With the SAS complete I'm realizing that the truck will probably be spending some time on it's side and perhaps roof. I've met a 4x4 shop in my area that I think I am going to have build me a cage. He's thinking exocage because an interior cage is a "1 time use" but I'm not sure. It seems most guys are starting to chop their roofs off and doing interior cages. I for one will be leaving the roof and door on (for now) and prefer interior cage.


As a twist If I go interior, I will cut holes in the roof with a hole saw and incorporate a roof rack from the sunroof back as part of my cage. I'll have to find some type of a rubber grommet to keep the seal. It may be a fun one to try since I haven't seen that here yet.

do what your thinking with the interior and the roof rack. will look awesome.

An exo would be pretty sweet, check out this exo on a Grand Cherokee: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=186531&highlight=xj+exo

Same basic design could work for an Explorer

I voted for the interior with the roof rack which I think sounds like a sweet idea, but being able to roll more than once would be nice. Interior isn't so hard on the eyes either.

I voted internal, since that is what I've been planing. . but wow, that XJ's Exo cage may change my mind. That looks very clean. Probably would be harder to accomplish the same look with the more curvy explorer body though.

Exo does not exclude you from the one time use rule. There is (usually) alot of unprotected space around the doors, and one decent roll onto something = no more door opening. I would personally go interior, and if it ever got so beat up that the doors wouldnt open then just take them off. Really its a matter of opinion... both built right will get the job done.

interior danny

i would have to say go with the interior. with the exo, it will be harder to do body work (in my opinion), plus the interior looks so much better

with the exo, it will be harder to do body work (in my opinion),
You know that argument is always used with exo cages.. .but really, how many people have a cage and still worry about body damage making their rig look bad?

I finally realized why I can't do an Exo. . .She barely fit in the garage as is and I've gotta park in the garage. I've got a few cool ideas for an interior cage though. :cool:

How about a combo like you said?

INterior cage is much better if you ask me, but like stated above its a matter of personal opinion. I like the looks of my truck and the FULL exo would just kill it.

RangerX's cab cage gets the job done and doesnt look bad at all, because he doesnt have those tubes running all around the fenders and what not.

Even with the interior cage if you crunch up the roof or window pillars or whatever there is nothing stopping you from welding on a new roof and pillars.

Exo cage makes your truck bigger too, harder to squeeze into those tight trails.

I will be doing an interior cage, as tight as possible to the body panels and roof, this way if I do lay her over (When I do) the body crunch will only be as far as the cage will allow, then replacing the toated sheet metal is not as difficult because the damaged area is kept to a minimum.

With an internal cage, if you roll you still damage the front corners (at the windshield). You do this and your talking serious body work. I would say exo just for that reason. You could also do an internal cage and come out at the corner of the roof somehow which then goes down into your fender. This would provide some protection to that problem corner.

Right! you can do a combo! exo around the windshield and main cab, then internal for the rest of the truck...

Look at Bills Ranger, his cage is tied into the firewall, through the top of the fenders, then it goes through the floor of his bed and to the frame in the back, this is a proven design that offers body protection for the expensive to replace cab while still not being such a monster as a front to rear full exo skeleton....

You could also do an internal cage and come out at the corner of the roof somehow which then goes down into your fender. This would provide some protection to that problem corner.
Doing that would also get rid of the problem of bending the tube around the dash and leaving enough leg room up front. Then the problem is making it look halfway decent on the transition from exo to internal. I've thought of this alot. . but the idea of a tube sticking through the A pillar just doesn't appeal to me, not to mention the glass covers the entire front portion of the A pillar, so you either go above it, or through it.

I am building an exo cage. If I roll it, I want to pull it over and keep trucking. I think the guy with the ZJ did a great job. Mine will be simular minus the body plates. Also, Mine will be removable (though it will probably be on 99% of the time). It will attach only to my sliders and bumpers. I am toying with either a poly bushin for the removable joints or just a solid bolt together type of mount. I really like Bills cab cage, but I don't want to have to replace fenders. As close as I have came to rolling, I don't want to weld on a new top- Forget that! Just roll it back over and keep trucking.

Also, my close friend has a half cab scout. He built an interior cage that mounts the seats and junk, then it goes out the back of the removable cab via some 2.5" holes with rubber gromets and then it goes into a roll bar type of set up in the bed with a light bar. It is sweet because the roll bar part comes off so he can take the top off.

i vote external also. the cabin is cramp enough with people in it. exocage just looks cool. that is exactly what i want the exo to look like for my xj.

I say do internal, but instead of the roof rack only behind the sun roof, run the tubes up farther and run it back into the truck. Exo on top and internal for the rest. That way you don't loose any head room, and if it lands on the roof, you can save your sheet metal.

