Roll cage?

[Pheinz]

Is chromoly tubing really the necasary or is there a nother tubing that is just as good and what size should I have in my 80 cherokee chief

[Slick Willie]

Chromo cage is more than likely overkill for these vehicles. Unless you're going to be doing rock racing, or some type of events where you would use a helmet, DOM would be fine. Design matters slightly more than material, IMO, but it's a combination that helps. Common cages are 1.75" .120 wall DOM tubing. Stay away from SCH-40 and SCH-80, people will argue that HREW is ok, and I would only agree if you use a TON of it (compared to conventional DOM designed cages), multiple trusses, great clean welds, etc etc etc. Stick with 1.75" .120 wall DOM and you won't be dissapointed.

[rustywagoneers_com]

In fact, If a 'moly' cage is not annealled at each weld when it is done, it will be weaker. But no one ever mentions that little fact. The chances of hydrogen embrittlement in most 'chrommoly' materials is a HUGE drawback.

Most who use it try to weld very quickly, and never heat the tube far enough to cause hydrogen embrittlement, but I bet that works out really well every single time.

I am not a 'DOM only' guy. But I am not gonna recommend anything here. Read. A LOT. Everything you can find. For a few months.

peace
Dave

[Subic Jeep]

Pirate has o lot of good info but sometimes the BS takes over...:rolleyes:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7127539#post7127539

[Dmntxn77]

I went with HREW. I havent dumped it yet, but I dont think for a minute that it will fail on me...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/dmntxn77/75%20Chief/Cage/AlmostDone15.jpg

[mcjeep80]

what nsize hrew was that ?dmntxn77. and what kind of bender do you guys use? is it the ones w/the bottle jack and little rollers or do you think a more expensive one is in order?:rolleyes:

[Dmntxn77]

That is 1.75" tube... A manual tube bender (model 3 I think) was used.

The bender with the bottle jack that you are refering to, is a PIPE bender, not a TUBE bender. A PIPE bender will cause TUBE to crinkle inside the radius.... So yes, a more expensive unit is in order... :thumbsup:

[Tad]

In fact, If a 'moly' cage is not annealled at each weld when it is done, it will be weaker. But no one ever mentions that little fact. The chances of hydrogen embrittlement in most 'chrommoly' materials is a HUGE drawback...
Dave Dave,
I agree, but everytime you use a technical welding term you get that "me and my cousin been welding since" or "my buddy welds pipe and says...."
Thanks for the voice of reason.

Do the research (opinions and research are different).
Make a decision on what you need.

Thanks,
Tad

Any information you use from here, that does not kill you will make you stronger, IFSJA accepts no responsibility for any thing you read here.
:thumbsup:

[elbastardo]

The material is only as strong as the weld when a cross section comes togather. I can throw pretty beads all day long with a 110 machine that are ice cold, and have almost no strength. Letalone material compatiabilities (as mentioned above).

Your better question might be, Am i OK to weld this?

I dont want to detour you from your indever, obviously any cage is better than none. But myself am in the process of putting togather my cage, and i second guess my welds from time to time given my kids lives are at stake.

[mcjeep80]

i am po' folk. so i want to know where i can get the cheepest bender that is suitable for bending tubing? i was told i could just heat &bend it but the moore i look into this i see this isnt a verry good idea. so what am i looking for as far as a bender. pics would help:thumbsup:

[Rhino Racer]

You can buy the bender and sell it afterwards for the same amount.

If you don't have the cash to do this, you don't actually need a bender as there are actually very little bends in the cage which you can pay to have them done (unless you have something real fancy in mind), and even these can be done by angle cutting and plug welding the joint which will lend you a far stronger curve than bending which tends to thin the wall at the bend.

There's a lot of fabrication info on Race-Dezert.com, an actual offroad racing forum not full of BS like pirate4x4.

[orangecherokee]

I went with HREW and I'm not concerned. I like DOM but unless you have $$$ to burn you'll consider HREW

[Subic Jeep]

There are issues with a bottle jack pipe benders apparently some of the issues can be overcome:


Here is an other link to Pirate well you be the judge of what its worth...

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=696528
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i was having issues with the sides of my die not giving enuff side suport, so i built them up. would have been much easier to use 3/8 square stock

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/dak360/benderdie2.jpg

DOM tube outer diameter is more excact than a pipe. As I understand to bend the tube its rather pulled to a bend with full support to prevent bulging and deformation of the tuble.

Living in the Philippines I have decided for HREW SCH 40 1.5 inch pipe is the way to go, mainly due to it can be delivered to my home and at reasonable cost . A tube bender has to be imported or fabricate here. Have 5 "Poop" pipes at home :thumbsup: waiting to be made to an external roll cage.





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A Norwegian friend of mine said:

There is also a limit for how much work you want to do to make it the best looking.
Often you have to make a lot of bending and curves to make the best looking cage...and that is often way to much work...

Here is a good link http://www.therangerstation.com/logos/trsweb_navy.GIF

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/rollcage.htm

[Pheinz]

thanks for the info I just wanted to ask to see what everyone else has done i have read a lot and talked to a lot of different people and it all seams to be what you can afford and what you like so thanks for the info and if any body else has pic that would be great

[Slick Willie]

There's a good bit of info and pictures in my buildup thread. I still need to add a few cross braces and supports, but it's mostly done.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=57898&page=7&highlight=buildup

[incommando]

IMHO, chromo is for pro's, both in use & in installation. It is not needed for the off-roading that most of us would see.

DOM is great, and HREW works well, too.

I am much more familiar with drag car stuff, and you can use mild steel tubing anywhere. Chromo is used for its weight savings, which is not the greatest concern on a FSJ. If 1 5/8" x .118" HREW MS is good enough for a drag car running 150 MPH, I'll trust it in a FSJ. But I made sure to get DOM in everything I ever put a cage in. Just my preference.

I still would like to see someone with a better understanding of this then I have measure up a cab & get with JEGS for a pre-bent kit. Once they do one, they can pump them out all day for $280 bucks or so each.

[misfittom138]

I still would like to see someone with a better understanding of this then I have measure up a cab & get with JEGS for a pre-bent kit. Once they do one, they can pump them out all day for $280 bucks or so each.

Now that's an idea.