Topic: Bolt In Cages?

[Yota Tony]

I'm looking at a bolt in cage for my 82. Now both Marlin and All Pro sell one from what I know, what about any other venders?
Would the Marlin/All Pro (it looks like the same bloody cage to me except All Pro wants more for it) be a good basis to build off of?
I know that when/if I use said cage I will add a dash bar, use an X-brace in the roof instead of the center brace they provide and X-brace in the rear. I'll also tie it in to the frame because what's the point of a cage if it's not tied to the frame?

Lastly, if anyone has used this bolt in cage, what's the head room like? I'm 6'4" so I don't have a ton of room in the truck as is and I don't want to be beating my head off padded tube on the trail. If the head room is dismal, I'll just have to cough up the cash for DOM and build my own cage.

Thanks!

[MiniSimp]

I'm 6'4" using the Allpro/Marlin cage with no headroom problems, in a regular cab.

[Yota Tony [OP]]

I'm 6'4" using the Allpro/Marlin cage with no headroom problems, in a regular cab.

Awesome, same as me.

Thanks.

[dizzydevil]

i have one and have added a rear cage to it and cross bar and attached to frame and it works great. We installed an allpro cage in my friends 93' bolt in only and he rolled it at about 40 MPH cage worked well....truck not so well. he is 6'2 and fits with no prob.

[4XFlyin]

I am pulling my Smitty Built cage out of my 82 in about 3-4 weeks. It has an added cross bar in the back for seat harnesses. I am asking 120.00 for it, but I will not ship it. I am located in West Hills, CA if you are interested.

[BLACKDOG]

I'm 6'4" using the Allpro/Marlin cage with no headroom problems, in a regular cab.

Mini, how in the hell do you fit in a reg cab with a cage?  I got on a 2nd gen regular cab, and could barely get my legs in, not to mention the crossbar that was right at eyelevel .  The fit is the only thing keeping me from getting one.

[MiniSimp]

Mini, how in the hell do you fit in a reg cab with a cage?  I got on a 2nd gen regular cab, and could barely get my legs in, not to mention the crossbar that was right at eyelevel .  The fit is the only thing keeping me from getting one.

Beleive it or not, I fit no problem, seat is all the way back, then leaned all the way back, and I've got pleanty of room. I did put my cage in as tight as possible (to the point where I had a problem putting it back in after the finish welding)

[Yota Tony [OP]]

I am pulling my Smitty Built cage out of my 82 in about 3-4 weeks. It has an added cross bar in the back for seat harnesses. I am asking 120.00 for it, but I will not ship it. I am located in West Hills, CA if you are interested.

That's a bit of a hual from Ontario, Canada. Thanks though.

I'm mounting new seats into my cab so I'll mount them as far back and semi reclined as possible.
Plus I don't have a stock dash anymore.

[All_Set]

Beleive it or not, I fit no problem, seat is all the way back, then leaned all the way back, and I've got pleanty of room. I did put my cage in as tight as possible (to the point where I had a problem putting it back in after the finish welding)

You have aftermarket seats??  Maybe most of your 6'4" is in your legs!!  :O  Your experience is 180 mine.

I've sat in an 84 with the allpro fitted pretty tight with stock seats and my head hit the rear and side bars (would have hit the forward bar too but he removed his visors and push that bar to the windowshield.)   I test fitted an unknown cage in my '83 with very low profile seats and my head was still hitting the side and forward bars.  Sat in an 89 with another allpro cage with supra seats and still had trouble.
All trucks are reg cab, using stock seat belts.  Granted, with some four points, I would not be able to move around enough for my head to hit.

And I'm 2" shorter than you.

My current aftermark seats are fairly bulky, and I already sit pretty close to the steering wheel (seats are all the way back pressing against the back of the cab).  Adding a x-brace would require me moving my seat even closer to the steering wheel.  

These are just a couple of the reasons why I'm going exo.

[MiniSimp]

You have aftermarket seats??  Maybe most of your 6'4" is in your legs!!  :O  Your experience is 180 mine.

Must be, cause I have no problems, my visors are removed and my rear hoop is maybe 1/2" away from the roof, mainly because I took out the roof liner (gain is around 1.5" headroom). I didn't cut anything off the length or height of the cage when I put it in, and really pushed hard to get the clearance I wanted.

