RockHard bolt-in cage addition in the LJ, w/pics

I bought the kit in late July. It was delivered in early August. I primed, painted and clearcoated the pieces, and let it dry for a few weeks.

Friday I installed it in the LJ.
Instructions with the kit lack detail.
A guy on the web has a much better write up, at 4x4xplor.
I used his directions.
It took me all day. Of course I took my time, and had plenty of interruptions.
I trimmed my plastic pieces carefully. They look... OK

The write up at the guys website could have been clearer on a couple points. The A pillar uprights have to be TIGHT against the weld of the stock side bar, or the stock door surrounds won't fit back on. I had to rework... loosen, then beat with a hammer.
Additionally, the dash bar instructions aren't clear. I figured to position it about an inch above the dash. You have to lay the windshiled down to tighten the forward collar bolts. You can get the back ones after the windshield is up.
So I tightened these, then the side bars would no longer bolt to the windshield, off by a good half inch.
I finally figured out that the dash bar could have been maybe 3/8" longer...
More rework.
I found that if I pushed the dash bar down to just 1/4" above the dash it didn't pull the A pillar upright top inward quite as far.
So I did that.
Tightened the forward bolts in both collars, then put the windshield up again.
Side bar windshield brackets still don't align, but they were closer.
I moved the Jeep next to a tree, used a ratchet strap to pull the whole bar assembly to the side, got one side in.
Turned the Jeep around, did the same on the other side. It worked, but I managed to cross-thread one of the bolts...

So end result I got it in. Ruined my paint job on the bars, of course... I'm glad I didn't waste the time gettinmg it color matched by a shop... I just sed some Rustoleum, I can fix that.
I took all my padding off... I didn't like the mismatched padding and bare sections.
Of course now I have mismatched paint

Bottom line: I think it's a strong addition.
I could have been a bit more accurate with the dimensions, although I recognize no two Jeeps are dimensionally the same...
The directions could have been much better.

 

Looks good! I've looked at their kits before..Contemplating..

 

OR Fab is another to consider. I looked at their kit. Their price starts out lower but is not as complete. When you add in the same parts as RockHard, price is about the same.
IIRC, neither replace the weak side bars (A to B pillar with windshield tie-in). Poison Spider makes a set that will work, for another $160. I intend to get those at some point, but I don't relish taking this unit apart and doing half of it over...