To full cage or not to full cage?

Howdy, want some of your thoughts on whether to complete a full cage or not. The reason for the question is this; I already have a roll bar, and used to have a full cage. But the down tubes in front really hindered getting in and out. With my foot having to get pass the down tube I cut the front cage out, and have been driving it this way for some time. So, now that I am in the process of totally rebuilding my Jeep, I am at the stage of deciding weather or not to put the front cage back in.

I have to admit that not having the front cage makes getting in and out of the tight space of a Flat fender much easier on this old body of mine. I am 60 yrs. Old now, and I am not going to drag this thing over every rock pile I see and try to tear up the body. I like hunting out west and need a Jeep that has the things that won’t break down on me, so that’s why I put stuff in this thing that would make the ride softer, not break easily, steer nice and stop after crossing water. Okay, your thoughts on full cage or not?

PS, I plan to use a full seat belt and harness!

 

Old and almost in the same boat-I had all the A hoop and extensions bent up and then decided I would have a very dificult time living with it and never put the rest of it in. My B hoop is cantilevered over the seats a bit and is 2 1/4" with very generous gussets and frame mounted but one is still going to get the windshield in your face if you flatten it-unless you keep it folded down

I worry more about the idiots on the highway than me getting into a roll-over situation on the trail. I will leave the trail-rolling for the education of the youngsters.

 

I vote for a full cage, and see two options that may not give the same support but will be better than nothing.

1.) When the front leg come down, bend them forward under the dash. This will move them foward and mostly out of the way for feet. Know of two rigs like this, does help getting in and out. The feet are also bolted to the floor about where it bends up.

2.) Attach the front legs to the dash. The dash is welded and part of the body so there is some structure there.
This thread shows some good picture of what I'm talking about:
http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71170

 

Thanks Everyone,

I quess I am just getting lazy, as this build is taking longer than I thought. I think I will just figure on running the down tubes under the dash, I have some smaller tubing here to go inside the tubes to support the joint when I cut the legs and have some tube bent to go under the dash. Yea, I can just see me sliding down a hill in Colorado on that slick gumbo mud into a tree or over the side of one of those 1,000 ft. drop off's. Course, if you go off one of those roads (Like the ride to Teleride) you are going to be dead anyway!!!

 

do the front cage
I probably wouldn't ride in a Jeep without one.
run the tape or a string from your current roll bar to the outer edge of the hood.
now sit in the Jeep and see where you head height is in relation to that angle.
when the winshield goes, it's just the steering wheel and your noggin.

 

Agreed.
I’ve seen and heard of people walking away from a rollover without a front hoop but I also had a friend that didn’t.

 

Is that cage just tied into the body?

 

I am aliking that idea!

 

What about the cage over the rear seat folks???

 

That's exactly why my seat brackets are bolted through the floor to a steel tube subframe which in turn is frame mounted. I am pretty sure the floor pan will stay with the rollbar and seats.