Roll Cages... multiple threads merged

[BDKW1]

Hey everyone,

I was reading about cages for the FSB, on FSB, and there was a post about not tying the cage into the frame because the bronco was never designed to be a unibody vehicle. Also in the same post the argument was made that you would want your frame and body/cage to sheer away from each other in the case of a massive roll over accident. The reason seemed to be that when this occured the cage would only have to cope with the pressures created by the body and not all of the unsprung components in addition to he frame. What are you thougts?

Hey guys,

I never received any feedback regarding my earlier post. Could I get your thoughts on this?

My thoughts are, what a complete load of crap.

[ChaseTruck754]

Our "cages" are typically not only to protect the occupants of the cab, but also to hold/mount the shocks and to rigidify the frame & keep that from flexing in the abuse we put these things through. Without connecting the cage to the frame these last 2 DON'T WORK! Then again even for a road race car or whatever may be out there where someone was only concerned I don't think I'd design it to or want the body coming off the frame in a roll!!!

[dtbback]

Chase- Thanks for the expanded reply. I had already decided to bushing mount my cage similar to Tony's but really wanted to discuss where this conclusion came from.

I like bouncing questions and thoughts off more experienced folk and learning from their wisdom. And, I didn't really get to hear anyone else's thought hence the bump on my question.

[Mr. VanDii]

That make's no sense to me, to be honest. The point of a roll cage is to keep the weight of the vehicle from smashing your jiblets. Attaching directly o the frame can be noisy, so some people will use grommets to dampen vibration and make the ride more comfortable. but the cage is ultimately attached to the fame somehow. I plan on tying mine into the engine cage and the bed cage as well as some rock sliders. that'll give me a nice firm body, making the suspension do all the work and keep me and my passengers safe. I'll dampen the cab cage to stop the noise... I hope.

[dtbback]

Hey guys what thickness of plate is used for the floors?

[ChaseTruck754]

Depends on what exactly you mean Will. Landing plate for a tube that hits & sits on the floor? If so I've typically used .125"

If you mean what is used to patch a hole cut in the floor to run a tube though it I've used 22 ga (roughly.030"), 20 ga (roughly .040"), 16 ga (roughly .065") and even 14 gauge (roughly .080").

For custom floors on a tube frame like this pic I've used 14 ga & 16 ga.

2-13-05 Firewall 2.jpg (198.32 KiB) Viewed 1201 times

12-3-07 Floor.jpg (67.8 KiB) Viewed 1201 times

[dtbback]

Thanks Steve! I was talking about landing a tube on the floor.