My Rollcage

[rob142sti]

made a rollcage today. whole thing took 3, 3ft, 5/16in steel rod. No computers diagrams, no schematics or anything to help me out, no pipe bender. just a torch, a welder, and ALOT of time. I started at 9am when i arrived home from lowes, and just finished welding now at 11pm, still needs to be prepped and painted.


being that i completed the entire thing freehand, i think it came out amazing you guys tell me what you think tomorrow.


if someone tells me where i can get a pipe bender suitable for this type of work, i will make and sell these cages for $70..


the supplies cost about $15... But time is money, and anyone who has made there own cage knows that it takes forever.


these pics are unfinished still.. might leave it might not, already started another to change the spark plug covers and make it a one bend up front instead of two. tube bender on the way


View attachment 1977 View attachment 1978


View attachment 1991 View attachment 1992 looks off but its the angle


View attachment 1993 Prepped and Primed. to the spray booth we go

 

[Obeast44]

If the first one looks good and performs well enough make a jig off of it if your going to produce them. I will save you loads of time. Definitely awaiting pics.

 

[rob142sti]

and yes, if you run open top like most of us do on our TTs, this roll cage will fit.. that was a big thing for me.

 

[fastlane]

I will be making one from 6061 5/16 rod only because I'm hell bent to run that dessert rat body lol. I'm not a big jumper at all I like to haul a@$ and take corners.

 

[rob142sti]

to be honest, weight was a concern of mine as wel, the plastic one weighs only 1.6 lbs less the the steel. i don't know why.. maybe the aluminum plug cover and all the screws. also the plastic is 3/8 i believe.


also, the first design i made yesterday, included shock tower/chassis bracing as it went from shock tower to shock tower.. it was extremely stiff. but i later found out that it is a beeaatch to get off and back on, it didnt allow bodies, it didnt look anywhere near as great as the one i made today does, and it required drilling into the towers which i know alot of people as well as myself would not like doing. so instead the new cage mounts with 4 pins and two bolts just like the stock plastic cage, and to stiffen the chassis, i took an idea from a member here who has 4 steel rods from there upper shock screw directly to the chassis..


I never really had any problem with chassis flex, but since ive read of others horror stories, i figured id exterminate the problem before it got to me

 

[badboy2]

i also wanna see the pix..

 

[fastlane]

I did my braces with 1/2" flat iron and the front with a 2"x9"x1/8" bar from the steering plate to the center diff

 

[rob142sti]

pics tomorrow.. didnt have camera with me today.. also forgot to mention, incase you would want to run without the body, the cage includes a beam that goes over the carb/intake just incase. i tried to think of everything before i started.


how hard would you have to come down to bend that thick plate?.. i know the ends are weak but ive hit some serious jumps without signs of bending before i stiffened her up.. if people are bending the chassis, im suprised there are no posts of cracked wheels.. they seem as the first thing to go in the event of a hard impact (besides shocks of course )


also can someone PM with brief instructions on how to post pictures the correct way on this site please. thanks

 

[DemonRC]

The very fist cage I build was with steel rod from home depot. It was a copy of the TT stock cage. That thing was heavy. I keep it around in case I have to bash an intruder over the head. You can actually get some 4130 tubing fairly cheap. Here's a link to the rod you need for $22.28 for a 6' length. The weight difference is night and day. They ship same day via UPS.


http://www.mcmaster.com/#89955k15/=499w7k

 

[rob142sti]

yeah i follwed the bends up front from the stock cage just dropped them wayyy down so it didnt look like a bulldozer going down the street


i also scrapped the upper chassis stiffness idea since it clutters it, so i picked up an aluminum beam from lowes, cut it to length, recessed the screw hole and mounted that sucker across the bottom of my frame.. between the cage and the beam, a car could fall on it and it wont bend..

 

[rob142sti]

The very fist cage I build was with steel rod from home depot. It was a copy of the TT stock cage. That thing was heavy. I keep it around in case I have to bash an intruder over the head. You can actually get some 4130 tubing fairly cheap. Here's a link to the rod you need for $22.28 for a 6' length. The weight difference is night and day. They ship same day via UPS.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#89955k15/=499w7k

how does it hold up in a gun fight tho?? i was thinking of trying aluminum rod next and see if its strong enough..

 

[badboy2]

nice rollcage!

 

[fastlane]

I like this one its low and looks good.

 

[rob142sti]

I like this one its low and looks good.

ive officiially made up my mind... the top plug protectors will either be the same design but will be angled toward the rear of the vehicle at a 45 degree angle, or it can be the same design that covers the carb/intake (half circle) for all protectors. there will there will be an option of what type of metal will be used, aluminium, steel, rod, tubing. aluminium will be 5 bucks more. With the design above, the stock body of a TT can be used if you make it an open canopy setup. (lose the pod, its hideous anyway) if someone can send me good detailed pics of a TT, and MT body next to eachother, front shot, underneath shot, and side shot, i will determine if a MT body can be used without modification.


if you make your own (realistic) design or template i can go off of this as well for a customized look. Can add brackets,light mounts, rocket boosters, gun racks, ect, ect,


finished pics of the first setup will be up tonight after 10pm ET


second setup will be either tonight or tomorrow..


cheers...

 

[DemonRC]

Turned out good man. I still suggest on using 4130. It's actually tougher to bend than the steel rod. I'm a big guy and I can jump on a 4130 cage all day and never bend it. Also, you could charge like an extra $20 to add some horizontal window beams. They really help chassis flex in the middle.

 

[rob142sti]

i hate ordering crap online tho.. i wish it was sold in hope depot or lowes..

 

[rob142sti]

its that light?? that thing looks like it weighs 10 lbs on a dry day. im gonna check out online..as soon as the pipe bender gets here i can start building all types of cages out the wazoo. how long does shipping take from the metal supplier, are they a reliable source?.. metal cages, glass cages, cages for all ages..


i still like the one bend up front, but in order to run the body it has to be 2 bends..


also i couldnt get pictures because i was up all night last night working on a LED setup for someone. it can be found here at the bottom


http://www.redcatrampageforum.com/showthread.php?p=22970#post22970

 

[DemonRC]

its that light?? that thing looks like it weighs 10 lbs on a dry day. im gonna check out online..as soon as the pipe bender gets here i can start building all types of cages out the wazoo. how long does shipping take from the metal supplier, are they a reliable source?.. metal cages, glass cages, cages for all ages..
i still like the one bend up front, but in order to run the body it has to be 2 bends..


also i couldnt get pictures because i was up all night last night working on a LED setup for someone. it can be found here at the bottom


http://www.redcatrampageforum.com/showthread.php?p=22970#post22970

You would be suprised how light and strong the tubing is. Here's that link again from one source:


http://www.mcmaster.com/#89955k15/=499w7k


I've only ordered from them so far. They ship the same day UPS Ground and I get it 2 days later. The reason is because their distribution center is in Atlanta and UPS's main hub is there also.