everything is connected to everything. So if you don't plate up everything and tie the cage into your plated frame you're going to encounter issues. Which is why I would rather keep my money and do it right when I can fork the bill.

Yes, it's all dependent on how hard you're pushing it and how much weight you've got under it. But I'd gladly take a good hybrid cage in my DD. I'm no physicist either but that's the way it works in my head and it's currently a problem I'm experiencing with my XJ now

 

Whose debating your problem? Fix it. it's the OP who has the question.

I already agreed with you in the post before, yes a yj and an xj is a completely different design, and so is my Rally Fighter but it is what it is and you address the differences for the anticipated use of the vehicle. Some can afford to build a ground up vehicle and some can't..some have the skill and resources and some don't....they have to do it as their skill and budget allows. There is only one perfect build and it's what the owner likes.

Who wouldn't gladly take a hybrid cage in a daily driver or any vehicle..duh.....but is it affordable and needed by the OP?

OP do what he says..save your $, don't do anything until you can do it all.

 

My ruffstuff stiffeners will be here tomorrow. Any tips on the welding aspect?

 

right. sounds like you got it figured

let me know when you're done buying the best XJ under armor options

 

are you familiar with HRDRKN's build on here? the 89 he's putting on 1 tons? he's got the key. use a plasma to cut those dumb oval holes into nice large round ones. that would've made it much easier for me and I'll be doing that next time. if no plasma, maybe cut them into diamonds with a cutoff wheel? anything would have to be better than trying to weld ovals upside down

that, and of course point the mig gun at the 3/16 plate and start your puddle then drag it into the frame. this guy describes it best in the link
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/9750902-post14.html

 

I'm going to get some steel to practice on first I suppose. What's the unibody like 16g?

 

if that. it's terrible. mine came out like garbage but the HDO's looks ****

if you come across any good tricks to help those darn things on let us know. and bending the front of the plates up passed where the LCA's go is a tough one too. I ended up having to score them with a cut off wheel till they were easy enough to bend.

 

Theres some pictures in my build thread from when we did ruffstuffs frame stiffeners. We did it on a lift though so bending to fit and welding was much easier than laying on the ground. They made a huge difference and I would recommend stiffeners to any cherokee owner


Also, I have the rockhard cage in my YJ which is nice but I welded it together, added bars to the main cage and will be tieing it into the frame. And I agree that in the XJ, or any uniframe/unibody, it should definitely be plated. Im not a big fan of how the a pillar legs are in their XJ kit either. Sure its probably better than no cage but that puzzle of plates welded together going around the dash looks like it would crumble when you need it most. Id much rather see the a pillar bars go straight through the dash

 

To me it depends how your going to use the jeep.If its more of a weekend toy the rockhard cage is fine.If you want to use it in something like jeep speed i would go weld in cage either pre bent or custom one off.

 

Oh no you didn't

 

What do you think I need next on my yj and xj build? I want the xj to be a sleeper on the trail....if you click my link I think the yj isn't to far of from completion but the xj has just been started and I haven't driven it but once, from the semi to the garage.

 

If you want safety don't fool with a pre-fab cage many custom shops can build you a cage for what they want for most of those POS that don't hold up. Have used both over the years in old race cars had 2 of the pre-fab's neither gave much support if taking much of a hit.

The ones I see for the XJ's remind me of those units they don't have the safety factor to them that's needed.

 

Where is yours tied in? You NEED to tie it in.

Yes. I have the D&C kit with a good bit added to it.

First off, the TJ kit like Lowrange has fits better than mine on the interior. I like my cage, but I wish it fit a little better. I think there are some pictures of mine in my build, but I'll post them here as well. I have the tie in feet welded to the floor and I will be adding another plate on the bottom of the floor with a brace running to the unibody soon.

I'd buy stiffners before I did any cage work. They're easier to weld onto, plus they add some rigidity to the whole Jeep.

You're in Knoxville now, aren't you? Look up Rock Solid Fab. Tyler can hook you up with a hell of a cage, especially if you heard about him and have read letters on NAXJA.

Here are some pics of mine:










I also added a piece going straight down from the top of the X and some tube going straight down on the C pillar. I am going to plate some stuff to the B pillar and the top of the doors and to the unibody and call it a day.

 

That's sexy! I was going to research fab shops after I posted here, I'll be checking out that shop it looks perfect!

 

That is the D&C cage that I added to, Tyler's cage would look way mo better. He has a badass ****** buggy.