Has anyone run an external cage on a TJ? I'm going to be building one soon, but am not sure whether the stock frame will be of sufficient strength. Should I go to a custom frame (3/16" or even 1/4") or no? If I stick with the stock frame, I'm going to try to add in two more crossmembers and gusset it where possible. Thanks.
Chris

TJ Frames and YJ Frames are pretty strong. I wouldn't worry about it for what you're talking about...

Are you worried b out bashin up your pretty TJ? Itd look ugly enough with tube going all around it...

But now if it was a buggy....yum. :D

I've never been a fan of exo cages. I like what paul is doing to his TJ

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=76995

Originally posted by Jason R
Are you worried b out bashin up your pretty TJ?

Yeah, that's it. I'm afraid I might bump a curb at the mall and flip.

Dan-H, thanks for the link, man. His front fender work does look good - I'm going for a little more clearance though.:)

Jakester - thanks, I'll see what I can do with the stock frame.


Chris

Originally posted by Dan-H
I've never been a fan of exo cages. I like what paul is doing to his TJ

Man, the more I see that rig, the more I want it.:eek: :D

Originally posted by GO 4LO


Dan-H, thanks for the link, man. His front fender work does look good - I'm going for a little more clearance though.:)

Chris

I give up. How much more clearance and how?

Paul

Paul, I'm going to be hacking into the hood on mine, too. Should give me another three to four inches of clearance but won't probably won't look as clean as yours. In the rear, I'm keeping it simple and going with Avalanche comp.-cut corners.
Very nice rig you got, by the way. How does that four-banger do turning those tires? Mine's a four-banger right now, and I'm debating whether or not to drop in something a little larger. If I do keep the four-banger, it'll have plenty of gearing to help it out (150+ crawl ratio). Still not sure, though. Any advice?
Chris

Hood hackin' should definitely give you a lot more room. Are you sure you need it though? Not saying you don't.....

The four banger does fine, will do a lot better when I finally get the SM420 installed, and gets me where I need to go. I'll be putting in a V8 though - I like the way they sound. :D

Paul

The TJ frame is pretty strong. Only reason I ditched mine is because the shape of it was all wrong for what I wanted to do.

CJ

My buddy put an exo cage on his toyoat and it was UGGGLY. everyone would look at him and stare at the intersections, unless you plan never to drive it on the streets.

Originally posted by nasvik


I give up. How much more clearance and how?

Paul

Paul,

you will soon need to worry about over passes.

forget about parking garages.

- Dan

ps: I can burn a CD of some bitchen v8s for ya.

Thanks for all the help, guys.
Paul, good to hear the 4-banger is still doing okay:). Guess I'll keep mine for awhile. LOL.
Chris

GO 4LO--- TJ frame not strong enough? That's the first time I have heard anybody question the strength...somebody correct me but I believe the TJ frame is 2 x 3.5 x .187 rectangular steel while the YJs are 2 x 4 x.125....both seem strong and hold up much better than the CJs that have 2 C sections welded together and taper down dimensionally at the ends. I don't think I've ever actually physically definitively seen a Jeep with a full blown exo but sure would like to see one in action.....other than a "buggy".
You guys over in Cincinnati must have some mean trails if you're bracing that frame.