Exo-cage vs. Roll cage vs. Both

[WalterD]

What is the purpose of an exo-cage? Is it for vehicle body protection or safety? Does it have advantages over a typical roll cage? Anyone use both?
Thanks Walter

[GLEN REAMS]

Walter,
After months of looking around i decided to go with the internal, exo helps protect body and look good but i didnt like that after a roll the "damaged" pieces of the cage gotta get replaced
-Glen

[lancetkenyon]

Mostly Exocages are for XJs and such. They help protect the body in a TJ too. Personally, they are a lot of extra work rather than a cage. Depends on personal preference, I don't care for them much.

[terron gregg]

Walter,
After months of looking around i decided to go with the internal, exo helps protect body and look good but i didnt like that after a roll the "damaged" pieces of the cage gotta get replaced
-Glen

should the cage be looked at as well if you roll for structural reasons

[mingoglia]

As others have said... they can also be used in vehicles which have limited head room as well. For example, a 6'3" guy like myself would probably not fit in a Toy with a internal cage due to headroom so I'd opt for an external cage... also in this situation, not being a "convertible" makes an internal cage more difficult to pull off.... particularly getting a sound weld all the way around the tube.

[lancetkenyon]

But Walt is probably talking about a cage for his LJ. And Glen is not 6'3".

[tywilson88]

exocage seems worthless to me. after i saw the pics of that red xj after a roll, i noticed that it doesn't really do much... and it take alot more tube... i would recc a internal

[jeepcj5nut]

Sometimes both isn't even enough.... or is it?????

http://image07.webshots.com/7/9/86/61/88098661cXOBIX_ph.jpg

Remember the Mcsharky machine?

[lancetkenyon]

exocage seems worthless to me. after i saw the pics of that red xj after a roll, i noticed that it doesn't really do much... and it take alot more tube... i would recc a internal

It did a hell of a lot! Saved a ton of damage to the body, and held up a lot better than you think. That was not an easy flop on the side, it was a full rollover onto the lid, ask the occupants of the XJ how banged up the were.

[desertfabmotors]

Internal cages are better than exo-cages. Internal cages you can put needed cross bracing where exo cages is extremely difficult to do.

[ROKBITR]

It did a hell of a lot! Saved a ton of damage to the body, and held up a lot better than you think. That was not an easy flop on the side, it was a full rollover onto the lid, ask the occupants of the XJ how banged up the were.

x2

That would have been A LOT worse without the exo cage.

Yes, you will have to repair some damaged parts from an exo cage, but it is a lot better than collapsing the roof and shattering all the glass.

I am still in limbo which way I want to go. It will really come down to a matter of preference IMO.

Dave, are you talking about cross bracing the roof? Do you have any examples of what you are refering too?

[Kyron]

An exo cage will protect the windsheild.

If either cage is poorly designd it will fail.

I have an exo cage that is cross braced through the body and has held up to numerous flops and is used as rock sliders on every trip ...... try that with an internal


To me, building an exo cage is a step towards having a buggy because your willing to "use" the tubing in the rocks.

Having an internal cage means your going to stay on the beaten path more and your more worried about your sheet metal

[Oc1paddler]

An exo cage will protect the windsheild.

If either cage is poorly designd it will fail.

I have an exo cage that is cross braced through the body and has held up to numerous flops and is used as rock sliders on every trip ...... try that with an internal


To me, building an exo cage is a step towards having a buggy because your willing to "use" the tubing in the rocks.

Having an internal cage means your going to stay on the beaten path more and your more worried about your sheet metal

Yours is the exception to the rule. Most people who do exo cages do them because they don't want the stuff inside. With out going behind the seats and putting in door bars its very hard to make an exo cage that won't shift during a hard roll. To properly brace and exo cage you would need to make it so that the doors won't open and there is a X behind the seats. You can make exo cages that are very strong they just won't be as easy to make or as strong as a properly built internal one.

[ROKBITR]

I know that this would have been a lot worse with an internal cage instead of an exo.

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/showthread.php?t=28126&highlight=willow+claims

[Desertdawg]

I know that this would have been a lot worse with an internal cage instead of an exo.

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/showthread.php?t=28126&highlight=willow+claims

From what I heard from the owner of that XJ, he landed in course sandy soil which caused more damage due to the momentum of the force continuing through the sand. If it had been solid rock it probably wouldn't have caved in as much or not at all.

I think he said they were working on putting an internal in the rear that connects to the exo through the roof.

That roof definitely would have been flattened if the exo wasn't there.

[lancetkenyon]

An exo cage will protect the windsheild.

If either cage is poorly designd it will fail.

I have an exo cage that is cross braced through the body and has held up to numerous flops and is used as rock sliders on every trip ...... try that with an internal

To me, building an exo cage is a step towards having a buggy because your willing to "use" the tubing in the rocks.

Having an internal cage means your going to stay on the beaten path more and your more worried about your sheet metal

Hahaha! Apparently you have never seen my Jeep..............

[WalterD]

This is for the CJ7. (Someday it WILL be trail ready). We plan on putting a roll cage inside, but I was also considering the Genright XO Bars as an add on. Would they be helpfull on rocks or would they just get ripped off?

http://www.genright.com/pdf/XO_Bars_Brochure.pdf

[SHNIPE]

Hahaha! Apparently you have never seen my Jeep..............

lance your whole jeep is a custom slider :D

[cagedXJ]

I have an exo i like mine for two reasons. One is i have kids that like to go out so it leaves extra room inside for them and there stuff and the second reason is I smack the rocks with them often and without them i would have even more dents and smashed sheet metal. They might not be as good as an internal cage but they have there place.

[BaronVonRoot]

I am thinking a exo on the A piller sliders allong the roof line, hoops over the top comeing down thru the roof on B, C, and D pillers and getting the proper cross braceing, with some protection on the corners and a Stinger out front, what you guys think? hopeing to cause less dammage when I roll, flop her back over and go

[Oc1paddler]

If you are willing to put your cross braces inside like you stated I think that you get the best of both worlds. 1. sheet metal protection. 2. A properly triagulated cage. Sounds like a win, win situation to me!

[BaronVonRoot]

now I am thinking internal its just plain stronger, saftey first