Roll bar padding for 1.75” DOM tubing

Rescue6

Rescue6

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I just started building my new custom Rollbar. I won’t call it a “Cage” since it does not go through the firewall and have X bracing up front and full on door bars etc. but it’s going to be way more than what most people do to street / trail Jeeps. And yes I am in fact predicting the future as i will die at some point wether it be in this damn Jeep or not I don’t care but I am going to give myself a better chance of just flipping it back over kicking out the glass and getting back on my way than what I have now. I have the tools the skills and ability and the time so why the hell not. It will be tied to the frame in ten spots, A-B-C pillars and at four spots from the seat mounting bars that will go across the tub at the bottom and tie into the rollbar between the A-B pillars. The A pillars run through the dash. I have a harness bar and X bracing behind the front seats in the B pillar. The A&B pillars are going to be tied together at top and at the bottom at the door opening and tube from side to side to mount the seats to it as well. Lots of triangulation etc. but I want to find some aftermarket padding for some of the bars that a person could easily come into contact with in an accident. As this will still be driven on the street and trails without a helmet most of the time. I have used stuff from Jegs in my drag car but it is like 3.5” around in total and would look pretty ridiculous all over the jeep. Anyone found anything that is not so big but still offers some padding that they can recommend. Thanks in advance
 
The plumbing department of your local Lowe's and Home Depot have pipe insulation that is slit up one side so it slips over the tubes and stays put. Looks fine, most of it is in a dark gray or black cover.

This is what it looked like on a couple of the tubes on my previous TJ...

CIMG3759.JPG
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
The plumbing department of your local Lowe's and Home Depot have pipe insulation that is slit up one side so it slips over the tubes and stays put. Looks fine, most of it is in a dark gray or black cover.

This is what it looked like on a couple of the tubes on my previous TJ...

View attachment 116285
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Yeah that’s pretty much the stuff I got fro Jegs although I think the hole is offset and it’s blue. What diameter would you say that stuff is. My local Lowe’s didn’t have anything that was for pipe over 1.25”.
 
My local Lowe’s only went up to 1” and that’s not quite large enough. Try a plumbing supply place and get some for 1-1/2” pipe if you run into the same problem I did.
 
I have had way better luck using the tube padding from Jegs or Summit than pipe insulation. The insulation always goes flat anywhere something is resting on it or the sun is on it for long periods. Seems like it breaks down in a year or so. And it doesn't cost that much.
 
If the foam is softer than a bike helmets foam it isn't going to protect you from the equivalent of falling off a bicycle. You might look into SFI 45.1 or the hard foam like the factory bar has or all you're doing is protecting yourself from minor owies when you hop in your Jeep (which is fine). If soft foam did anything to protect your head some helmet sold somewhere would use it and I don't think that is the case. Summit sells 45.1 that doesn't break the bank.
 
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pagrey said:
If the foam is softer than a bike helmets foam it isn't going to protect you from the equivalent of falling off a bicycle. You might look into SFI 45.1 or the hard foam like the factory bar has or all you're doing is protecting yourself from minor owies when you hop in your Jeep (which is fine). If soft foam did anything to protect your head some helmet sold somewhere would use it and I don't think that is the case. Summit sells 45.1 that doesn't break the bank.
Click to expand...
Learned something new today.
 
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pagrey said:
If the foam is softer than a bike helmets foam it isn't going to protect you from the equivalent of falling off a bicycle. You might look into SFI 45.1 or the hard foam like the factory bar has or all you're doing is protecting yourself from minor owies when you hop in your Jeep (which is fine). If soft foam did anything to protect your head some helmet sold somewhere would use it and I don't think that is the case. Summit sells 45.1 that doesn't break the bank.
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I have installed both and the pipe insulation I installed is thicker than the factory padding and it is rigid enough to feel the same as is in the couple helmets I have.
 
Pipe insulation such as the version typically available in hardware stores may be okay for protecting against a bump on your head when entering/exiting a jeep, but it is much less dense than "high-G" padding and relatively useless in a rollover or collision. I wouldn't use it, but that's just me.

Here are some sources for "proper" roll bar padding:

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Spee...-for-1-3-4-to-2-Inch-Tubing-SFI-451,9464.html
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection.asp?Product=2395
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BZLTME/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Jegs and Summit Racing carry similar products.
 
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Yeah I’m looking for a true roll cage protection foam over the stuff at HD or Lowe’s. I found some stuff that is not full circumference padding but you can add it only to the side you need the padding. I may try
 
I love conversations about how to do something dangerous safely .

When I leave to ride my dirt bike , my wife says "be careful"

And I'm like , well , if I was going to be careful I wouldn't be doing something that requires a helmet!

I do like padded roll bars.
 
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