Here are some pics of a rear cage I'm building for another friend. These are just the beginnings, still have some more tubes to add and some braces.

Here are some of the tubes.

Here they are mocked up in place.

Here's another view. He has a nice sliding drawer cabinate/tool chest that is sitting between the fender wells. The two horizontal bars on the B pillar are going to be a mount for a shovel and axe, just below them on the main hoop around the bed rail is going to be a hi-lift jack, then in the center is going to be the spare tire. I still need to make little legs to tie in the back part of the cage into the bed, and make the tire carrier and plate for the axe/shovel. So far it's turning out pretty nice though. It's made from 1.5" .095 wall tube, so I hope that will be strong enough. The rest of the cage is .120 wall.

I also made myself a bolt-on rear bed rail/rack for when I go camping (mostly Rubicon), and I made some removable mud flaps in an attempt to stay street legal, I'll try to post pics of that stuff soon. Gotta keep Moto and the others happy since they say their hasn't been much tech lately. Although this isn't really all that techy.....

Hey Moto, I also got the front blinkers and rear brake lights working. The brake lights weren't working because they bipassed the brake pedal switch and were wired hot (hence the reason they were constantly on). Hmmm.....now who could have done that? Are you gonna come wheeling at TSF next saturday or what??

Size sounds fine, looks cosmetically good, except for the rear 45* at the tailgate end... huge gappage... should be more flush so there's not as much to fill unless you're still fitting that joint. I take it he's not planning on using a top either? If so where will the bow attachment be to keep tension at the top rear of the material when its on?

just spot weld the lower joint and take a BMF and hammer the overlay flat...........then weld.

It would look like ass but I suppose it would work if he didnt want to do it right and notch it clean around the other tubes...

i would imagine he's not done with it cause it wouldn't take much effort to make it look right from there.

Looks like your getting addicted to bending tube. How long before you tube out your rig? Will your Sammy be tubed out before Billy’s? My money is on you cause you don't have kids.

just spot weld the lower joint and take a BMF and hammer the overlay flat...........then weld.

I'm still learning how to notch things the right way, and I'm having some issues with my drill press being too small to really work well with the notcher. So, I'm probably going to do exactly what you said :D . Won't look exaclty clean, but I think it will turn out ok. Still tweaking it a little.

Rockcrawler: Thanks for the input!! He does not run a full top anylonger, just a windjammer. Hopefully my learning curve will not be too steep and I'll get the hang of how/where to notch and bend things to get a cleaner fit without wasting too much material or time :p .

Here's a pic of the rear rack I made for myself. Very basic. Bolts in at the stock little kicker holes at the middle of the bedrail and also at either rear corner. I sunk a nut at the corners that it bolts to. The little expanded metal rack just lays in there and screws to the tube. I mad it to fit my cooler :p .

Here's a pic of the removable mudflaps I made. They are actually rubber floor mats, but the size and price were right :p

Looks good Keith.

I'm still learning how to notch things the right way, and I'm having some issues with my drill press being too small to really work well with the notcher. So, I'm probably going to do exactly what you said :D . Won't look exaclty clean, but I think it will turn out ok. Still tweaking it a little.

Rockcrawler: Thanks for the input!! He does not run a full top anylonger, just a windjammer. Hopefully my learning curve will not be too steep and I'll get the hang of how/where to notch and bend things to get a cleaner fit without wasting too much material or time :p .

When measuring for notches between tubes measure the inside dimension and add 1" to that then notch 1/2" on each side(should fit like a glove)

When measuring for notches between tubes measure the inside dimension and add 1" to that then notch 1/2" on each side(should fit like a glove)

I was only going 1/2" longer and notching at 1/4" on each side. Thanks for the help. I got thinking about it after reading this and I think when I notched the first kicker bar I really went about it the wrong way. I was trying to put two notches in it since it was meeting two tubes, but I notched it to fit on top the two tubes, and not to fit flush on the rear tube and then notch it for the front-to-rear tube. That would have gotten rid of that ugly overhang I currently have on there. Gotta luv the learning curve!

Thanks to all for the feedback!!

