Ok, it seems to be a well debated topic of how to build a cage for your jeep. So post up your ideas, questions, pics, whatever and lets see if we can create a central location for all this knowledge. :thumbsup:
Here are some progress pics. The front A pillar has no bend in the center but still has a brow/eyes look. LOL. CJ5's are fairly small were head and legroom are concerned. I have worked myself into a corner as far as the last details go, I do not have a good plan for front seat (B pillar) shoulder harness mounts. Originally, I had hoped to put some triangulation going to the floor and gusset some harness tabs here, but the B pillar sits right at the seat and foot room for the back is only about 10". How have other CJ5s worked this out (please don't say "trade it for a 7")?
THIS is why you need a good solid, well designed, frame mounted cage. This is my friend James' Jeep. He rolled/flipped 8 times off the side of a mountain. He walked away. The Cage has been replaced and he wheels it still.
THIS is why you need a good solid, well designed, frame mounted cage. This is my friend James' Jeep. He rolled/flipped 8 times off the side of a mountain. He walked away. The Cage has been replaced and he wheels it still.
i find it suprising how many Kit cages for jeeps have little to no triangulation in them. and that was a custom built cage, but did not appear to have much triangulation in it from what you could see. Yes it held up surprisingly well considering the roll it went through.
I've seen so called "expert fabrication" company cages fold under less. A lot has to be said for that cage to experience what it did and hold up so well.
Not enough can be said about how it held up. That was amazing how fast that "typical" situation changed. Well done!
A lot has to be said for the "built not bought" cliche. All the hours of work put in that rig paid off. Thanks for posting that, I have been frustrated at the amount of time I am putting in our cj5 and just want to get in the dirt. That was a reality check, do it right once the first time, you may not get a second chance at it.
Just did another cage this weekend for a friend. The front half is a Ploy Performance kit and then I added some custom additions to the rear as well as frame tie-ins. Fairly simple and clean and I think it turned out nice.
Does anyone know of or have you come across any roll tube attachment collars that bolt on, besides the ones from Rockhard 4x4? I'd like to be able to add some pieces to my 6 pt. frame tied in cage such as an angled tube across the B-pillars behind the seat or to tie the angled C-pillars together, but have them be removable when utilizing the rear seat for passengers.
Yes, I know what your saying. I was wondering what of room I might have. Mine is currently apart so I couldn't check it out. I've seen the ones for shoulder harness connections and they have a curve right before their attachment to the B-pillar, but they also aren't diagonal either. And to use the A-Z type above that jeepinhokie posted would almost have to have a short pigtail tube welded off the side to add that coupler, but then theres still the issue of seat clearance.
My B-pillar is the stock Jeep one and the rest is aftermarket hrew added to it. So moving mine back isn't an option for me.
Yes, I know what your saying. I was wondering what of room I might have. Mine is currently apart so I couldn't check it out. I've seen the ones for shoulder harness connections and they have a curve right before their attachment to the B-pillar, but they also aren't diagonal either. And to use the ones above that jeepinhokie posted would almost have to have a short pigtail tube welded off the side to add that coupler, but then theres still the issue of seat clearance.
My B-pillar is the stock Jeep one and the rest is aftermarket hrew added to it. So moving mine back isn't an option for me.
I hear you. Not sure in a CJ but in my TJ even if I left the B pillar in the stock location and ran a "X" with bends in it the back seat would be unusable when the bracing installed. I have a 2 year old son so having easy access is a must for me, with the adapters pictured above, there would be a small piece welded to the cage and stick off just like you said. That would be a head and foot banger for rear seat passengers all the time even without the bracing installed.
I think once my son gets a few years older I'll start adding some more tubing here and there as I see fit. Then I can make it to where the seats are bolted to the cage and more my rear seat back a few inches to help with the legroom when my "X" brace is installed. There is a choice to be made when deciding what to build, it's hard to balance convenience and safety.
Synergy Tube Clamps. We usually buy six of these at a time to have for various things. I am not a proponent of the "bolt together" cages, but we like the tube clamps for such things as removable harness bars, etc.
I've never been a fan of bolt in bars. They remind me of the sport bars with 15 lights that guys would bolt into the back of pickups in the early 90s...
Pulled out the cage today and am prepped to weld it solid. A big thanks to the guys and the input in this thread! I have spent many hours reading through this thread and the links.
Thanks guys! I managed to get it welded, wow was that a chore. Much more welding than I thought, nearly a full K size bottle of gas and about 15lbs of wire. Most of the welds were good, some had a bigger gap than I was happy with but the welded joint is strong just not pretty.
How are you guys drawing up your designs? Or are you? I'm looking for something I can do in my cad class that I can do when I'm not doing anything which is pretty much everyday. So i wanna get my cj cage drawn.
And wss your cage looks awesome. Wanna send it up my way?
Buy the Bend Tech software...will be worth every penny!! It spits out bending info, notching info with cutouts. You can see it in 3D and make unlimited modifications. If you save a couple of tubes worth of mistakes with the software, it pays for itself, plus you have it for future projects.
Ya, it's a voice in my head. I did do a "overall dimension" dxf of the Jeep tub and soft top. That was just to reference when I was bending/building. To be honest I have quite a few mistakes and just modified and headed that direction (beat it to fit, paint it to match) and ended up with a functional cage (I hope LOL). It was a bunch of give and take, as you know a 5 is already on the short side. I tried two different front seat shoulder harness mounts, in the end I had to give up room instead of doing it wrong. I did gain room up front by the legs by putting the A pillar under the dash about 4" and running the B to A tie flush on the tub floor. The old cage, you could hardly get your feet past it. If you want to see a specific area, let me know. WARNING: This is my first cage and first time using a bender and first Jeep (Scout convert). All I have learned has been here in this thread and on a few tech pages around the net. So.......What was that road paved with?
Let me do two or three rolls with it to make sure it will hold up for you before I send it to you!
When I first started building cages, I took a piece of tube and put marks on it every half inch. I then bent it 90 degrees. I was able to document what my bend distance was and where to mark all of my tubes. Sacrificing one short section of tube saved me a bunch of money later in wasted tubing.
MO2500, that is a really nice cage. What did you paint it with? I just painted mine yesterday with a quart of rustoleum semi gloss black. Went on good, no runs (good for a beginner like me) but I am wondering how it will harden up.
I painted it with maybe 6-8 rattle cans of Krylon Satin Black after priming. I've found Krylon has a smoother look than Rustoleum's satin with less splotchyness. I use the Krylon satin black on just about everything so I should probably start buying in bulk!
I plan on getting mine sand blasted and powder coated, but I have used the epoxy enamel appliance paint on cages before. It hardens to a nice shell that resists scratches etc.
Update on the scrambler cage. Almost done but ran out of tube.
Still need to finish the X behind the front seats, build the back seat harness bar and supports, the gussets and grab handles, the upside down "V" in the windshield, and some small pieces to support the genright tire carrier .
Update on the scrambler cage. Almost done but ran out of tube.
Still need to finish the X behind the front seats, build the back seat harness bar and supports, the gussets and grab handles, the upside down "V" in the windshield, and some small pieces to support the genright tire carrier .
How did I miss that? Very nice Halo job. Look forward to some progress/finished pics!
WSS
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Jeep Enthusiast Forums
18.5M posts
726.8K members
Since 2000
A forum community dedicated to all jeep owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, engine swaps, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!