building bumpers and exocage

[wheeling kid]

How hard is it to build a exocage on a 73 chevy pickup (two door long box)
or shoud I just put a roll bar in the truck .
truck is my dd/mild trails/mud towing/camping (only 1500 miles away from any towns)

I am building a bumper for the truck to rap around to the wheel well and will be able to insall a hidden winch.
The bumper will protect the lights and grill. It will be strongenough for me.


thanks ahead of time for reading and messaging

 

[bigbluesuburban]

The difficulty when building anything is purely subjective. If you have mad fab skills and a shop full of tools then building an exocage is a walk in the park. If you have an angle grinder and solder gun then you might find the entire process a bit difficult.

If you are looking for body and roll over protection then I personally think an exocage is the way to go. I like to keep my interior space... but most wheelin' does not require a serious cage (in my experience) since your traveling slow or sloppin' around in the mud.

I personally think that a solid set of winch points, some rock sliders, and bobbing the back of your beast would do you much more good than an exocage.

Back to your original question though... if you are not experienced with building a cage, and if you are not familiar with the term 'triangulation' then perhaps you need to leave the cage building to the pros, or at the very least do a lot of reading on this forum, and 'other' forums that cater to the DIY off-road enthusiast.

Post up some pics of your bumper, then we can see what kind of skill level you are at and can perhaps offer some better advice for you specifically.

 

[BigEasy]

Doesn't sound like you need a full exocage for what you're doing with the truck. If you're worried about rolling it, go with an in-cab cage.

 

[Leper]

The best way to make an exo a life saver, is to have it also mount to the truck like an internal cage.
I have a cage mostly for body protection. But with no "x"s or other crosses inside of the truck, it won't do much good if I roll down a hill. I have been toying with an idea to cut the removable top of my Blazer so that I could mount an "x" at the end of the metal cab. That would help a bunch in a rollover. At least for the front 2 seats.
If safety, not body damage, is your main concern, go with an internal. I will be switching to one later, and removing my exo when I do the next major mods to it.

 

[muddermilitia]

The best way to make an exo a life saver, is to have it also mount to the truck like an internal cage.
I have a cage mostly for body protection. But with no "x"s or other crosses inside of the truck, it won't do much good if I roll down a hill. I have been toying with an idea to cut the removable top of my Blazer so that I could mount an "x" at the end of the metal cab. That would help a bunch in a rollover. At least for the front 2 seats.
If safety, not body damage, is your main concern, go with an internal. I will be switching to one later, and removing my exo when I do the next major mods to it.

Could you post some pics of your exo? Id like to get ideas, as This is something I want to do in the future. I want to keep the body somewhat straight, but I also like to go down the jeep trails

 

[Leper]

look here
http://www.dallask5.com/STEVE.html
or here
http://www.dallask5.com/Local_Wheelin.html
a couple more here
http://www.dallask5.com/newpics.html

 

[Chaddy]

I think exo's are kind of a waste. First, the full size rig is big enough.
Second, rocks and trees can fit through the cage and kill your body anyway.


Just my 2cents.

 

[muddermilitia]

Exo's are great protection for trees and where I wheel, its nothing but trees.