BENDER stays in hibernation with me

[K85 Octane]

Hmm, wish the pictures were better. Maybe I'll return to this rock during the day with a spotter and have even better poser flex pics. The driver's door wasn't happy with me when I got out I got lucky finding this rock since I don't feel like putting my drive slugs in for 4wd. Sucker is right against the concrete and very ramp shaped, getting up was easy. I would love to reach the top, but being alone on a mountain road Sat 9pm was adventurous enough. Oh, and you can kinda see my trimming of the front fenders. Front tires are much happier now.

Bring on the crap night pics!!.......

 

[K85 Octane]

I'm super happy though. I've been worried about my front DS collapse length and front shock lengths. Seems all is good. I still had plenty of DS to collapse and 2" of shock remaining on the fronts. I forgot to look at the rear shock collapse. D'oh

 

[K85 Octane]

Returned to the scene of the crimewith the wrong truck. I'm going to climb the top of that rock, soon

Also, driving home that nice video. One handed driving.

 

[K85 Octane]

Few picture from my day out. I have some video, including onboard stuff, but I need to go through it as some footage is useless with mud on the lens.

 

[Deuling]

Great to see it in action

 

[K85 Octane]

here is one video
just as I was leaving I ran into a few people that I met at the mud hole
they were climbing the smaller stuff to the right, so I went for the nasty stuff and asked for a cameraman (camera girl actually)

I have only 1/2 the footage from my onboard camera mounted to my rear bumper. Between mud on the lens and the battery dying without me knowing, I don't have some of my favorite events.

 

[andyblack]

Awesome vid. Nice driving too.

 

[kellyjohn]

Very cool!

Nice build!
The details for the mods are inspiring!!!
I keep reading about Sub springs in the front.
May be doing the same soon...because the rigs with this upgrade are very impressive!!!!

 

[K85 Octane]

Thanks fellas. Fixing things have taken a back seat to driving it lol. I'm looking to get the rear cage and sliders done very soon here. I want to drive it door/topless.

but I really need to fix the damn rear window and get the HVAC working again

 

[K85 Octane]

I'm getting started on some cage work. Also looking to have a drop down tire carrier made. I don't have the time, tools, or skills to do this stuff. Here are some quick pictures of what I'm thinking.

The two horizontal tubes (behind the bench and across the rear at the same height) will be removable. I will keep them in place but I NEED to have an open bed area so I can still use the truck as I want. They are for added strength and the bench one is for seat belts.

The four semi vertical tubes will be 2" (same as the hoops). The tubes going forward to meet the existing tubes and the tubes starting at the center of the rear hoop and going down. All the others will be 1.75". The tube going across the very bottom, near the tail gate, might not end up being a tube but possibly square stock. I still want to get 4x8 sheets of whatever in the back without a problem. This truck is my only fullsize. Other than using the truck for truck purposes, I plan to sleep in it as well, so keeping headache inducing bars clear is also important.

Let me know what you think. I wish I could get on my house's roof for a better picture, but it's steeple steepUgg, I should have used different color tape for different areas. Sorry folks. Also, I plan to get some support to the front mounts of the bench seat, just to tie it into the cage some, but the bed needs to stay flat.

 

[andyblack]

I don't know. It kinda looks overly complicated if you ask me. The top seems okay, but I don't know about the back part. I've never built a cage though. I'm sure somebody that knows what they're talking about will read this shortly.

What about the drop down spare tire carrier? Are the mounts for it going to be integrated into the cage somehow?

 

[kellyjohn]

Cage design

I don't know. It kinda looks overly complicated if you ask me. The top seems okay, but I don't know about the back part. I've never built a cage though. I'm sure somebody that knows what they're talking about will read this shortly.

What about the drop down spare tire carrier? Are the mounts for it going to be integrated into the cage somehow?

For what it's worth, I agree with andyblack.
Top and sides looks cool but the rear is too busy.

The fold down tire carrier could be part of the rear cage, then all you would need are some gusset tubes to provide added strength in the corners.
I'll try and show on a rough sketch.

 

[K85 Octane]

I took it over to the shop yesterday and discussed what all my tape ment. The guy made a couple suggestions and simplified a couple things. Also, worked in a couple cross supports to lay along the floor. This will help tie in the sides, support the rear bench some, and give me seatbelt mount points. The front seatbelt design, however, is still up in the air ATM. The rear tire carrier will be mounted to the tube bumper. I'm going to find some pictures to support my ideas, though its pretty simple, I'm just not sure how the upper mounts are going to attach. I'm thinking of running a fender protector bar from the slider to rear bumper, this might end up being my attach point.

For now I'm just doing the cage and sliders. Then we can lay the rest out. The tire carrier is very important. I need that fuking tire OUT of the back!

 

[K85 Octane]

Also

NICE sketch KJ looks great

 

[kellyjohn]

Cage

Thanks for the complement!
Hard to explain in words so a sketch always makes it easy to share an idea.

I'll keep checking on the mods to see your rig's transformation continue!!

Cage design is a challenging mix of geometry, function and aesthetics.
Sounds like you already have some professional assistance.

Nice Build!

 

[K85 Octane]

Honestly, I posed the question to everyone for ideas, but things moved a little faster than expected, which was nice, but I ended up winging it and letting the pro take over.

 

[y5mgisi]

Im sure you will be happy with it.

 

[rdn2blazer]

You know you're welcome to use my cage for ideas if you want. I'll help however I can.

 

[NorCal69]

You know you're welcome to use my cage for ideas if you want.

Always a good idea to take a look at Rob's before you start bending. Probably the best built cage on the site.

Glad that you're kinda thinking of toning down the back a little. To me, it looked like a lot of tube.

Good to see a cage going in, though..

By the way, you're rig came out really nice..

 

[pblaze725]

I didn't want to be the first to say it but yer cage had too much triangulation!

I can't wait to check it out. Assuming I will meet you on a trail some day.

I need a cage too and I had some of the same ideas.