"Convertible" Roll Cage?

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SouthMS40

SouthMS40

Joined
Feb 4, 2013
Threads
24
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166
Location
Gulfport, Mississippi
I have a 1975 FJ40 that I am building. It has an SOA lift and going to be sitting on 37" IROKs as soon as my wheels come in. Thing is, I don't want it sitting outside once complete and I'm 99.9% sure it's not going to fit inside the garage with a complete cage welded in. My idea is to basically build a "convertible" roll cage for it by cutting a section out of each vertical and welding in an interlocking clamp such as this - http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/Interlocking-I.D.-Tube-Clamp-p-66.html

Has anyone ever tried this? In my mind it makes sense but is it a good idea? I plan to do this with a full 6-point cage kit from Metal Tech.

Thoughts?
 
Cool idea. When you do this, I'd like to see how it works out.
 
Introducing 6 weak points into something designed to keep you alive seems really stupid to me. Id look for other ways to lower it.
 
I think that no matter what you do, you will be adding weak points. The only thought I would have is to weld an insert on one end and have a bolt together flange. That should keep it from sheering when it is bolted together. Still not ideal though.
 
I sleeved where the cage bolts to the sliders on the pig. The idea being I could finish weld it off the truck as well as paint it.

It tweaks enough during the welding that it really doesn't work well. Once it's been smashed a few times its not going to go on and off either. In your case the welding might not be too much of an issue. In either case a flange would work better than a sleeve.

Lots and lots of cages have joints in them. Tons of manufacturers make cages designed to be put in cars and trucks that wouldn't otherwise fit.
 
Honestly every weld in a cage is a weak point. With appropriately selected hardware bolting can be as strong as a weld or close. I also live in south Mississippi land of mud holes and no rocks. The only possible use for a cage here is a rollover in a traffic accident which is also very important. There are many variables to a properly designed cage. One weld with poor penetration will fail quicker than a grade 8 bolted joint. There's also the problem of distortion in the structure due to weld heat that's my only real concern. Once it's all welded how do I unbolt and rebolt it without problems? Don't know. Maybe I'll figure it out. We'll see.
 
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what about something like this at the base .. making easy to put and pull the hole cage .. ?

images
 
Will the windshield frame clear the garage opening?
 
If you're only 99.9% sure it isn't going to fit, that tells me that it must not be a huge difference in the height, therefore only a little bit of distance is likely needed. Have you considered just having a set of roller wheels & tires to swap out when needing to go into the garage? Personally I think that'd also be easier than trying to dismount half a cage every time. Considering the weight of a well constructed cage, especially in conjunction with the large and awkward shape, I bet it would take at least two strong people to get it up and off the truck anyway; you could swap four tires by yourself a lot easier - and safer for that matter (just picture lifting the top of a cage off a sprung-over 40 on 37's - no thanks).

Super basic math tells me that half of 37" is 18.5", so your axle with 37's is about 18.5" high. Half of 31" is 15.5", so going to a 31" tire from a 37" would net you about 3" of drop. Obviously you could get even smaller tires, even some car tires (who cares since it'll be parked in the garage) and net even more drop.

As a last resort or temporary solution until you find a better, more permanent one, you could drop the pressure in the 37's down til they're nearly flat - probably in the 2-4 psi range if they're radials. This will net you a drop equivalent to about 90% of what the sidewall height is at street pressure. I wouldn't recommend doing this on a regular basis or for extended periods though - for many reasons - especially if they're bias ply tires.

There's my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth and good luck with the project. Spring-Over 40's are sweet.
 
You could let air out of your tires, that is worth a couple of inches.
 
A friend of mine in my club has a 4Runner with an exo cage and the top can be lifted off of the sliders and bumpers with flanges and bolts. He's put it on its side and its lid and it is still good to go.
 
my soa with 38 hawgs fit my standard garage with full cage ,i did have to remove a trim peice to gain and extra half an inch .
 
I think the best option would be to sell the house and buy a new house with a larger garage door... or maybe just air down and drive in the garage you already have.
 
What about a pair of suck down winches? You can hard wire them in and not even have to get out of the cab.
 
I could definitely use a couple of suck down wenches!

Oh wait... Winches?
 
I went through this with my soa 60 series on 40s. Before altering the garage door my old 80 series on 33s would just just fit in there. Im lucky to have a full size loft on top of the garage so I cut a slot in the floor and ceiling above the door and re routed the tracks to go straight up and enlarged the door opening so its flush with the ceiling . The garage door now goes up into the loft and there are no springs or tracks on the ceiling of the garage. Made a little door to close the slot when the garage door is down. The 60 fits with an inch to spare and my soa 40 with mt cage on 36" irocs fits with about 2.5" left over. 83" from floor to ceiling. Is the new measurement.

Not an ideal solution for everyone but if you have some room under your roof it may be possible. Hell of a lot easier in the long run compared to removing a cage or puttin on rollers every time.

D
 
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