I voted exo-cage cause thats what I plan to build for my truck. After witnessing RangerX's cage in action, I was sold to that idea. That would be cool to build a combo int/ex cage similar to what the Range Rover D90 has. It has a bar running above the windshield with downtubes going into the fenders i believe, the bar from above the windshield goes around the sides above the doors then ties to the inside of the cab just behind the doors...if that makes any sense. :p

Since cages need to be tied into the frame to be useful, an internal cage will be stronger. You can use more straight pieces of tubing and there will be less leverage on frame tie-in points. This makes it more likely that you will survive in a hard roll.

You can roll an internal cage more than once. While it won't have the same strength to begin with, if it is properly built, it will sustain multiple rolls. I built a cage for a guy with an Explorer that ended up backwards endo rolling it. The cage didn't move. Nothing bent. He's gotten more than one roll out of it.

An external cage makes your vehicle bigger and often times makes trail riding on tight trails more difficult. It is also usally true that an external cage will increase the overall weight of the vehicle since it requires more tubing to complete. An external cage will save some of your sheetmetal, but you will still screw most of it up if you roll hard.

I vote internal, and internal alone. Trying to make a combo internal/external not only adds a buttload of useless weight, IMHO it doesn't look that great either.

I have a "thing" about exo cages. On a light rig, they're great. But on a heavy rig like the Explorer, I think that in real tight off camber areas where you would normally be sliding on your sheetmetal you will be getting hung up in the roll cage instead. Every verticle tube has the possiblity of getting hung up as you try to move forward.

As for protection, if you get damage where the tubes don't cover the sheetmetal it will be that much more difficult to fix the damage since the cage is now in the way.

To add to what Rick said, the other problem I see with an exo cage on an X is size. The X is wide to begin with, add an extra 2-2.5 inches on each side and thoes tight spots just became unpassable.

Hey allright! I agree 100% with those last three or four posts ;)

Internal all the way.

Definitely go with an interior cage.
Unless your EXO-cage is going to have a big X through the interior, as soon as you lay it or roll it over, the EXO-cage will just bend into the cab, or the rock you roll onto will miss the tube and hit the cab. I've seen many trucks with interior cages roll several times (separate occasions) & have only the bodies fixed because the cages were strong enough that they didn't budge. The body will crumple less if it's stiffened by an attached cage.If you do build an interior cage, make sure you use as few bends as possible (bent tubes=weak tubes), lots of trianglation, and weld it to the cab in key locations (pillars, roof braces, etc.

i voted exo, i liek the looks.. however erading some of that above.... mioght sway towards internal... eventually my yota will have a cage, internal becuase it is $350 and i have to weld it (will find a competent shop to weld it) and i have aslo seen rear bed to flatbed conversions for it that have a bar that runs up as high as the cab and down to the rear bed floor....

bump

Just curious to see if anything happened!

Okay well you guys covered it, now go build the internal cage Danny, just do it right!
:)

Go with internal. If you had full width axles it wouldn't be too bad having an exo. But with the track width and weight of an explorer, you'd want the weight tucked in. In a long run you'd want to start peeling off the skin anyways. ;)

Sorry I still disagree. Build a Exo IMO. Roll it, winch it over and keep trucking. Unless you plan on never rolling it, then build your interior to keep you safe and kiss your truck goodbye when you roll it. Me, when mine gets an exo cage, it is going to get rolled. I have been in 4 rollovers and every time an Exo cage would have saved the truck. I agree that there is alot of goofy ghetto fab exos out there with square tubing and 90 elbos, but if you build them right, they look cool and will protect your truck way more than an interior cage. I guess I am going to have to paste some links to some cool exos displayed over at pirate 4x4.

What do I think? Whatever floats yer boat! Just make sure safety and saving your life is the top priority....

That is it! I will post some pics maybe when I build mine in a year or two...

Sorry I still disagree. Build a Exo IMO. Roll it, winch it over and keep trucking. Unless you plan on never rolling it, then build your interior to keep you safe and kiss your truck goodbye when you roll it. Me, when mine gets an exo cage, it is going to get rolled. I have been in 4 rollovers and every time an Exo cage would have saved the truck. I agree that there is alot of goofy ghetto fab exos out there with square tubing and 90 elbos, but if you build them right, they look cool and will protect your truck way more than an interior cage. I guess I am going to have to paste some links to some cool exos displayed over at pirate 4x4.
You will find the majority on Pirate do not like exos, mainly because most guys there dont care what the body looks like. You also have to use ALOT more tube to get an exo to support like an internal. Rolling with an internal cage DOES NOT ruin the truck. Sure, it will crush the roof in and maybe mis-align the doors... this is only an excuse to finally cut that useless junk off anyway. :D

I've always wondered how people that roll vehicles with exo-cages make sure the rocks and dirt they roll onto hit the tubes and not the body.

