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Maybe if you do it like the picture above your post where the two tubes are sleeved through the plate....I could see that working. I see what you mean though, coming up from the floor along the windshield you would have to bend the tube horizontal, then 90 up, go through the roof, then 90 to the rear again.Quote:
Originally Posted by CRaSHnBuRN
just follow the windshield line up through the roof. straight shot. unless you get a really tight bend, which isnt strong on big tube and no dies exist, your not going to get all those bends in that tight of a space. you'll probably end up with part of the bend passing though the roof. unless you want the tube to be 5.5" above the roof.
here i drew a picture to illustrate my point
The ones I saw, that I still haven't found yet, just cut holes through the roof and used some sort of gasket. I know they weren't plated, to allow the body to flex around the cage without rippling. Don't know what kind of gasket, but I've seem some firewall gaskets that might work, that were in the size range of 1.5"Quote:
Originally Posted by CRaSHnBuRN
I see you mentioned the body getting ripped, which is what I think would happen if they were plated. Even though the frames are boxed, there's still going to be some movement, maybe not enough to worry you, but still.
Why would the tube have to come into the plate at anything near a 90 degree angle? I would just put the bend in the tube and then cut parallel to the tube at the distance you want it to be above the cab. Yea the cut end of the tube will end up as a oval but that'll still weld to the flat plate just the same.
I don't think it would have to come at a 90, but with the angle the windshield is already at and the fact that the tube would probably end up going through the roof mid-bend, that oval would be extremely long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eight
yes, if I used the plate, I wouldn't need the bend on the tube coming from the bottom. It could be cut at whatever angle and welded to the plate. It may require a large hole in the cab, but I don't think it will be to bad. Then the top tube could be bent however it need to be and welded to the plate as well.
But if I tried to do it all as a single piece of tube, from floor, through roof, then back, would require some wierd bends to keep things in the right place, and would still need a really big hole to go through the roof.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeepPhisherman
any idea where they sourced these grommets? I remember it being asked many of times, but I didn't think anyone had come up with a decent source yet
I'm going to go home on sunday morning for a meal with the family, and while I'm there I'll try to get some measurements, and pictures. I'll post them up then, and try to figure out the best source of action from that point
the problem with that idea is the roof is not shaped in a way that will work from what I can tell. That was the original idea, but after looking at the way the roof is curved for several inches above the windshield, and the way the sheetmetal bracing runs, if I tried to to it that way my tubes would come out of the roof pretty far back, and the angle of the tube coming through the roof would require a big oblong holeQuote:
Originally Posted by agjohn02
No, I don't. Still haven't looked for the threads, but you can search on TTORA. Probably in the SAS section or the Fab sections.Quote:
Originally Posted by CRaSHnBuRN
I'm trying to think where these would be used practically, I'm sure they have some application to home building...
would this work for a grommet?
http://cableorganizer.com/grommet/rpd-grommets.htm
maybe, though I wish the ID was a little smaller for a tighter fit
edit: mcmaster has some cheap options as well, but nothing in the correct size, and most require a really large hole in the sheetmetal, which may be a problem
okay, I may have found something that will work on mcmaster, and they're cheap
did you find this thread?
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...t=tube+grommet
I found some threads similar to that with part numbers. I'm still thinking about how I want to do this, and hope I can answer some of the questions I have this weekend. If nothing else I may use the grommets on the floor, and run the tube straight up from the frame, versus a sandwhich plate
damage to rear of frame and body mounts mentioned earlier
http://tamor.us/members-rigs/albums/...0125.sized.jpg
pictures of roof for discussion on the cage idea
http://tamor.us/members-rigs/albums/...0096.sized.jpg
inside of roof and sheetmetal support
http://tamor.us/members-rigs/albums/...0109.sized.jpg
3.5x3.5 plate set on roof to judge if it would be flat enough to work
http://tamor.us/members-rigs/albums/...0119.sized.jpg
so as you can see, the sandwhich plate idea would most likely work, though it may tear the sheetmetal as the body flexes
A grommet could work as well. If I tried to do it with just a single piece of tube, it would require 3 bends minimum. One bend at the dash to follow the angle of the windshield, a bend near the top to turn the tube back to nearly vertical in order to avoid the stock sheetmetal windshield support and to keep the tube from exiting the roof so far back. Finally, there would need to be one more bend to turn the now vertical tube back to horizontal so it can follow the roof line back to the main hoop
a third option may be to run a halo style tube above the roof, then have the A pillar tube turn up and meet it. I don't really know how that would end up looking though it will eliminate the need for the extra bends, and may be the easiest method to build. An added bonus is I can run the halo a little further forward, which will help protect the windshield more
oh yeah, the front axle is going to be a little wider than in the pics above. To keep the tires out of the springs I need to run spacers, but my current wheel studs are to short to use with the spacers. So as soon as school is done I want to tear the axle down, regear it, put fresh u-joints in it, and get some longer studs
I also measured my wheelbase today, and I ended up at 110 inches, which is a little more than 7 inches longer than stock.
