to roll bar or not to roll bar. That is the question.

My CJ3A came with a roll bar, but I'm not sure whether to put it on or not. It looks really stupid on it but it is a good safety measure even though it isn't connected to the frame. I also want to put a bikini top on, but I think I can use the center top bow for that.

What do you guys think? On or off?

It is going to be driven on the road only and I am doing a semi-stock restoration.

 

I know more people that have rolled their rigs on pavement than off.

I vote rollbar.

 

X2 narrow and can be unstable

 

The false sense of security from a crappy roll bar can be deadly. Leave it off and drive appropriately.

 

If you wear a seatbelt put one in, if you don't, don't bother, you won't be in the jeep when it rolls anyway. I wouldn't be comfortable driving a Jeep without one.

 

I guess Im torn on this, in my opinion if you drive it with due respect you shouldn't have to worry about it. Of course there is also the other a holes on the road that you have to worry about.

 

i hate the looks of it on my willys.
yes i put it on......

 

The chance of living through a crash when ejected is very slim. I know everybody has a story of there brother's cousin's nephew that would have been killed for sure if he was wearing his seatbelt. Although there are exceptions to every rule that is BULLS@@@. Anybody with even marginal intelligence knows to wear seatbelts---with or without rollbars. Obviously people do what they want and that is why I have the job security that I do. My job actually relies on people doing dumb things.

 

Rollbar and seatbelts. Drive defesively and smartly. Then hope for the best.

 

I'll just say this... halfway thru a rollover is the wrong time to decide to add a cage and a quality restraint system. Do it the right way and don't look back!! FWIW, I've (only) been thru two rolls in a JEEP (not mine!); one a slow flop back in the '80's in WA. and one at about 35 mph in Ocotillo Wells in 1998. Both CJ's had cages, and both times there were only minor scrapes and bruises from the harness. The JEEP in the Ocotillo wells incident didn't fair so well! I added mine in 1998...

 

A fine winters day back in 1978 found me heading 400 miles south to Arkansas during the beginning stages of a Missouri snowstorm. Looking back I can now see I was a magnet for wild adventures.

The snow was piling up fast at over 4" per hour.
I was well out of town in my newly rebuilt CJ-2A when I decided to postpone the trip.
I was rolling back home at 40 mph when all a sudden the rear axle started to play catch up with the front.
As the Jeep spun out of my control I watched the events as if watching slow motion.
The rear was now ahead of the front. I could see that the upcoming road shoulder had a steep 45* drop off.
When the 2A hit the shoulder in reverse direction it began the dreaded death roll.
I held tightly onto the wheel and watched it play out.
When halfway through the roll the passenger seat moved foreward dumping all contents from the toolbox.
Two full metal tool boxes and a Highlift jack. The Jack came right past my head.
Somehow I ducked from the upside down position.
Then almost immediately I was back up on all four as the side roll ended.
We hit bottom together. Me and The 2A.
The Jeep go-devil started right up and I tried to drive up the 30 foot slope but to no use.
It was too steep and there was too much snow.
Was I ever mad. Now I would finally have to get help.
A damn tow truck (pronounced toe truck) was needed to rescue my indestructible jeep.
But the jeep didn't look so good. The windshield was crushed and the new top was a rag top.
There were cold months ahead of me and I was dependent on that as my only driver .
So I bought me a SS Jewels windshield because I couldn't paint outdoors in the winter. That was my main fix.

Yes it's true...That 2A never had a roll cage nor seatbelts and it never got them as long as I owned it.
Nowadays I depend on my Koenig and I use a belt to hold me in place on the steep side slopes.
I believe the half cab will easily outperform a common rollbar.

 

I built a roll bar-not a cage-similar to most available in the late 60's for the CJ5, made from 2x1/8 wall tube, and 3x3x1/4 angles on the fender wells. Unfortunately, I did a dynamic test on it at 55 mph in the snow (hit a very hard drift on blacktop) and proceeded to pretty much do a somersault, coming down on the front right end of the bumber and then rolling sideways. The windshield frame was decidedly trapazoidal-not to mention chopped, front right fender destroyed, body rails below roll bar depressed a good 3 inches, bent rear diff housing, and 4 destroyed wheels along with numerous other dents and scratches. That roll bar completely protected both seats and I could find no deflection in any of the roll bar components-it was painted and reinstalled after the rig was rebuilt. Do they work? Maybe not in every situation, but my one and only experience says absolutely yes.

 

Something is better than nothing. Jeeps have NOTHING to stop it from squishing ANY occupants inside and the windshield will most likely make things even worse by collapsing on top of them.

Rollbars are better than nothing but actually prefer the looks of a cage. The cage will also help keep the windshield from collapsing on the occupants, beside it also helps hold the bikini top from flopping around.

As a side note, it's not only how you drive but can you say everyone else is going to drive that way? I've see the affect of a mini van at 30mph, which pushed the Jeep across the intersection and rolled over another car.

 

Thanks guys. Really helpful. I decided that I am going to drill the holes for it, but then take the jeep for a ride without it and just "feel" it out. I'll probably end up putting it in anyways. I like to be safe.

 

Are all the cages out there tied into the frame?
Or have any cages performed when only attached to sheetmetal?