Nate: I won't tube this one out anymore, I want to be able to drive in on-road from time to time and to do the occassional Calroc's comp in the stock-modified class. I might, however, try to build a little buggy someday....(I've been collecting parts to do this!)

I see in the pic what you are saying. I didnt see that you had 3 tubes total intersecting. You could have notched like normal then rotated the tube 90 deg and notched for the xtra-tube if that makes sence. looks good though.

Taking the bars straight back to the rear freaks me out. What if you get rear-ended by a truck? That cage will crush you from behind.

I'm designing my cage so that there is still a crumple zone...especially in the rear.

Here are some pics of a rear cage I'm building for another friend. These are just the beginnings, still have some more tubes to add and some braces.

Here are some of the tubes.Like a diagonal. Won't want something like this to happen. :D

Looks good Keith. Better than I can do as I have no bender! Even then I don't know that I would even do half as well. Keep the pics coming!!

Like a diagonal. Won't want something like this to happen. :D

That looks painfull! Well, here's a REALLY sad attempt to show you what I still have to make to finish his cage/rack/tire carrier. I don't think there will be any diagonals because the twin bars going between the B pillar should act as a single diagonal bar (although not quite as well I don't think), plus there will be a plate welded into those bars that will be the mounting point for an axe and shovel. There will also be two little legs going down to the floor in the rear corners as shown poorly by my sad attempt at artwork. Laslty, there will be two more bars in the middle of the rack to mount his spare tire up in the bed. So, there will be a bit of a crumple zone and more bracing from side rolls. He doesn't wheel on crazy extreme tarrain yet, and has never rolled yet, so we didn't plan on making a completly bulletproof cage, just something that was functional as both a cage and rack for all the gear.

Looks good. It is tougher than it looks. I know what you mean about the notching. I ruined more pieces on the notcher than anywhere else (there is nothing like getting a piece with a half-dozen bends all finished and putting it in the notcher backwards). The diagonals definitely strengthen the frame, but they always seem to be in the way if you use your zuk for mutlpile things. I didn't put any in mine, I hope I don't regret it. The way I look at it, it may not save my life, but at least they will have something to bury :D

it may not save my life, but at least they will have something to bury :D

That's a great quote!!

Thanks Tusker :flipoff2:

:p

Hey Keith,
Lets see a full pic of your rig with the :rainbow: flaps on :flipoff2: ......
thank God I live in Guam where the Five-O dont sweat us.... :p

Looks like your getting addicted to bending tube. How long before you tube out your rig? Will your Sammy be tubed out before Billy’s? My money is on you cause you don't have kids.

he will be 1st. I have not welded fabbed for months:(

Hey Keith,
Lets see a full pic of your rig with the :rainbow: flaps on :flipoff2: ......
thank God I live in Guam where the Five-O dont sweat us.... :p

Sorry, I'm too embarassed to do that :emb2:

I couldn't find real mudflaps that were big enough or cheap enough, so I bought some cheap little rubber floor mats. Problem there was that they all had pictures on them, and when mounted verticle on the truck the pictures would be sideways. So, the trick was to find one that had a pic that was not too :rainbow: looking and could be hung sideways. Not easy. So I settle on one with paw prints on them, figured since my boston terrier goes with me sometimes it wouldn't look too goofy.

Sorry, I'm too embarassed to do that :emb2: ..........
Oh come awn. We won't heckle you or make snide comments about your floor mat mud flaps. Man, we just aren't like that, we are sooooo misunderstood. :laughing:

Oh come awn. We won't heckle you or make snide comments about your floor mat mud flaps. Man, we just aren't like that, we are sooooo misunderstood. :laughing:


yea what he said :D

Oh come awn. We won't heckle you or make snide comments about your floor mat mud flaps. Man, we just aren't like that, we are sooooo misunderstood. :laughing:

You promise :confused:

Ok, I'll believe you guys, so here it is.......be gentle :laughing:

Hahahahah they look like little daisies. How sweet!

Hahahahah they look like little daisies. How sweet!

Glad you like them :flipoff2:

Scary thing is, they did have some with daisies :eek:

You promise :confused:

Ok, I'll believe you guys, so here it is.......be gentle :laughing:



....I

...Those are...well you see....umm...



