Hey all,
I put a Metal Tech family cage in my 40 last fall and I am very happy with how it turned out. Want to be able to take both of my kids (5 and 3 years old) in the Cruiser and feel like they are going to be reasonably safe. I have been taking them one at a time with their car seat in the front seat since my daughter was born. They love it, but it will be fun to get the whole family in there.
The 40 before the new cage.
My cousin is a professional welder and helped me out with it. After reading a lot of posts here, I was pretty anal about getting the fit just right so I could roll my windows down, remove the windshield knobs, etc… We had it tacked together and everything looked great. Took it to the shop to weld it up, brought it back, put it in and couldn’t get the windows down. Doh! Did a little adjusting with which bolts get tightened up first and it is better. I have to push it a bit, but it works. Anyone know of a slightly shorter window crank that would fit?
Overall, I am really happy with the results.
Definitely feel like the kids will be safer. Went with the front and rear frame tie-ins and the grab bars. I didn’t want to cut the wheel well supports, so I bought some 1.5x3” steel to build spacers. (see the pics) I think 1x3 would have done the trick, but the steel supplier I went to didn’t have it. We were moving pretty fast when we put together the frame tie-ins and I didn’t think about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to paint the tops of the custom tie-ins. Not sure how long that setup will last before it rusts out. I tried to spray a lot of paint up there, but… Not sure that I have a whole lot of options at this point to get at them other than cutting them out or removing the tub. Also not sure if the bolts need to be trimmed so the wheels don’t catch on them. Guess I should jack one wheel up to see what the clearance looks like. May have to use shorter bolts and sink the nuts into the steel.
Didn’t go with the overhead bars and I am starting to wonder if I should have. I don’t wheel real hard, but every now and then I get into that situation where a I am really happy to have a good roll cage. Any thoughts on those?
Really liked the finish on ouroutdoorfamily’s cage, so I PM’d him to find out what he used. Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating was the ticket. Cleaned the cage up well (grinder and acetone) and put three coats on. Looks good and seems to be holding up pretty well. Only issue is dirty boots or hands leave a lot of dirt on the cage, and I don’t think it will be very easy to clean up.
I have noticed that the cage seems to shimmy when I am driving down the road. Not sure why it does that, but it is distracting and I worry about it rubbing against my dash pad over time. Any ideas?
Just got a Bestop Trailmax 2 (part number 39435-15) from Summit Racing. Going to go with the 6” seatbelt extension bracket from Wesco Performance for the front seat mounts. Now looking at seatbelts and trying to decide what to buy. I really like the idea of snap ends http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/ofsebe.html so I can remove the seatbelts really easily when I fold and tumble the seat, but I am not quite sure how to mount the eyelet to the roll cage. Don’t really want the eyelet going through the tube, as it will cause issues with the soft top (they aren’t long enough either). Don’t want to run it over the seat and to the floor as this won’t work when the kids get bigger. Thinking I may have to fab up a bracket and weld it to the cage. Looking for ideas here.
I put a Metal Tech family cage in my 40 last fall and I am very happy with how it turned out. Want to be able to take both of my kids (5 and 3 years old) in the Cruiser and feel like they are going to be reasonably safe. I have been taking them one at a time with their car seat in the front seat since my daughter was born. They love it, but it will be fun to get the whole family in there.
The 40 before the new cage.
My cousin is a professional welder and helped me out with it. After reading a lot of posts here, I was pretty anal about getting the fit just right so I could roll my windows down, remove the windshield knobs, etc… We had it tacked together and everything looked great. Took it to the shop to weld it up, brought it back, put it in and couldn’t get the windows down. Doh! Did a little adjusting with which bolts get tightened up first and it is better. I have to push it a bit, but it works. Anyone know of a slightly shorter window crank that would fit?
Overall, I am really happy with the results.
Definitely feel like the kids will be safer. Went with the front and rear frame tie-ins and the grab bars. I didn’t want to cut the wheel well supports, so I bought some 1.5x3” steel to build spacers. (see the pics) I think 1x3 would have done the trick, but the steel supplier I went to didn’t have it. We were moving pretty fast when we put together the frame tie-ins and I didn’t think about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to paint the tops of the custom tie-ins. Not sure how long that setup will last before it rusts out. I tried to spray a lot of paint up there, but… Not sure that I have a whole lot of options at this point to get at them other than cutting them out or removing the tub. Also not sure if the bolts need to be trimmed so the wheels don’t catch on them. Guess I should jack one wheel up to see what the clearance looks like. May have to use shorter bolts and sink the nuts into the steel.
Didn’t go with the overhead bars and I am starting to wonder if I should have. I don’t wheel real hard, but every now and then I get into that situation where a I am really happy to have a good roll cage. Any thoughts on those?
Really liked the finish on ouroutdoorfamily’s cage, so I PM’d him to find out what he used. Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating was the ticket. Cleaned the cage up well (grinder and acetone) and put three coats on. Looks good and seems to be holding up pretty well. Only issue is dirty boots or hands leave a lot of dirt on the cage, and I don’t think it will be very easy to clean up.
I have noticed that the cage seems to shimmy when I am driving down the road. Not sure why it does that, but it is distracting and I worry about it rubbing against my dash pad over time. Any ideas?
Just got a Bestop Trailmax 2 (part number 39435-15) from Summit Racing. Going to go with the 6” seatbelt extension bracket from Wesco Performance for the front seat mounts. Now looking at seatbelts and trying to decide what to buy. I really like the idea of snap ends http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/ofsebe.html so I can remove the seatbelts really easily when I fold and tumble the seat, but I am not quite sure how to mount the eyelet to the roll cage. Don’t really want the eyelet going through the tube, as it will cause issues with the soft top (they aren’t long enough either). Don’t want to run it over the seat and to the floor as this won’t work when the kids get bigger. Thinking I may have to fab up a bracket and weld it to the cage. Looking for ideas here.
in my truck, it's totally smooth sailing after 65
