cage help

[73redblaze]

so i bought this full circle track race cage for my blazer but im starting to doubt the integrity of it. i had to use a sledge hammer to "convince" it to go into place and when i did it dented the hell out of it. hit it about 10 times, not super hard and it smashed the tube to about the middle of itself. i have no idea what this is made out of. should i go ahead and run it or should i run nothing at all until i can afford good material?

 

[ryoken]

.120 wall is fine for a cage.. i would verify what it is... you could drill a hole in a discreet place and check wall thickness and mig it back up...

 

[Brady]

I can't imagine how heavy a cage out of .250 would be!I use 1.75" .120 wall DOM.

 

[73redblaze]

the bottom hasnt been welded yet, i just dont have a tool to measure that small.

 

[shady]

If it dented that easy it may be DOM. dont worry about dom not being strong enough. If its .120 wall or thicker it is what you want. I've been told that, If you want a cage that will save you multiple times go with DOM. If you want one that will save you a couple times and then need replaced do it with schedule 40 pipe.

 

[73redblaze]

i dont know that it is dom but wouldnt it have to be if it was used in a circle track car?

 

[ryoken]

DOM > HREW > Pipe..... doubt I'd ever do a pipe cage.. bumpers, i would...

 

[73redblaze]

its not ERW because i notice the seem sticks out just a little like it was welded inside but not out. anyway after taking some measurements it is 1 3/4" OD with a 1/8" wall so .125 or real close. i think it should be fine

 

[miniwally]

its not ERW because i notice the seem sticks out just a little like it was welded inside but not out. anyway after taking some measurements it is 1 3/4" OD with a 1/8" wall so .125 or real close. i think it should be fine

HREW will have the seam slightly visible on the inside like you describe. HREW will dent easier than DOM but is used a lot in roundy round off the shelf roll cages. It's fine for a roll cage that isn't intended to be used multiple times.


DOM will not have the seam visible as after it is welded it is drawn over a mandrel that smooths the seam down as well as makes the tubing more consistent in wall thickness and size. DOM is the "standard" for most off road roll cages DOM will hold up to rock strikes and such. A well put together DOM cage will be stronger and take more abuse than then exact same cage built from HREW.

Pipe is for poop.

 

[73redblaze]

well im not planning on rolling it multiple times, its just in case type of deal. since i have it already i will run it until it gets beat. i have some .120 wall dom i can add to it to make it a little stronger. what do you guys think about adding some DOM for integrity?

 

[miniwally]

Cage integrity is more about where you place the tubing than it is about what the tubing is made from.

It's not a bad idea to beef things up but it all depends on where your adding. Think triangles and intersecting "Nodes" for strength.