Explorer sport exo cage

[joedirt12345]

would an exo-cage be a substitute for a regular roll cage or just there to help prevent body damage? second, how hard would it be to put one on a 4 door and still have access to the back doors

PS: thats a great looking truck that you've got

 

[whitetrashfab]

I have not rolled mine on its roof yet but most of the rigs I wheel with have exo cages and they have all rolled without any damage. My friend Andy rolled hard on his roof at the funny rocks and bent his cage a little but not bad given how hard he hit (twice). Exo cages work well in low speed rolls but an interior cage with good cross bracing and tied into the frame would hold up better or an exo with some interior cross bracing. I live in Washington and the trils we run are low speed with lots of trees so an exo cage works better for me, I have a sand rail for going fast

Oh, and I think you could make a 4 door cage work even with the door overlap. We might be building one in the next year or so for a friend.

 

[sparksafly'n]

That's very cool!! I think I want to do that with ours. Plus a couple hoops over the seats or something like that.

Any ways very cool rig.

 

[rhauf]

would an exo-cage be a substitute for a regular roll cage or just there to help prevent body damage? second, how hard would it be to put one on a 4 door and still have access to the back doors

PS: thats a great looking truck that you've got

Yeah, that's the idea.. i've rolled my exo'd bronco a few times, and the only damage i've sustained so far (other than the body flexing against the cage and denting before i solid mounted it) was on the last roll (about 40mph on very soft dirt) the cage sunk into the dirt a little and pushed up some dirt which broke the windshield. other than that exo is the way to go

here's how i tested out my exo cage, btw.

 

[whitetrashfab]

Any cage is better then no cage. All you have to do is go to the wrecking yard, there are lots of rolled explorers with the roofs smashed flat. Not saying that with a cage you and your rig will come out just fine from that kind of wreck offroad, but Im sure your odds are a lot better. Just look at the video...

 

[BrianDye]

That videos awesome! Haha.


Whitetrashfab- great work though man, thats the first exo ive ever seen, and it looks professional! I like that its all flat black too rather than just bare silver.

 

[94 explorer xlt]

Very nice job. are you removing the doors and making tubes or you going to just ad a piece to cover the doors? i've seen some where they just added a piece to cover the middle of the door and put a hinge on it.

 

[whitetrashfab]

The doors were both dented in after the first trip... I was planing on making door bars that would swing out with the doors but its a little late now. I will make some before the summer if the doors are not totaled out by then.

 

[joedirt12345]

Yeah, that's the idea.. i've rolled my exo'd bronco a few times, and the only damage i've sustained so far (other than the body flexing against the cage and denting before i solid mounted it) was on the last roll (about 40mph on very soft dirt) the cage sunk into the dirt a little and pushed up some dirt which broke the windshield. other than that exo is the way to go

all I have to say about your vid is that I would never roll my truck on purpose.

now to some of the other comments if I put an exo-cage on my truck I would definately put cross-bracing in cause I need some place to mount the 5 point racing harnesses but right now im trying to figure out how to do that and still be able to have it weather proofed inside.

Any cage is better then no cage. All you have to do is go to the wrecking yard, there are lots of rolled explorers with the roofs smashed flat. Not saying that with a cage you and your rig will come out just fine from that kind of wreck offroad, but Im sure your odds are a lot better.

most of those were rolled because alot of people don't know how to drive in adverse conditions

 

[whitetrashfab]

Just come wheelin with me, rolling over or going onto your side is unavoidable on many of our trails...

As for keeping the rain out I was looking at different rubber gromets (sp?) at a boat supply place a few years back thinking that they would work well for something like that? Not sure what they were for but they might work. The body and cage dont move that much so you wouldnt have do go that far oversize for the tube to pass through.

 

[joedirt12345]

I was talking about this with a metal shop teacher and he suggested welding the body to the cross braces once you solid mount it. I think the body is too weak to handle the stress unless it has some reinforcement with some 1/4 or 3/8 plate

 

[Madmazdarx8]

Thanks. Thats the second body for that rig... you can imagine what happened to the other one with all the trees and rocks in Washington.

Im in washington too!! Id love to go rig with you man!