Roll Cages... multiple threads merged

[yikes]

So if yo are not going racing then keep it simple.

PaulW

...

[tcm glx]

So if yo are not going racing then keep it simple.

PaulW

...

Yeah, like Paul really kept it simple!! Stretch, full cage, links hahahaha

[sydude]

Getting back on track, here's my cage design for my bronco - please take a look and let me know what you think / what can be improved. Main priority is family safety driving on the roads as well as convenient access for my kids to get in and out of the back - at this point in time its not really going off road, so when I bring it out west next year I'll make the necessary mods.

All tubing is 2" DOM, except for the dashboard bar and the 'V' bars, which are 1.75" DOM. The front door legs go through the dash. I'm not 100% on the dash bar and/or the V-bars - if they won;t be a major pain to put in, I'd rather do them now while I've got the dash out and I'm modifying it for the legs. All 6 legs will tie to the frame using autofab's poly bushing mounts, and we're going to weld the cage to the body with plating / gussets as much as possible.

Note that I think everything from the C pillar to the B pillar is accurate, but the measurements for the front section are still rough, so it may look a little off.

[greaslife]

Iam no structural engineer . At the rear corner bars wouldn't those be "Dead points"

[AussieRod]

Thats a nice design, but.......... what are you planning for the doorways? Considering that the majority of the time it will only be front seat passengers, the driver habaticle (as we call it) needs the most planning for bracing, etc. Most Broncos I have seen caged are really good jobs, so dont get me wrong here. In my opinion (only my opinion), the main driver area is THE most important area of the cage. All the other bars support and bolster this area, THEN tie in the suspension, engine cage, etc. Proper X ing of the doorways can immeasurably strengthen the main cage and add critical support to the suspension areas with minimal tubing. I realise your drawing is unfinished, so please dont take this as any kind of criticism, I'm just adding my $0.02 worth. SCORE requirements differ greatly from our rules over here, where FIA guidelines are the norm. If I cage my F100, it will probably differ to the normal SCORE cages you would see, but it will do the job, none the less. I am all about the driver and passenger's safety first, the trucks survival second. Looking forward to seeing the finished design.

[philofab]

I would add a door bar from the red dead tube in the b-pillar to the bottom of the a-pillar. It doesn't affect getting in and out of the truck but it helps make it stronger and eliminate a dead tube. I would also eliminate the kickout/bends on the top front to rear bars.

[ChaseTruck754]

I would add a door bar from the red dead tube in the b-pillar to the bottom of the a-pillar. It doesn't affect getting in and out of the truck but it helps make it stronger and eliminate a dead tube. I would also eliminate the kickout/bends on the top front to rear bars.

x2!

I was wondering why all the top tubes kick in a bit when they hit the B pillar hoop & the C pillar hoop. Keep these straight & make them land on the bends of the B & C pillar tubes. Then have the diagonal that goes from the bottom of the C to the top of the B hit at the same spot on that bend.

The very 1st pic of my ranger I posted shows the way I did it & the way I will do it again on my supercab.

I will add however that if you were planning on "gusseting" these corners in your design with tubes that go where I am saying (see green added in pic below) then you can disregard the above...

[greaslife]

whos program are you useing ?

[sydude]

Iam no structural engineer . At the rear corner bars wouldn't those be "Dead points". Also, whos program are you useing ?

Yes, I think they are dead points, but it's just a family cage right now. I'll 'X' them before it hits the desert. And I'm using Bend-Tech Pro. Pretty cool program!

Thats a nice design, but.......... what are you planning for the doorways? Considering that the majority of the time it will only be front seat passengers, the driver habaticle (as we call it) needs the most planning for bracing, etc. Most Broncos I have seen caged are really good jobs, so dont get me wrong here. In my opinion (only my opinion), the main driver area is THE most important area of the cage. All the other bars support and bolster this area, THEN tie in the suspension, engine cage, etc. Proper X ing of the doorways can immeasurably strengthen the main cage and add critical support to the suspension areas with minimal tubing. I realise your drawing is unfinished, so please dont take this as any kind of criticism, I'm just adding my $0.02 worth. SCORE requirements differ greatly from our rules over here, where FIA guidelines are the norm. If I cage my F100, it will probably differ to the normal SCORE cages you would see, but it will do the job, none the less. I am all about the driver and passenger's safety first, the trucks survival second. Looking forward to seeing the finished design.

