Critique my exo plans

[Mporter]

For a long time I've been debating between an internal cage (with lower half exo'd) or just going full exo and call it a day.

So I took a few minutes in paint and mocked up something I thought looked pretty good.

Those of you with exo cages (and those who have knowledge of them) tell me how I did. :cool:

http://imgur.com/KhnVK

[mattzj98]

i would change a few things but I am also just designing my own.. with Pete of course.. hopefully he can start welding mine in about a month! :) too much tubing around fender IMO, id also do one between doors, make it stick out some so that you can still open it, but thats a large area that would have gone unprotected.. just my 2 cents

[Patrolman]

Ditto. Also not sure I would diagonal the 3rd window. I think if it ever has to be replaced, it has be installed from the outside. Impossible to with that bar.

[Mporter]

i would change a few things but I am also just designing my own.. with Pete of course.. hopefully he can start welding mine in about a month! :) too much tubing around fender IMO, id also do one between doors, make it stick out some so that you can still open it, but thats a large area that would have gone unprotected.. just my 2 cents

Yeah the fender im still not sure on. Started from the back end so I could think on what to do for fenders haha.
I was thinking about the bar between the doors too, so that probably will be there.


Ditto. Also not sure I would diagonal the 3rd window. I think if it ever has to be replaced, it has be installed from the outside. Impossible to with that bar.

I put that there for "branch protection" but it still would break if a branch went somewhere in the exposed area....but I do see where you're coming from.

[Brody]

If you want the rear window bar, make it removable or a swing out with a pin latch. Chances of having to replace the rear window with the bar in place is so slight, if it was mine, I would simply weld it in. Personally, I would just do a horizontal bar under the rear window and call it good.
You can eliminate a few of the diagonally bars with proper gusseting.
Anticipate what your future mods are going to be, especially tires and lift. Do any fender trimming ahead of time, before the roll cage, and build the cage to the cut outs.
Certainly add the down tube between the doors. You may lose some opening function of the rear doors, but this piece will make the cage very strong.
Not knocking your slider install, but I would cut loose the outer rails and re weld them so that they are angled up a bit rather than having them be flat. Allow about 1/2"+ under the bottom of the doors for clearance and you should be fine. Looks like you would gain some ground clearance.

Google "Jeep XJ exo cage pictures" and you will get a lot of good ideas. The two vehicles are so similar that what works on the XJs is pretty much going to work on the FJ60/62.

You are also going to want to spend some time gusseting the cage properly. My heap has been on both sides twice and I think the whole cage has maybe moved 1/8". Almost every corner on my cage has been gusseted and for a very good reason.

[Java]

I think it looks awesome, my only critique would be that it will add a lot of weight to an already heavy and slow vehicle. I had a 6' roof rack on my FJ60 that weighed maybe 100 to 125 or so lbs and it was very noticeable on vs. off... but I think it'll look great and keep you safe, maybe just add a V8!

[Mporter]

I think it looks awesome, my only critique would be that it will add a lot of weight to an already heavy and slow vehicle. I had a 6' roof rack on my FJ60 that weighed maybe 100 to 125 or so lbs and it was very noticeable on vs. off... but I think it'll look great and keep you safe, maybe just add a V8!

V8 swap is the next on the list. Then the soa, regear, front locker, tires, cage, etc, etc. Brakes upgraded too.

I can't decide wether or not to upgrade the brakes on my cruiser axles (not too much aftermarket support) or just scrap the whole idea and go chevy/gm from the engine to the axles. Opinions?

[Brody]

You can go with something along the lines of the EBC brakes rotor/pad upgrade and /or replace the master cylinder with one that pushes more juice. Your axles are strong enough even for a V8. You can pretty much double your estimated budget once you start tossing different axles under your rig and trying to make all the **** work with the Toyota stuff. Unless you are planning on doing super hard core junk, you have a great undercarriage and chassis. About the only thing that rig lacks is decent power.

You may also want to reconsider the SOA and simply do some nice after market springs, keeping it sprung under. One of the nicest FJ60/62s I have seen was Dan's rig. He had a small block Chevy V8, custom springs without the SOA and it both rode well and flexed nicely. Economics are going to dictate the SOA or whatever else you do with the springs. The SOA is cheap compared to the custom springs. The other nice thing about the custom springs and staying SUA is that you do not have to worry about the BS rock catchers that seem to dominate the front end on almost all the lifted FJ60/62s..

[Chris]

V8 swap is the next on the list. Then the soa, regear, front locker, tires, cage

My only critique is that it's way too early to discuss a potential mod that's in 6th place on your list! ;)

[4Runninfun]

first thing I would put up for consideration is what is the reason for your cage? Are you planning on doing the kinds of trails that require a cage or are you adding it as an oh $h!t insurance policy? In conjunction with this consider the other intended additions to your truck such as lift, racks, tire choices, etc.

some specific points:

first an exo cage will require more material for the same amount of roll-over protection. With an internal cage you can run cross-bracing inside the cab which make the overall cage much more rigid. internal cages take up quite a bit of space, but lucky for you you have a big rig, with lots of space inside. However in the even of a roll-over there will be damage to the sheet metal. for example think rally car. they take some mean crashes and the car is complete messed up but the occupants are usually alright.

second as discussed an exo cage will lift the COG much more than an internal one. So if you are planning moderate trails with big lift consider internal. or big lift hard tails consider exo.

This question ultimately comes down to how you intend to use your truck.
For example right now my truck sits on 33"s ~2.5" of lift, and I won't go any taller. my favorite trails are generally the passes (Tin Cup, Hancock, Blackbear) All of which are fairly moderate trails however if a roll-over was to occur the strength of an internal cage would be the only thing that might save my butt. So eventually I will put an internal cage in my truck. :2c: for ya

[Mporter]

My only critique is that it's way too early to discuss a potential mod that's in 6th place on your list! ;)

It's not 6th on the list, that's just how it appears in my "stream of consciousness" writing. It's probably 2nd or 3rd.


first thing I would put up for consideration is what is the reason for your cage? Are you planning on doing the kinds of trails that require a cage or are you adding it as an oh $h!t insurance policy? In conjunction with this consider the other intended additions to your truck such as lift, racks, tire choices, etc.

some specific points:

first an exo cage will require more material for the same amount of roll-over protection. With an internal cage you can run cross-bracing inside the cab which make the overall cage much more rigid. internal cages take up quite a bit of space, but lucky for you you have a big rig, with lots of space inside. However in the even of a roll-over there will be damage to the sheet metal. for example think rally car. they take some mean crashes and the car is complete messed up but the occupants are usually alright.

second as discussed an exo cage will lift the COG much more than an internal one. So if you are planning moderate trails with big lift consider internal. or big lift hard tails consider exo.

This question ultimately comes down to how you intend to use your truck.
For example right now my truck sits on 33"s ~2.5" of lift, and I won't go any taller. my favorite trails are generally the passes (Tin Cup, Hancock, Blackbear) All of which are fairly moderate trails however if a roll-over was to occur the strength of an internal cage would be the only thing that might save my butt. So eventually I will put an internal cage in my truck. :2c: for ya

The cage will be primarily an insurance policy, but once I have it I will do some of the harder trails (which I wouldn't do without one).
The end goal is for it to SOA running 37's so I can do some of the harder trails around, but still not so big that I cant navigate towns, etc.

I may end up doing an internal with the lower half exo'd so I could have "best of both worlds". But all this is just speculation at this point since the V8 will be first, and I don't even have money for that yet. :D