[Yota Tony [OP]]

I'll definately mod it a bit to push it closer to the roof and what not.
There's no real interior left in my 82 so I've got some room.

[Yota Tony [OP]]

That's the mods that I want to do to the cage (black lines).
Is it possible to move the front bar closer to the windshield? I don't really need the sun visors.

[MiniSimp]

Make 2 of these for the rear hoops, makes life a lot easier than using the supplied plates




Here is where my cage placement ended up...

[Yota Tony [OP]]

Thanks minisimp!
Looks like you moved the windshield bar forward?

[Hyena]

That's the mods that I want to do to the cage (black lines).
Is it possible to move the front bar closer to the windshield? I don't really need the sun visors.

I wouldn't do the cross bar ontop like you have drawn.  you will hit your head for sure.  I am 6'1'' and my head has only an inch or two to the roof, if my truck lurches to one side hard i hit my head on the drivers side of the cage.  it is padded so it doesn't hurt.  imagen your heading moving forward and back from the motion of the truck.  you will be hitting your head in all directions.

[DTB]

i think the design is good and well in itself (from the vendors) if you're going thru the trouble to modify it that much...save yourself some cash and just build it yourself

[MiniSimp]

Thanks minisimp!
Looks like you moved the windshield bar forward?

Nope, I just shoved the 2 front bars as far forward into the corner of the windshield as I could, about 1/2" from the piller.

[jimbo74]

does the cage bolt in or weld in? i understand the extra slug sleeve thing, but am curious how strong the bolt would be in a rollover.

[weirdtimes_7]

Can someone post link's to some internal cages?? I wanna start looking into getting one, but don't really know where to start to look..

military_stang

[MiniSimp]

does the cage bolt in or weld in? i understand the extra slug sleeve thing, but am curious how strong the bolt would be in a rollover.

As for strength, ask Hyena, he rolls every trip out.
The cages are both bolt in and weld. There are 5 bolt in areas, 2 on the front bar, 1 on the overhead bar, and 1 on each side bar. After you have it in, you could weld up the sleeves, but you wont be able to get it out again without cutting it.

[MiniSimp]

Can someone post link's to some internal cages?? I wanna start looking into getting one, but don't really know where to start to look..

military_stang

Bottom of the page http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/armor.htm
And here http://www.allprooffroad.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=30

[Yota Tony [OP]]

Thanks again Minisimp.

As for building my own, not with the price of DOM these days. It's cheaper for me to buy Marlin's cage and build off of it.

[DTB]

Thanks again Minisimp.

As for building my own, not with the price of DOM these days. It's cheaper for me to buy Marlin's cage and build off of it.

really? i would think it would be a lot cheaper to buy yourself....hmmmmm....maybe steel is just cheaper out here in missouri. i guess if you dont have a bender it would make sense

[Hyena]

All Pro cage. the cage was in my buddies truck before we put it in mine.  he had the truck over on its lid more then once.  and that was with just the stock cage and no added gussets,dash or windshield bars.  i haven't been over all the way with it, just flopped it quite a few times.  it hasn't budged yet.  it is just bolted to the cab but all the joints are welded.  if you put a dash bar in make it higher then i have it in mine.  it blocks the view of the whole dash cluster.

[Yota Tony [OP]]

really? i would think it would be a lot cheaper to buy yourself....hmmmmm....maybe steel is just cheaper out here in missouri. i guess if you dont have a bender it would make sense

Well not having a bender is another issue.

All Pro cage. the cage was in my buddies truck before we put it in mine.  he had the truck over on its lid more then once.  and that was with just the stock cage and no added gussets,dash or windshield bars.  i haven't been over all the way with it, just flopped it quite a few times.  it hasn't budged yet.  it is just bolted to the cab but all the joints are welded.  if you put a dash bar in make it higher then i have it in mine.  it blocks the view of the whole dash cluster.

Thanks for the pics man.

[dizzydevil]

does the cage bolt in or weld in? i understand the extra slug sleeve thing, but am curious how strong the bolt would be in a rollover.

Like i said my friend has a allpro cage that is bolted together with no frame mounts (just bolted to floor) and rolled it at about 40mph and it held just fine. Bent the floor pan a little but the cage did not move.