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Got a quote for a roll cage...how does this sound?

fortcollinsram

fortcollinsram

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I went down to Xtreme Engineering to talk to Nick about a roll cage. He quoted my ~$1500 for a full 8-point cage, tied into the frame. It would have plenty of cross bracing at between each pillar...

Does this sound pretty fair for this type of cage tied to the frame?


Chris
 
You have a welder, I would buy a bender for $600 and buy $400-500 in steel. Your $400-500 ahead, you get a new cage, you get a new bender, and you get the pride to say you built it yourself.

Why tie the cage to he frame when you are going to be bolted to the body via the seat and the seatbelt? Seems you would want the cage, seats, and seatbelts tied to the body so if you do roll you stay with the protection of the cage.

$1500 doesn't sound like a terrible price if the work is good and it is a full family style cage that runs all the way back. I was quoted about $800-900 awhile back here in Phoenix for a cage from a good fab shop. You might shop around and see who does the best work for the best price.

Harley
 
You are right...I have a welder...and I could geta bender.But the one thing I don't have is the time..I figure I could build one myself for about $1200 (with the price of the bender) but it would probably take me AT LEAST 100 hours to complete it like Nick is going to.

And in terms of tieing it to the frame...It is going to be tied into the frame at ALL 8-points and the seats are going to be mounted to the cage as are my 4-point harnesses. The only thing that will be bolted to the body is the rear seat and rear seat belts.

Nick does AWESOME work (you should see some of the buggies he builds /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif) and he is the kinda of guy that will make it how you want it and keep you invloved in the process 100%...

The $900 you were quoted, was that for a full cage or a family cage or what?

Chris
 
No doubt if ya have a welder already and can lay down a decent bead then I would look into doing it yourself.
If ya have that much dough to lay down I would invest in a bender.
There is an excellant write up on bending tube on pirate.
Tying the cage to the frame not only stiffens the frame but greatly strengthens the cage as it turns the frame into the foundation.
In a gnarly roll the chances of the base of the cage tearing away from a body mount and collapsing are greater than if it is tied directly to the frame.
 
I know...It is a huge dilema..the only thing I have hired somebody else to do on my truck up until now is the machining on the BBC. I still need to replace the floor before I get the cage anyhow. So I guess I will do what needs done anyhow and then see where I am...

Chris
 
When you build a cage , you are building something that you are expecting to save your life. It takes more then a welder and some tube and a bender, It takes knowledge, it takes skill, it takes understanding and experience. The fact that someone owns a welder does not make them qualified to build a cage.
You may be an expert fabricator and have all the skills needed. I am not saying you don't. I am saying that it is money well spent sometimes having someone that knows what they are doing. Just because I can do something does not mean I SHOULD do it.
When I did car audio I used to see guys that installed alarms that "knew how to do it" The difference I knew all the secrets, I know how to hide things, I had experience.
I hope you get my point and understand that I am not dogging anyone just making a point.
NASH
 
[ QUOTE ]

You may be an expert fabricator and have all the skills needed. I am not saying you don't. I am saying that it is money well spent sometimes having someone that knows what they are doing. Just because I can do something does not mean I SHOULD do it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree 100%

I am pretty dead set on having him doing it..I talked to somebody that used to work at another 4x4 shop in town and he said they used to charge about $2300 for what I am having done...I can weld alright, but it would take me FOREVER to decide/figure out where each brace was going ot be and also how to tie it to the frame. Nick does this crap EVERYDAY and I have seen his rig and some of the ones he as built (or fixed other shops' screw-ups) roll HARD and the cags he builds are SOLID...

Chris
 
I would buy yourself a cage kit like the one from S&W.

As for tieing it to the frame, there are lots of opinions, mine is that I certainly wouldn't want to fatigue my cage from the frame flexing and transferring that into the cage. Also, I feel that tieing a cage into the frame will make your frame crack eventually from stiffening the frame in certain spots and creating stress risers.

It's up to you, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to tie a cage to the frame in my opinion.
 
