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Roll over Protection

80' 427

80' 427

1/2 ton status
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Nov 14, 2006
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After Marty's flop this last weekend I realize we are at the point were we are trying stuff that is bad enough we may roll over. I see some of you have cages and some bars. I am thinking just a bar behind the cab. Why because my 130mph camaro only requires a bar. Why does my 5mph truck need a cage?
 
Anything is better than nothing. If you can only do a bar, do it. If you can only do a rear cage, do it.

I currently have just the rear cage work done. The front half will require a lot more work, reason it hasn't been done already.
 
Not to mention, your car is driven on flat asphalt where the chance of rollover is slim. Your truck is on terrain that is often off kilter.
 
Not to mention full cages really stiffen things up on these trucks. My cage is tied to my frame in 10 individual places (and I'm not even done) and the truck is so much more solid than it used to be.

That being said a single roll bar with some simple triangulation would be better than nothing.
 
There is a better reason for the difference.
The bar on your Camero has to meet two requirements.
It has to meet federal rollover standards, and do so as cheaply as possible so the bottom line is effected as little as possible.

The cage on your Blazer has to actually work and keep your butt safe.
 
The cage in his Camaro doesnt have to meet federal safety standards, its in there for 1/4 mile track standards, which most likely are stricter than federal hoopla. Judging from the fact he took it on the HotRod thing. That and tracks dont play games with fast cars and lack of cages.

A single bar over your head will keep the most important part of the cab from being crushed, ie the part over your brain bucket. Now, a complete cage, much like a 10.5 Outlaw car, would be much much much better, but a single bar will be much better than factory sheetmetal. Seriously though, it takes a pretty big hit to completely crush a cab in to the point of crushing you. A simple slow speed roll over wont crush the cab flat with the dashboard. Now, falling off a cliff onto your lid will most likely do some serious damage. So you must decide how much your wheeling requires how much cage you need. A rear bar, with halo over your head and running down A-pillar to floor pan would be ideal, but if thats alot of work for you, I would just run the overhead bar, make it thick, and call it legit.
 
Mine is tied to the frame in 14 locations. Some of those also were incorporated as shock mounts.

We have had 3 roll over accidents in front of the church I am staying at. In the past 6 weeks. 2 people died in one of them. I do the 4 point harnesses every time I get in now. I feel safe on the streets with the full cage.

But that's just me.
 
A cage would be OK but I don't want to play jungle Jim every time I get out. We will see.
 
even a simple small backwards flop from a 15' tall steep embankment can FLATTEN a stock cab. so its not just cliffs you should worry about. that camaro would take skimming blows at track speeds, where as your truck as mentioned can take all its mass and momentem and focus it in one big hit (Erics Horton flop:whistle:) --- imagine that one without a cage. Bar is better than nothing, But your life shouldnt rely on "good enough" IMHO
 
A 15' fall wasn't what I had in mind for a simple roll over. That would easily crush the cab. When I said simple roll over, I'm imagining somethin more along the lines of rolling off an RTI ramp for example.
 
454Sub said:
A 15' fall wasn't what I had in mind for a simple roll over. That would easily crush the cab. When I said simple roll over, I'm imagining somethin more along the lines of rolling off an RTI ramp for example.
Click to expand...

I still keep thinking F=M*A I really don't think I could back flip my truck. Flop or side roll yes but getting a reg cab long box to come over backwards would be a feat.
 
And remember even if the track is flat 10.30 quarter mile is a huge amount of acceleration for the mass. Cars tend to tumble. I guess I just don't want my already small cab to be that much smaller.
 
Back flipping a long bed would take careful planning + liberal use of gas x a dash of don't give a D@mm - show car status all = an awesome YouTube video.
 
I had a friend in highschool that almost died cause he did a back flop in a reg cab long bed 76 ford on 35"s. regular ditch alongside the highway with a steep wall going up the side of a gravel road that T'd through the ditch. he hit it kinda hard thinking he was gonna spin in the grass and whenhe hit he just kept in it. they said the front end bounced hard and he went straght up for a second and it went back over and totally F'd up his truck.:doah: Yes drinking was involved:rolleyes: . the back of the truck was still up the hill a ways is the only thing that kept him from probably dying. he was in the hospital for quite a while with head, and neck injuries.

It WAS the nicest truck in our schools lot
 
An in cab 4 point cage wouldn't be that hard or take up too much space. Sacrificing a little space is better than being a vegetable or dead.
 
a dragstrip crash will involve mostly hitting the wall....a 10-11 sec car rarely barrel rolls, thus a roll bar system only required....the bar must be rear supported by two rear facing down tubes, and minimum one down tube on drivers side...more to it than that, but basically its not just a simple single rollbar.
 
I have a 6 point, I understand. Maybe I will just buy a 10 point for my truck and not all the bars.
 
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