:ahem:

Hey great job man. I think those are awesome. They add panache, and the little Tyger paw prints totally frame the fearful symmetry* of your zuk. :)




*William Blake :D

:rolleyes: All I can say is, you have testicular fortitude in generous proportions.

You could always claim that the paw prints were left by road kill that your awesome manly pirate Zuk mercilously devoured :evil:

Note: They actually don't look that bad.

[QUOTE=Tusker
You could always claim that the paw prints were left by road kill that your awesome manly pirate Zuk mercilously devoured :evil:

[/QUOTE]

:laughing:

He just needs a ''ToyotaJim was here" bumper sticker.

bahaha! some will get this, most others probably won't, though.... :D

You promise :confused:

Ok, I'll believe you guys, so here it is.......be gentle :laughing:



:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: That's why I like you Keith :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:








That and little tools :flipoff2:

William Blake[/SIZE] :D

Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking when I saw those floor mats at Target :p

Thanks guys for all the encouraging words :smokin:

I was thinking of getting one of those "if you can't run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch" stickers to go with the new flaps :cool2:

:shaking: I need psychiatric help.....

Do you have any flannel seat covers??? :laughing:

OK.. I promised nothing.. and those are just wrong. I would expect that or 4rest or Wayne... but dude... at least mount them backwards so the plain black is showing and the paws get coated with dead squirrel or something so they arent as noticable. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

you meen you did not get them at wall-mart :flipoff2: i would have just go see______________. (inside joke but you know keith)


Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking when I saw those floor mats at Target :p

I think you had a great ideal, building them with a "quick release" so you can remove them when your wheelin...

The paws on the other hand......... speaks for them selves

you meen you did not get them at wall-mart :flipoff2: i would have just go see______________. (inside joke but you know keith)

Hehehe.......I did check Wal-Mart first, didn't see either of them (floor mats or _________).

Do you have any flannel seat covers??? :laughing:

Not yet, but I think I may get some of them and a flower shirt like Moto and DSI used to wear :laughing:

OK.. I promised nothing.. and those are just wrong. I would expect that or 4rest or Wayne... but dude... at least mount them backwards so the plain black is showing and the paws get coated with dead squirrel or something so they arent as noticable. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

You expect that from me? :confused: Paw prints? I don't even have a dog.


On the other hand I can go for the :girly:flowers:girly:

Keith! I must say that you have been an inspiration to me. Thanks!! :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/nc_zuk/rear1.jpg

this is some good sh!t



:massey:

Hey; nice looking start. Curious about the carpenter's tool. Would have expected to see a ball peen hammer where the claw hammer is in this pic. Must have been used to fix something on the pull out tool box..... :rolleyes:

http://www.geocities.com/gvcache/clawhammer.jpg

Hey; nice looking start. Curious about the carpenter's tool. Would have expected to see a ball peen hammer where the claw hammer is in this pic. Must have been used to fix something on the pull out tool box..... :rolleyes:

http://www.geocities.com/gvcache/clawhammer.jpg


STFU everybody knows you nail cages together these days :rolleyes: :flipoff2:

This is a great thread!! NC Zuk, I knew you had it in you :flipoff2:

Back to a little tech, I finished the cage today, but still have to add the mounting plate for the axe/shovel and the tire carrier. The ends of the down tubes turned out pretty nice, but with the grinding needed to smooth them, they are weakened a bit I'm sure.

stay tuned for more fun and games :smokin:

Keith, did you weld that directly to the floor? Or did you put plates at the bottom of the bars? I think a tube going across both bars touching the floor would ad some more strength to that set up. Nice work, is Aaron going to be able to make it to the Pirate bash event?

Looks good keith!!! You've come a long way baby:D

Keith, did you weld that directly to the floor? Or did you put plates at the bottom of the bars? I think a tube going across both bars touching the floor would ad some more strength to that set up. Nice work, is Aaron going to be able to make it to the Pirate bash event?


The legs are welded to plates that are bolted through the floor with plates on the other side too. Can't put a bar in like you suggested because of the large tool chest/parts chest that he carries back there, it barely fits between and under the existing bars. He isn't going to make it to TSF, he's busy working on his car that died this week (he's having almost as bad a luck as me).