Alright, before this turns into a debate about mounting to frame vs. floor, let's just say there're already a whole bunch of threads about the subject and leave that be. What I'm toying with is the conventionally worse, and generally useless idea of mounting to the bed rails. So why open Pandora's box? Here's my thinking.
For starters, I don't get to do any real off-roading. I live in the burbs, and I count on my ride to get to work everyday. My rig is set-up for street driving. The only 4x4ing my truck really sees is some NY snow (which it negotiates handily). I won't be doing a back-flop in the Devil's Hwy Hot Tub or going arse-over-kettle-over-arse-over-kettle-over-arse down Potato Salad Hill, BUT highway speeds can lead to pretty nasty rollovers.
My objective is to mount a cage that will offer at least as much protection as my hardtop (on an 83 half cab), so I can go topless without added risk. I know in reality there's the increased risk of projections and projectiles, but that aside, I'm looking to basically recover whatever amount of structural strength would be lost by removing the cap. And I think, for a lot of the guys on here whose truck is their DD, they want the same thing.
Devil's advocate that I am... "Well, what does this all have to do with bedrails? You can just buy a bolt in kit and risk your and your loved one's lives with that, ya jabroni."
Well, let me pitch this. You don't mount directly to the rail, but rather, weld to a length of angle steel that mounts to the rail. My thinking here is that, with the help of some well placed gussets and kickers, the design would distribute the energy of impact over a greater surface area. Perhaps even better than a floor mounted cage would. here's a basic idea I just sketched up:
The idea here is that the "cage" basically replaces the cap and uses all the same mounting holes. In this design, there are still kickers from the front and back that add support from the wells with a big fat padded flange plate, and two steel braces on each side that support from the frame rail to the wells also. The angle steel could also be drilled out with rivet mounts for a canvass top.
So what are the potential pros?
-bolt in cage would require no alterations to the body and utilize existing bolt mounts
-mounting to rails allows for cage that doesn't encroach on interior space
-cage could double as frame for soft cover
-mitigates lost structure from removing cap (maybe)
and the obvious Cons?
-Bolt mounting makes vulnerable to lateral impact during roll-over (any more so than w/ fiberglass cap?)
-bed rail would be a buckle point (any more so than w/ fiberglass cap?)
-a lot of work/material expense for something that doesn't offer nearly as much safety as a frame mounted cage
-requires storage when hard top is on
-a lot of material compared to average bolt-in
-matching body contours on B-pillar could be tricky
-(100 other things I didn't think of)
I know it's easy for me to just sketch something out on paper and throw around grand ideas, but if there's a place to get an idea like this troubleshot, defended, or outright debunked, it's here. Just bear in mind, the principle objective is to make something that replaces the structural safety that the cap provided. Go!
For starters, I don't get to do any real off-roading. I live in the burbs, and I count on my ride to get to work everyday. My rig is set-up for street driving. The only 4x4ing my truck really sees is some NY snow (which it negotiates handily). I won't be doing a back-flop in the Devil's Hwy Hot Tub or going arse-over-kettle-over-arse-over-kettle-over-arse down Potato Salad Hill, BUT highway speeds can lead to pretty nasty rollovers.
My objective is to mount a cage that will offer at least as much protection as my hardtop (on an 83 half cab), so I can go topless without added risk. I know in reality there's the increased risk of projections and projectiles, but that aside, I'm looking to basically recover whatever amount of structural strength would be lost by removing the cap. And I think, for a lot of the guys on here whose truck is their DD, they want the same thing.
Devil's advocate that I am... "Well, what does this all have to do with bedrails? You can just buy a bolt in kit and risk your and your loved one's lives with that, ya jabroni."
Well, let me pitch this. You don't mount directly to the rail, but rather, weld to a length of angle steel that mounts to the rail. My thinking here is that, with the help of some well placed gussets and kickers, the design would distribute the energy of impact over a greater surface area. Perhaps even better than a floor mounted cage would. here's a basic idea I just sketched up:
The idea here is that the "cage" basically replaces the cap and uses all the same mounting holes. In this design, there are still kickers from the front and back that add support from the wells with a big fat padded flange plate, and two steel braces on each side that support from the frame rail to the wells also. The angle steel could also be drilled out with rivet mounts for a canvass top.
So what are the potential pros?
-bolt in cage would require no alterations to the body and utilize existing bolt mounts
-mounting to rails allows for cage that doesn't encroach on interior space
-cage could double as frame for soft cover
-mitigates lost structure from removing cap (maybe)
and the obvious Cons?
-Bolt mounting makes vulnerable to lateral impact during roll-over (any more so than w/ fiberglass cap?)
-bed rail would be a buckle point (any more so than w/ fiberglass cap?)
-a lot of work/material expense for something that doesn't offer nearly as much safety as a frame mounted cage
-requires storage when hard top is on
-a lot of material compared to average bolt-in
-matching body contours on B-pillar could be tricky
-(100 other things I didn't think of)
I know it's easy for me to just sketch something out on paper and throw around grand ideas, but if there's a place to get an idea like this troubleshot, defended, or outright debunked, it's here. Just bear in mind, the principle objective is to make something that replaces the structural safety that the cap provided. Go!
