Anyone running a roll cage?

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TJDave said:
Are any of you extreme off-roaders running a roll cage? Saw these today when I was browsing on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FQ0EB4/?tag=wranglerorg-20

and this one...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EOXKNS/?tag=wranglerorg-20
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The rockhard bolt in cage is pretty highly acclaimed as a great option for buffing up your sport cage (Note they don’t use the term roll cage). The problem with rockhard’s addition is it doesn’t fix the weajest part of the TJ’s rollcage which are the header bars the door surrounds attach to. If you see any crash where the tj gets crumpled, these fold fast. There is an excellent rollcage source on JF with hundreds of posts regarding how one stacked up against another. I will say Poly Performances roll cage used to be the #1 reccomendation by many until it was discontinued.

I have full intention of replacing my sport cage with a proper fully welded roll cage, just most shops around me are booked for quite a while (Its also not cheap).

If you want some of the best of the best a local shop could fab one up in your Jeep for ~2k-2.5k fully loaded to the point you drive it home.

I have seen rockhard’s sport cages hold up in photos, I see more people running those to boost their protection on the stock cage, but when you get to stuff like KOH, you start seeing fully custom welded cages vs sport cages. What you need to consider is the type of wheeling you do and what you want from your roll cage in terms of daily driveability, passengers, tubes going everywhere, ect (Really weird question).
 
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I have replaced my OEM header bars with heavy duty (1 3/4" x .120 DOM) Poison Spyder header bars as a starting point for my cage build. They are a direct bolt in replacement, relatively inexpensive, around $170/pair, and will work fine whether you decide on a bolt in or welded cage. In the meantime your sport cage will be that much more effective in the event of an unfortunate vehicular episode.

http://shop.poisonspyder.com/TJ-Heavy-Duty-Header-Bar-Kit-p/14-18-030.htm
 
I run full cages in several of my Jeeps. This one is simply welded off the existing factory cage on one of my YJ’s to make it a bit more robust in case of a rollover.

I will have to get you some better pictures but the cage is also bolted to not only the floor plate but through the other side of the floor plate is a another plate that is welded to tube that is also welded to the frame. (Long winded huh) Making the whole structure more safe and true for a roll cage.
Pardon the lack of cleanliness.

34318030-242F-4080-856D-BE7F57819F4B.jpeg
 
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Any one have any experience with the Smitybilt cage? I am looking for some beefing up but never expect to do any real hardcore stuff. Just light trails and rock crawling. I have read reviews on amazon and seem decent but didn't know if anyone had experience good or bad with it.
 
I've had a Rock Hard sport cage kit since '04. Besides what is pictured in the first link, I have the lower A-piller bars that anchor to the floor. And the straight bar across the rear and the 2 angled bars around the speaker pods. Earlier this year, I added PS HD header bars to the mix.
IMO it's good quality stuff. Although I have been on my side in 2 slow and gentle lay overs, I can still wait a while to go completely over.
 
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I run the poison spyder weld-in system that ties into the factory bars.
 
I have the basic RockHard kit and will add to that as $$ and time permits. I am pretty happy with it, some have claimed that the RockHard does nothing to strengthen the stock bars that go to the windshield, I do not believe this to be factual, the RockHard has two substantial 1 3/4" x .120 tubes that run from the stock roll bar to a transverse bar that ties both windshield bars together, there is also another transverse bar that runs just above the dash, additionally, there are vertical bars that run from the stock windshield bars down to the "A" pillar area of the dash. Is it as good as a fully welded, professionally designed chrome-molly cage? Absolutely not, is it 1/10th the price and able to be installed at home? Yes...... Life is made up of compromises............
 
PhantomX said:
Any one have any experience with the Smittybilt cage?
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Smittybilt is the very last brand of roll cage that I would consider. We're talking about walking away from a severe accident or rollover vs. maybe not. Safety is not something to cheap out on.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Smittybilt is the very last brand of roll cage that I would consider. We're talking about walking away from a severe accident or rollover vs. maybe not. Safety is not something to cheap out on.
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Yeah I was kinda skeptical of that cage. The likelihood of me rolling in my TJ is low given where I use it but still good to know you got coverage if you did including on the road.
 
Take a look at the shipping weight of the Smittybilt vs. the RockHard, while doing so keep in mind the total number of pieces included in each, the RockHard has far fewer components and still has a higher shipping weight...... your decision, of course, but ...........
 
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please post them as i searched but couldn't find the weight i know the smittybilt was a very heavy box. to put it in perspective i move a lot of stuff on my own, my harbor freight 56" tool boxes upper and lower off my truck , my 4 post lift had the help of my wife and daughter to bring it into the shop. so as you can see heavy boxes are something i can relate to? have you ever seen it in person or just on the internet?
 
Ive seen the Rockhard in person and it appeared to be a well built cage (appeared, because I havent seen one "action"). Ive looked at it a few times as well as PS. In the end though, having the support bars welded to the frame is the best/safest option. Which Poison Spyder does exactly that.
 
I run a Rock Hard roll cage. I specifically bought it because I wanted to be able to drop my windshield and still have protection if I rolled.

It ships in bare steel with a protective coating. You’re going to need to find a way to clean off the protectant and paint it. Also, the screw holes are untapped (just another excuse to buy MOAR TOOLZ!!!).

I found a company nearby that blasted off the protectant and painted all the bars properly. It was about $250 to get the base kit treated.

All in all, I loved the finished product.

Steer the hell clear of Smittybilt. I ordered a set of their seat risers. The kit contained probably one of the simplest parts list possible: four plastic pucks and four screws. Two of the screws were so small, they wouldn't even fit through the pucks. If they can't even get that right, I'm certainly not going to trust them with a roll cage.

FC54403E-7C35-48A0-8BC9-4ADBF39AECB5.jpeg
 
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its kinda hard to believe it is such an inferior product . only bad reviews i read are about incorrect bolts. yes it is no where near a weld in cage so i would never kid myself but apples for apples the only difference between the smittybilt and rockhard seems to be the a pillar connection and the fact that the smittybilt is coated from the factory. same size tubes except the bend on the hoop to side posts are different angles. by undoing the same 2 bolts on the windshield header on both sides i can still drop the windshield.
 
PhantomX said:
Any one have any experience with the Smitybilt cage? I am looking for some beefing up but never expect to do any real hardcore stuff. Just light trails and rock crawling. I have read reviews on amazon and seem decent but didn't know if anyone had experience good or bad with it.
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The little experience I have with Shitty built is limited because after my first purchase I vowed to never buy another product from that company but I know safety is not high on their priority list. You get what you pay for and I know everyone has a budget but I would try anything before I looked at SB products.
 
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