Roll Cage Add-on Assistance

[HANO]

Im adding a third seat to the rig and I need to add some tube to protect the passenger’s head. She’s short and a pain in my ass so I wont need to do a lot, but I feel like I need to do something instead of yelling “DUCK”’. What’s the best way to add some tube to the existing cage work that won’t make this thing look retarded? I do not currently own a tubing bender, but I’m not opposed to buying one. I was thinking about buying some of those pre-fabbed, bull bars that are about as wide as the cage and just cutting height to fit and then adding support tubes from the C-Pillars.

Use your best MS Paint skills and let me know what ya think. I’d rather not cut any existing tube work, but I could be swayed fairly easily. I just don't want this thing to look like Fido’s ass, because you know we’re a judgmental group when we happen upon terrible cage work on the trail.

 

[partiallycommittedracing]

not really an efficient way to do that without some bends but it could be done (more on this at the end)

Step 1 - cut out those 2 diagonal supports
Step 2 - run tubes back from the B pillar to the C pillar along the roofline
Step 3 - either bend those tubes around for a rear halo and then support from the bottom or bend them and run them down to the floor (think like the A pillar is in there now, just backwards)
OR Step 3.2 - miter those corners all together into a nice junction and get away with no bends there. ONLY miter this if you can fully support that miter/node into a junction. Best to bulkhead the miters as well with some tube caps to make it all proper inside.

What you're trying to do is definitely doable. You would spend a lot more time and effort properly mitering everything together than you would finding someone local or semi local to bend a few pieces of tube for you. If you really have no options for local tube bending, let me know and I can draw something up and have it prebent, notched, and shipped to you from the laser - but use this as the last ditch option as you'll spend some money making that happen.

Full disclosure: the rest of that cage is not ideally supported or noded properly enough behind the driver seats to really get an ideal, perfect scenario here.... as long as you keep the roof on the jeep you should be OK, you can get away with alot more when that is there, but if you cut the roof off, I would certainly rebuild that cage.

 

[Bebop]

Cut cage here :

and here :

then bring it to a fab guy that will build another halo.

That's maybe 2 days of work, not much material and it will be much stronger than any other solution you could cobble up.

It's potentially a life, do it right.

 

[HANO]

Cut cage here :

View attachment 449216

and here :

View attachment 449217

then bring it to a fab guy that will build another halo.

That's maybe 2 days of work, not much material and it will be much stronger than any other solution you could cobble up.

It's potentially a life, do it right.

I appreciate the responses @Bebop and @partiallycommittedracing, ya’ll certainly gave me some ideas I did not initially consider. This request was mainly for some informational fodder during the holiday to help get ideas flowing and ya'll were able to do that. What good is this BB if we can’t collectively bullshit our way to a better way of thinking on some of these ideas of ours. I don't have a fab shop or fab guy with a bender that’s near enough to do any of this that I’d be comfortable enough to have do it. To be honest I got more than enough equipment to accomplish this project already, Im just gonna have to get off my ass and get out to do it. I’ve already placed an order to get the bender and the die sorted this afternoon, as it’s just gonna be less hassle than hauling this thing somewhere, and there isn’t a decent way to accomplish this without one. I’ve got ability, I just don't have a whole helluva lot a time like i use to. Thanks again. -H

 

[partiallycommittedracing]

I appreciate the responses @Bebop and @partiallycommittedracing, ya’ll certainly gave me some ideas I did not initially consider. This request was mainly for some informational fodder during the holiday to help get ideas flowing and ya'll were able to do that. What good is this BB if we can’t collectively bullshit our way to a better way of thinking on some of these ideas of ours. I don't have a fab shop or fab guy with a bender that’s near enough to do any of this that I’d be comfortable enough to have do it. To be honest I got more than enough equipment to accomplish this project already, Im just gonna have to get off my ass and get out to do it. I’ve already placed an order to get the bender and the die sorted this afternoon, as it’s just gonna be less hassle than hauling this thing somewhere, and there isn’t a decent way to accomplish this without one. I’ve got ability, I just don't have a whole helluva lot a time like i use to. Thanks again. -H

I hear that!

Since you have the bender coming, I would definitely cut everything off from the hoop back and just rebuild that whole rear section.

Happy to help with any design help or bend info when you get to that point