tubing vs pipe

[IKUZUS]

The cage in my Zuk is made of 1.5" x .120 HREW. Would it be ok to use pipe for some small add-on pieces?? I've searched on the net and haven't found anything decisive. I hope that I never get to test the cage, but you never know. Thanks for any help.

 

[durnzuki]

The reason people say no is tube bends, pipe shatters. Saying that I have seen lots of tube doors and stuff like that out of pipe.

 

[rockmafia]

I have seen/had pipe cages, I have never seen one shatter. Maybe you are thinking about cast pipe, which would be a definite no no. As much crap as people talk about using pipe I see no problem with it, esp for small non rollover important stuff.

Just remember pipe is for poop.

 

[jeepinmatt]

Pipe has to meet a lot of specs to go into service. Tubing tends to have a little better dimensional tolerance in my experience, but pipe is pretty close. The same steel is used in pipe as in tubing, so there is no reason it would shatter. Pipe is available in welded or seamless, tubing is the same. Material without a weld will be stronger, though I don't know how much it would really matter in a typical 4x4 application.

 

[Down&Dirty]

I thought that tubing was made for structural applications while pipe is made for fluid/gas transfer applications. The tubing is designed to be lighter/stronger than a pipe. I am not sure that you can say they both use the same steel. The term pipe/tube is just to generic. I mean a piece of chromoly tube is nothing like a piece of cast pipe.

For small add ons I wouldn't see a problem with pipe, I would try and use tube because it will be lighter. Also it would match deminsionally to what you have. For small add ons you could probably ask around here. I am sure people have pieces left over from building cages.

 

[Ricky B]

I've used Pipe for bumpers, sliders, and cage addonss like your talkin about. Don't really see any issue with it, granted I've yet to roll so I havn't really put my cage to the test but my buddy has a K5 that I built for him its on 44" tires and I made him a front bumper from pipe, not only has he ramed it into several trees with no issues but he also had it parked one night in a parking lot it popped outta park rolled across the parking lot into someone navigator and ended up totaling it and the K5/bumper don't look like anything has happened to it. So yea I mean I've got nothin against pipe

 

[hscrugby]

Just remember pipe is for poop.

So what you're saying is that the deal I can get on used pipe might not be good to have over my head?

My two cents, (and yes, that takes inflation into it, normally it's about 1.1 cent) is that as long as you aren't using it for real structure, anything can work. The issue with mixing it for a real cage, is going to be different strengths, etc, it will bend/break at a different rate than the rest of the cage?
And as long as it isn't cast, unless you are just using it to beat people with when you get out of the sami

 

[jeepinmatt]

I thought that tubing was made for structural applications while pipe is made for fluid/gas transfer applications. The tubing is designed to be lighter/stronger than a pipe. I am not sure that you can say they both use the same steel. The term pipe/tube is just to generic. I mean a piece of chromoly tube is nothing like a piece of cast pipe.

Everything you say is correct as far as Im aware. What I mean by the same steel is:
If you get 304SS tube, it is the same steel as 304SS pipe
If you get 7075t6 tube, it is the same aluminum as 7075t6 pipe

As long as you use the proper material, diameter, and wall thickness, it doesn't matter so much whether its pipe or tube.