That looks really nice! How was the process overall?

 

Trying not to hi-jack... If ya want I'll take pictures and make a thread...

There's really no reason that I left the stock bars up there. If I had to make up a reason I'd say that when I have the top off and drive under a low hanging limb they prevent the limb from slapping me in the top of my head.

Like Brent said, They're just pulled tight on the snaps. No other support.

Process:

1. Get carried away with the sawzall when you chop the back of the Jeep.

2. Frame the hole up with .25x.25x.125 angle. Weld the corners and weld it to the roof. If not, it flops all over the place.

3. Make the top. I had a local upholstry shop sew the top and add the snaps.

4. I riveted the snaps directly to the roof with about 3" of overlap all the way around the hole.

5. Enjoy.

The hardest part is placing the roof side of the button so that the top is pulled tight but doesn't have wrinkles. The overlap and the contour of the roof keeps rain water out. If you were to pour a 5 gallon bucket of water on top of it I would get soaked... It's not water tight... It's water resistant but that works for me.

 

Thanks for the details on the top.

 

I got lazy with my posting. The cage is almost done now. I need to get the floor in before I can finish the rest of it but its getting close now. Couple more weeks (fingers crossed) and I'll be back on the trail.

I place, held up with ratchet straps.


A view looking at the back


Dash Bar


Center support on dash bar.


Tied into frame up front.


Frame mount up close


I tied the cage into the b pillar as well for some added strength and to stiffen things up a bit.


Start of the floor. This thing is going to look like a welded quilt when its all said and done.

 

that chop top job is sweet, im lovin the soft top

 

Looking good man. Lets see some floors.

 

And the bold is the problem here. You may not plan on rolling at more than a couple miles an hour, but who does? Speed isn't even that huge a factor here because HREW will crush and bend where DOM will not and that is exactly the problem. When it does the structural integrity is greatly diminished and you've wasted a lot of time, money, and effort because it's become a one time use cage.

If you think HREW is fine to use, even at low speed spend a few minutes on youtube watching how cages built out of either handle low speed crashes, roll overs, ect.

Building a cheap cage is like buying a cheap winch. It looks good and all but it's going to fail right when you don't need it to. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right the first time. You may save an extra couple hundred bucks now but what is it going to cost you in the long run when it's ruined after one roll over and you have to cut it out and parts of the floor? What's it going to cost you if it fails and you get injured and your head, neck, or body take the impact that the cage should have? It's not just the speed of the roll over, it's 3000+ pounds of Jeep that are coming down on top of tubing that's not designed, built, or formed to handle it. Skimp on bumpers, your lift, whatever, but don't try to save money where it's not needed on a cage. The cage is the only mod you're really going to do on your Jeep specifically designed to save your life.

I'm really not trying to knock your build or your efforts here and I appreciate the work you're putting into it but I just hate to see you spend the money for something that won't be worth it in the end or someone else see this thread, think it's a good idea to go cheap on the tubing then do the same. You've got access to the tools and material, do it the right way.

 

First of all. HREW or not, this jeep is stronger then any stock jeep on the trail. I still have the full structure integrity of the stock chassis plus the added support of this cage. DOM will bend as well and if you think that it won't your smoking something funny. Point is i'm simply trying to add some additional strength and safety to my jeep. If I do end up flopping my jeep and ruining my cage I will cut it out and start over. As you can see from the many pictures that I have posted in this thread alone I am quite capable of building this vehicle on my own and understand the consequences of the decisions that I have made so far during this build. At the end of the day I think that having a good driver is just as important as adding a cage when it comes to rock crawling. No cage, lift, big set of tires, full size axles, or any other part is not going to help anyone in the case of stupid. I have no intentions on getting close to rolling this thing but if at some point an accident does happen and it tips over I would much rather have this HREW cage installed instead of simple relying on the stock strength of a factory jeep.

Also, in regards to your comment about buying cheap that is entirely wrong. There is a big difference between buying cheap and buying smart. I did months of research before deciding that this cage would work for me and be a benefit to what I'm trying to accomplish. If I was honestly just going for looks I wouldn't be triangulating anything, I wouldn't have tied into the frame, I defiantly wouldn't have done an 8 point which some say is a little excessive, and I would have just slapped it on and called it good. And just to add, there is a mixture of DOM and HREW in this cage. Granted, mostly HREW, but my metal yard ran out last time I stopped by so I had to pick up a few sticks of DOM instead.

 

looks good man!

 

Cool build keep it up

 

Good looking cage cant wait to see more

 

More pics of this please!

 

Some floor stuff. This is way more tedious then I originally planned. I hate welding overhead.

 

looking good man. keep it up. and welding like that sucks but its gotta be done.

 

Lovin the HD bag on the wheel. Its comin along though. Keep it up. Lookin good.