I would add a door bar from the red dead tube in the b-pillar to the bottom of the a-pillar. It doesn't affect getting in and out of the truck but it helps make it stronger and eliminate a dead tube. I would also eliminate the kickout/bends on the top front to rear bars.

Philo & Aus, you guys beat me to it - I was going to add them in, but hadn't yet taken measurements for the area between the feet of the B pillar and the A pillar (I still haven't). So here's what I'm thinking - I'm not sure if I should connect to the B pillar cross-bar or just to the bottom of the leg - what do you guys think?

I would add a door bar from the red dead tube in the b-pillar to the bottom of the a-pillar. It doesn't affect getting in and out of the truck but it helps make it stronger and eliminate a dead tube. I would also eliminate the kickout/bends on the top front to rear bars.

x2!

I was wondering why all the top tubes kick in a bit when they hit the B pillar hoop & the C pillar hoop. Keep these straight & make them land on the bends of the B & C pillar tubes. Then have the diagonal that goes from the bottom of the C to the top of the B hit at the same spot on that bend.

The very 1st pic of my ranger I posted shows the way I did it & the way I will do it again on my supercab.

I will add however that if you were planning on "gusseting" these corners in your design with tubes that go where I am saying (see green added in pic below) then you can disregard the above...

I wrestled with how to do this when I was drawing it out - since the top corners of the B-pillar are obviously radiused, then the center point of the bend would be nearly 2" inside of the corner of the body - if the longitudinal top tubes coming in from either the A or the C pillars are to be tucked in relatively close to the body (high and wide), then they'd need to kick in at some point to meet the B pillar as well as each other. So that's why I made the little kickers/kinks, and thought that if it was necessary I could then just gusset the joints - but I didn't think about putting a straight tube between them, yours is a much more elegant design. See here for a pic of the tube added, as well as another pic of the joint in detail from the bottom view - note the not-ideal set of locations to connect the diagonal tube coming from the C-pillar base, which I left alone for now.





Thank you very much for the feedback, guys. Please keep it coming!

[ChaseTruck754]

I still say connect the door bar from the mid level tube from the back. It may make it slightly harder to get in and out (if you have suspension seats it doesn't make it any harder at all) but won't be that bad & it also provides some side protection.

[tcm glx]

Why not make your B pillar three tubes, two legs and the center tube, and connect them to the tubes running the length of the roof from the A pillar?

[ChaseTruck754]

Good thought.

What I'm considering for the cage on the supercab is a an a-pillar tube the goes from the floor by the drivers foot all the way back to the top of the c pillar hoop & then doing a 3 piece B pillar like Tony said. Should help with fitment/space issues as for my it SHOULD be easy to keep tucked tight. It's much easier to do this way and from what I can see - just as strong.

[sydude]

Damn, all good ideas but that require me to do more work!!! Ok, I'll go and bend some more virtual steel, and get back to you!

[tcm glx]

Found a pic in one of Keifers build, obviously minus all the X brace stuff:

[ChaseTruck754]

More work how? You mean more time on the tube program? If so I'd definitely take some more time there in return for a better, easier to put together final product.

There are a few good pics here on page 17 & 18 of something similar to what I want to do. Problem is I think DR is down today...
http://www.dezertrangers.com/vb/f57/sbr-11115-17.html

[greaslife]

i know it no bend teck but this is what i was thinking of doing.

[greaslife]

Damn, all good ideas but that require me to do more work!!! Ok, I'll go and bend some more virtual steel, and get back to you!

if you let me have your program i will spend day after day building cages and what ever

[ChaseTruck754]

How about a couple mark ups on that...

Red or green are obviously my suggestions. The horizonal red that goes from the b to c pillar is needed for either one though and the diagonal green from the middle of b pillar to bottom of c can be added in red design as well.

[philofab]

Door bars like that make it very hard to get in and out of. Door bars like this are a lot easier to deal with.... unless you access the rear seats the factory style.

[greaslife]

That's the way i was in leaning on the door bars. What were you doing behind the driver and passenger seats ? i was thinking a bar off b pillar acrossthe back of the front seats down too a dubble floor plate mount for sholder straps. The kids would just needs too climb on seats to get in back.