Hmm, sorry TJ, I somehow missed those last questions...
As mentioned before, nodes are stronger. If you can bring bars together at nodes (vertices) then your better off. When a bar does not join at a node, forces tend to make that joint a fulcrum and bend the bar across it. Moving it down is better than nothing, but not ideal... your call.
I generally prefer a halo design, but second would be a "b-hoop". Doing the sides in one piece would be a pane due to multi-pane bend.
Gussets in a cage strengthen the nodes. Mostly it's a safety feature in case a node would otherwise break in a weak weld or something, it shortens the "spans", helps transfer side loads to a limited extent (instead of folding a vertex), etc. It can also help a lot when tubes don't meet at a node, or to help support a bend.
I use 1.75 x 0.120 HREW. With current steel prices, DOM is going to be $$$ and IMO not required. It does stand up to repeated hits and rolls without denting much better, but for a normal cage in a full size, it's over kill. HREW will pretty much do just as much to save your neck in a roll, it will just show the effects more with dents and such. Now a hard core buggy (or comp), where rolls are just part of a days run, DOM makes more sense due to reduce replacement frequency. Mine's starting to get a little battered, but over all is holding up well. These are my opinions, others may disagree. There is a contingent who feel that anyone would be a fool to not use DOM for a cage, I am not among them...
Matt:
The side braces we were talking about triangulate the b-hoop and stabilize it much like normal kickers. They are just in tension when the kickers would be in compression and vise-a-versa. And bars going to the dash bar of limited use if the dash bar can not be supported vertically by triangulation or dropping to a floor level support of some kind. Better than nothing, but in a direct hit there, not by much since the dash bar span will give rather easily when pushed down in the center...
Chris:
Well, I am one that disagrees with you, at least as a global statement. Useless? I absolutely and totally disagree. For low speed rolls, especially in a full top K5, a properly done body mounted cage (in the normal sense) is quite useful and can certainly save lives. Even in more violent rolls, a cage properly secured to a solid floor can be quite useful, far, FAR better than nothing. My own cage in my truggy is not tied to my frame in any way. I have under floor horizontal supports (sub-frame) that the cage and floors mount to. The cage, sub-frame, floors, and cowl form a “pod” surrounding the occupants. This “pod” then mounts to the frame using the factory body mounts and hardware. I'm confident in saying you won't find a frame mounted cage that is safer than mine (in the general case) for rock crawling. My son's K5 has a modified version of this (not finished) that mounts to reinforced floor pans with a horizontal plate going from side to side and rock sliders (boat side) tied in as well. Again, like mine, there is no way his cage will punch through the floor. And furthermore, for most "frame tie ins" I see around, the frame mounts are less than ideal, making them considerably weaker then my setup, and introducing new problems as well. But I won’t go into that since I’ve made my opinions on the point well known in several previous threads…