That sounds decent, especially if he does a good job. i can't bring my self to take my jobs anywhere now knowing what it takes in the business of fabbing.

im sure you already know this, but if you were to buy a bender but don't know how to use it you will be using more than $400 of tubing and definately be doing it for a long time. even after working in a shop for almost 2 years i still have to do quadruple check on some of the funky bends.
 
When I rolled my landcurser (head over heels) the roll bar ripped out of the body where it was mounted to. The difference between tying it to the frame and the body is being tied to the frame, the rollbar is not going to rip thru the body panels and will still be attached if the body gets ripped from its mounts thus holding the body in place. It is the most solid mounting you can do for the cage to take maximum force and stay in-tact.

Mounting it to the body, theres always the chance the plates will pull or push thru the thin body metal and if the body dislodges from its mounts, that can also create a problem if the chassis decides to land on top of you after is comes apart from the body. My 71 Cruser was made from some pretty thick metal and I ripped my bar out of it. I understand the issue with stiffining up the frame and you could possibly use some large plates on top and under the body panels and probably do OK with the load distribution but it will never be as strong as one mounted to the frame.

I dont think you will find any racecar (at least any stock car, etc) that has a cage bolted to the body and not welded to the frame, however, they are not trying to flex and twist like some of us are trying to do with the Blazers.

Just my opinion..
 
[ QUOTE ]
I dont think you will find any racecar (at least any stock car, etc) that has a cage bolted to the body and not welded to the frame, however, they are not trying to flex and twist like some of us are trying to do with the Blazers.

Just my opinion..

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not true. Most, if not all race cars I've ever seen have the cage tied into the body.

Also, most rolls off road aren't going to be that severe anyway.

If it's poorly mounted or your floor is rusty and not structurally sound, I can see your point.

I think there are pros and cons to going either way, but I believe that overall, going just to the body is better for me.
 
The $900 was for a cage that was 8 point. It wasn't tied to the frame though which is more work. This was also before the price of steel went threw the roof too so that plays a part in the price too. That price now would probably be closer to $1200 with the steel prices and inflation.

If it is me I would build my own cage. I actually just picked up a front cage I am going to be modifying soon to get in my truck and finishing out a rear cage. I have a little edge on you as I have a friend down here that is going to be an engineer and is a wheeling nut too (az-k5) and is a total geek /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif and knows all the ins and outs of the forces and stuff when it comes to this. He is a pretty good fab guy to boot.

If time is that limited I would say get the $1500 cage and be done with it as long as the guy is as good as you say he is.

I here you Nash on knowing your stuff about cage building. It is better to pay to get something built right the to do it on the cheap yourself and not know if it will hold up.

Especially since you boys up in Colorado like to wheel on the edge of cliffs and crap. /forums/images/graemlins/screwy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Especially since you boys up in Colorado like to wheel on the edge of cliffs and crap. /forums/images/graemlins/screwy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif

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Yeah, definitely. Around here you put a rig on its side or onto its roof or something. Out there, watch out!! /forums/images/graemlins/yikes.gif
 
I will be selling my cage this winter for a good price, are you interested? Send me a PM if you are.
 
/forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
Well before you go and /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif you should bring it down here to Arizona and get in a run while it is still full bodied (somewhat). Wheeling season will be ending for you after Moab or so and our season will be just starting. Give it one last hurrah down here.

A good time is guaranteed on some fun trails. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

Harley
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I dont think you will find any racecar (at least any stock car, etc) that has a cage bolted to the body and not welded to the frame, however, they are not trying to flex and twist like some of us are trying to do with the Blazers.

Just my opinion..

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not true. Most, if not all race cars I've ever seen have the cage tied into the body.



[/ QUOTE ] I have grown up aroud racing of some sort for most of my life, and the only time i ahve ever seen a cage not tied into the frame was on a unibody car where there is no frame to tie into. one of the main pionts of putting a cage in your car(besiden saving your butt in a 100 mph tumble) is to make the car stiffer wich translates into better handling, launches etc.... in a race car you want the stiffest chassis possible,
just my 2 cents
 
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