... this is only an excuse to finally cut that useless junk off anyway. :D


Haha, not all of us are ready for that yet! Actually i love the way Michael and Msupertek have done their trucks, but we've got way to much mud in WV to be doing that!

What do I think? Whatever floats yer boat! Just make sure safety and saving your life is the top priority....

By that's it! I meant- This guy is right on, not that's I am mad and I am not going to build an exo just to spite you all. There are alot of guys on Pirate who hate exos but there is a shop that built some sweet exos. Alot of guys say they cant build them structurally sound, but I disagree. I looked and couldn't find the pics again. One was a Grand Cherokee and another was a Green Yota. They had really nice looking and strong exos. I think an exo would be benificial in alot of places not just roll overs. I have wheeled in "can opener" type of crevasses where you pretty much had to drag your side all the way down a rock. My rear bumper protected my paint and body and I just touched it up with a little Krylon. My front fender, however took a beating. I wish I had a piece of tubing over my wheel wells in that instance. I am not all about tearing fenders and junk of so my Ex looks like a pile (well more of a pile). Just my opinion. That qoute above sums it up for all of this conversation. Build what you want and hopefully it will work like you want. I know I will and mine will.

Kirby,

Anything can be done, for sure!
think about all the extra weight of the tube you are adding, the exco cage will reuire more than DOUBLE the metal. It is also much much more difficult to get the structural integrity to protect you and the truck because you have to go around everything to get at the frame.

An internal cage, when built right, will keep the body in place during a roll over.
Also if you are rolling over that much, then why do you care if the roof is not crunched? If it gets to bad you cut the roof off and weld on a new one.....
whichever you decide just know what you are getting into.
I still vote INTERNAL :)

Jaime,
Why care about my roof? Because it is butt cold in Colorado during the winter!

I know what I am getting myself into. I am aiming for next summer on my cage. Then we will build one for my brother's XJ at the same time. The XJ will be nice with the unibody because we could tie it into the body all over (the only thing nice about a unibody). Just depends on how he decides to build it.

I still vote External,

But like I said build what you want and hopefully it will work like you want. That is my plan.

Hey thats my line!! hahaha the only reason my BII still has a top is the cold Colorado winters :)
I may chop it, I might not, I just dont know....
I said if the Bronco's win the superbowl again the sawzall is coming out hahaha!

Should be prett sweet, either way...

I like RangerX's cage, hes worried about safety, not body damage :)
Ranger is easier, because its lighter, his is tied into the firwall up front then down through the bed to the frame behind the cab...great design...

Chop it wuss! My friend just hacked his XJ and it is sooo cool. Makes me want to do it bad.

Yep. I saw RangerXs (Bill's?). It is sweet. I like that design except I need a couple of tubes down the front fenders.

I voted internal, since that is what I've been planing. . but wow, that XJ's Exo cage may change my mind. That looks very clean. Probably would be harder to accomplish the same look with the more curvy explorer body though.

*cough*ZJ*cough* :p

*cough*ZJ*cough* :p
hmm . . . that was a grand now wasn't it :rolleyes:

http://www.offroadtechnology.com/jeep-xj-cherokee-accessories.html XJ

http://www.jeepzj.com/robert/JeepZJ.htm ZJ

http://www.xtrememass.com/forum//images/smilies/1203/slap.gif :p

OT is just down the street from me. Personally, I think their stuff is ugly. Especially those honkin sliders...

All of these are good points. I am going with a internal cage. I thought that it would be more exspensive but it turned out to be a little less b/c there is less metal used. My internal is gonna run around $1,200. It is pretty detailed and is going to be very big and stout. This will be the same type os configuration that the shop runs on there competition rig. Exo's look good and everything but I just couldn't see making my X any wider than it already is. I am going to go with some wrap around protection in the front and rear that is going to be added to my duff front bumper and custom rear bumper and also the rock rails are from frame to outside with sheet metal under them from that much more protection.

Only thing about an internal cage thaqt has it's disadvantage is you head when you roll. even if you have a seat belt or harness on you head may still contact the bars. weather you have padding or not it will still hurt. I also agree with the Exo cage limiting the width of your truck. In my new project I am going interior cage, over the front & rear seats then the down tubes inn the rear. If the rear gets crushed in a roll I'm just cutting it off.

Tim

Sounds like a good approach. I am just going full internal with some wrap arounds off my front bumper to my sliders to protect the fender and the same in the rear.

[QUOTE=94ZebraRangerIf the rear gets crushed in a roll I'm just cutting it off. [/QUOTE]


That's awesome, LOL.