here is plan B in case I decide the hybrid cage is more of a pain in the ass than its worth and just go with a normal exo. Its not a complete drawing, as there would be more crossbracing added, especially to the main hoop
http://tamor.us/members-rigs/albums/...22_5.sized.jpg
BTW, before anyone suggests just doing a normal inside cage, I would like to, but there simply is not enough head room
I think the halo is a great idea. Even if you did it the other way, you still need a tube going across the roof at the front of the cage....well, unless you put it behind the windshield on the inside. The halo would even give you a place to mount some lights.
there would be a tube crossing the roof above the windshield. I was kinda leary of the halo idea simply because it might look kinda funny since it would have to be narrow to fit. The bars running forward then down just seemed to be a cleaner desing, though maybe not as strong of one. I still can't bring myself to do a full exo, since they simply ruin the lines of a vehicle, so I may yet go with the halo design.
I kinda like the looks of that exo...
I like the looks of that exo, but it might look different once its built. I also like your halo idea, with the a-pillar bars comming down through the roof to a semi-interior cage.
I don't know for myself, but I hear lots of people say that there isn't much room inside those yota cabs to begin with, and an interior cage takes up a lot of the space in there.
I was thinkin along the same lines as a "brow" above the windshield to help catch that part in a RO. I think it would look pimp.
just exo the cab. easier, doesnt tear up sheetmetal as bad if you hit something, more room inside. i would hit my head on everybodys cage if i was driving, thats why im going to exo my truck
you won't hit your head on my cage or joeseph's cage
yall have open rigs. there isnt alot of space to work with in a single cab truck
you couldnt tear the headliner out and get a halo up in there?
yes lurch needs his head room, he practically hits his head on our front door jam at the dexter house *** :flipoff2:Quote:
Originally Posted by RCook527
The old cage we put in my black truck when we tried to truggy it was tucked up pretty well, and it still came very close to my head. With the 4runner, the seats are even higher, so tucking it up in there may still not be enough. I don't mind the little bit of foot room lost with an internal cage, but after riding in the buggy with a very low roof line, I want my head room.
As for tearing up sheetmetal, that doesn't bother me. I like the looks of a beat rig. So many of the exos just turn into a clusterfawk of pipe it seems. And even with an exo, most people seem to loose thier windshields and sheetmetal in a couple of flops. Yes I do admit that drawing looks pretty sweet, I just don't know if the finished product will turn out the same.
And finally there is always the want to try to do something a little new and different, just so your rig doesn't look like ever other one out there. In the end I may go with the exo, but for now I would like to think of other possibilities
here is a good example of how a exo can just ruin the look of a vehicle
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showp...postcount=1704
The guy building this truck puts alot of effort into doing things cleanly, and really thinks outside the box. But he didn't want to do a internal cage due to the lack of room, so he went with an exo. Its not finished yet, but I don't like it, and think it takes away from a vehicle that was really thought out and built well. I know that seems wierd, but thats just my opinion. I just don't think an exo is the way to go for me
one nice thing about the exo mentioned above is that he is using a halo design in it. I never really noticed until I began looking for them, but very few toy exos use a halo, and none that I found are shaped like the one he is building. Notice it comes to a point near the center of the windshield. Thats basically what I was thinking, to get the "brow" that Ed mentioned in order to somewhat protect the windshield
drawings of different halo designs
How about some prerunner lights :DQuote:
Originally Posted by mudtoy67
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showp...postcount=1677
btw, thats a joke
okay, I know some of you questioned the strength of a sandwhich plate with the sheetmetal in between, but what do you think of the flanges that some people use on portions of thier cages to allow removal of certain sections?
If you don't understand what I'm talking about you can kind of see it here
http://tamor.us/members-rigs/albums/...2/100_0206.jpg
I needed to add a little protection to the engine, but want to keep it removable, so I added a crossbar with flanges connecting it to the shockmounts.