official exo cage thread

[rednk1980]

  bendTech

[gotrocks]

well haven't ponied up the money yet.  The bender isn't even mine.  I'm just boring it from a friend. At least its a mandral bender

[rednk1980]

friends who have good benders are good friends to have.

[gotrocks]

hahaha well when you have the other tools they want like a 210 Miller and a Hypotherm 600 Plasma.  Doing a little tool barrowing works for everyone.

[KYOTA]

well haven't ponied up the money yet.  The bender isn't even mine.  I'm just boring it from a friend. At least its a mandral bender

I did everything else on my truck with my 105HD but before I had that I built my front bumper with the pipe kinker and it turned out nice

[gotrocks]

but isn't it sch 40?

[KYOTA]

which is actually thicker than .120 tube and has put up with more abuse than the other TUBE on my truck  lets not start a pipe vs tube debate 

[rednk1980]

KYOTA thats a pretty 1st gen. 

[gotrocks]

haha, all i meant by that was because I have a tube kinker and have bent a cage for my demo car with it and it turned out really good when you use the sch 40

[KYOTA]

yep you can make some decent stuff with a kinkeras long as you dont expect anything more than a 90 (if that  ) . duct tape one end of the pipe and fill it with water ,tape other end and bend, works good and faster than sand.

[snowshoebrue]

kyota how did you bend that stinger with the kinkmaster?  did you bend 2 90's and then cut them an weld them together.  i tried to do bend a stinger with my custom kinkmaster and it wouldn't work

[KYOTA]

yeah I dont like to tell my trade secret on that bumper but yeah it 2 separate bends 

[snowshoebrue]

thanks man,  sorry i ousted you top secret info

[gotrocks]

if I ever have to bend again with the kinker I'll try the water trick.  I didnt' know about that one.

[rednk1980]

Who runs the Marlin internal cage? How much room does it take up and is it worth the money compared to doing an exo?

[gotrocks]

Well here's some things to think about.  An exo cage will reduce your fuel milage (cost+) you will use more tubing (cost+).  Now an internal cage can be a tight cage like my design but could take up alot of room if not bent up right.  The marlin cage is a very simple design and doesn't have any compound bends in it and limits your leg room getting in and out of your truck.  An internal cage can sometimes take up as much tubing as a external if you go crazy on it but with simple gusseting you can keep the tube to a minimal amount.

[rednk1980]

thanks gotrocks but im thinking of buying an 87 to build now so a cage isn't in the near future like i planned earlier.

[Slolyfe]

Ok, So im getting an exo cage built. Im having it done by a shop whos work i have seen and liked. But my question is how much are these cages costing to be built. I know that a lot of you are doing the work yourselves. Has anyone had theirs built by someone else? What did you pay? If you dont mind me asking. Thanks austin

[Cumminz]

Some Nice cages

[79yota350]

i had an allpro internal cage. it sucked.  if your tall you will hit your head on it and its a pain getting in and out.  i eventually padded up the cage after allmost knocking myself out getting in.

[Slolyfe]

Yea Im 6'3, so im definitely going with an exo. Plus Im tried of replacing windshields. Plus most of those incab cages just dont look like they are made for years of abuse

[toyotamobing]

im curious if anyone has a close estimate on how much tube it will take for a basic exo of just the cab and front fenders on an 84 xtra cab?

[Cumminz]

I would assume around 75 feet or so

[sweetmeat]

Ok, So im getting an exo cage built. Im having it done by a shop whos work i have seen and liked. But my question is how much are these cages costing to be built. I know that a lot of you are doing the work yourselves. Has anyone had theirs built by someone else? What did you pay? If you dont mind me asking. Thanks austin

This is a picture of my exo. Me and a buddy did it ourselves using 1 1/2 d.o.m.. Another friend of ours pretty much copied it at a local shop in the so cal area and was charged $2700

[toyotamobing]

basic exo...less then $500

[79yota350]

another good place to get a good deal is to find a non corporate muffler shop.  especially a muffler shop that's does a lot of hot rod custom work.  those guys usually have downtime and love projects.  and usually can bend and weld like nobodies business.   

[Slolyfe]

basic exo...less then $500

Have you actually had one built for this price!?!?! and has it survived a rollover? Or is this a guess? Steel alone is around 750!

[Cumminz]

Have you actually had one built for this price!?!?! and has it survived a rollover? Or is this a guess? Steel alone is around 750!

Well what else do you need besides steel?

[Slolyfe]

Well what else do you need besides steel?

Bender, welder, grinder, at least, and a whole lot of time! Time is $$$$$$

[All_Set]

Have you actually had one built for this price!?!?! and has it survived a rollover? Or is this a guess? Steel alone is around 750!

Where the heck are you buying steel??

~ 4/ft for dom at the local yard here.    Prices are dropping, shop around.