Fitting 35’s with minimal trimming NOW ADDING LONG TRAVEL AND 934 CV’s

I’ve used a few different welders over the years and always had good luck with Miller inverters. But then I’m not welding in one shop I tend to move my stuff around a lot so smaller footprint is almost necessary. Went from a xmt350 with a suitcase wire feed to now running a Miller 255 and a dynasty 210. Other than ease of settings with the 255 over the xmt I haven’t noticed much of a weld quality change between the 2. But yes miller’s are expensive and unless you do alot of welding they aren’t worth it for many people considering the quality you can get from a significantly cheaper unit. Also one place to check is welding supply stores that rent units, alot of times they have used welders for sale at a significant discount.

 

Just to add to the cage discussion. I hopped the truck on the highway Thursday night on my way home and the front right tire did something wonky. In that exact moment in my mind I said "Damn, I'd feel safer with a cage in this thing..."

 

Being somebody has been in a rollover I truly do feel safer in a caged vehicle. Although it might just be a mental thing but the Tacoma cab doesn’t seem very internally strong. I personally feel a cage would make me feel a lot safer.

 

I just know these things, as with most trucks, will be rolling in an accident at speed. or off road I wouldn't want to tumble down a mountainside without one in the off chance it might happen.
I've been in accidents, and I always try to swerve out of the way if I can, so sharp turn at speed with a high center of gravity will always be the factor in rolling.

 

I feel a cage is a better investment than suspension upgrades as it will potentially save your life. Like Harry said, it will solve all the frame issues while you are at it and you get the benefit of protecting your family in case you do something stupid or something happens out of your control. Then you have a platform to build from. In my head it just makes logical sense, but I may think different than others. As I’m willing to put up with the negatives to get the positives.

 

I just can't afford 10k+ to do it. So it'll probably come down to a 'Insurance totaled it, I bought it back, time to cage with the extra money' situation. I got a medical bill heavy next year coming, minimum 30k, so its way out of my budget despite all the positives.

 

Hey question for anybody in here with a internal cage... what are your thoughts on helmets? just when really letting her loose in the desert or?

 

Just invest in a notcher and bender and practice on small stuff. That’s what I am doing. I also have a friend that might help. Harry said he is at minimum a year out so figured I’d give it a shot. Worst comes to worst I don’t have a vehicle for a year and bring it to Harry.

 

The JD Fab driveway killer. Thought I would flex it out after work so I found the biggest boulder I have and double locked and drove until I thought I’d flip. Finally got the limit strap taut. Also, really starting to look like fall at the homestead.

 

Trust me when I say, I was doing fab shit for close to 2 years before I had enough skill and competence built up to do my first cage. A cage is absolutely nothing to mess with if you don’t know what you’re doing and you’re not 100% confident in your skills. A poorly built cage is far more of a death trap than no cage. And I’m not just talking about braining yourself.

 

I’m confident I could figure it out through the help of people that are more knowledgeable and smarter than me. But yeah I agree don’t just slap it together. I feel someone who has the desire to learn and puts the time in to study and practice could do it though. Just like anything else in life.

 

While I won’t disagree, there is a whole lot to be learned working with tube. Along with the fact you better be competent when you’re twisted up like a pretzel welding a cage. Many can weld in position. Getting out of position into an extremely uncomfortable position changes the game 100%. Learning to build a cage simply isn’t something one can learn in short order. But I do advocate for everybody to invest in learning.

I’ve been toying with the thought of doing one this spring while the truck is down, because I absolutely agree. They are worth their weight in gold if it’s ever needed. I’ve caught myself more than once saying “this would be bad if I lost it right now”. And sometimes it freaks me out.

 

Yeah definitely. It’ll probably take me a lot longer than a professional. But like I do with my work I go slow analyze and make sure I’m doing it correctly and ask questions if I’m unsure. I guess I’ll understand better once I’ve done one. If someone puts the time and effort into it I’m sure they can do it. A lot of people just don’t have the time or don’t have the desire and that’s fine too. I always am looking to learn and become more knowledgeable! you won’t grow if you don’t challenge yourself.

 

I can confirm, building a proper cage is very challenging even for experienced fabricators. While tube bending and welding skills are obviously important having experience is really what’s required. Understanding how to properly prep all the sheet metal and how to build the cage so everything can be welded 100% comes with lots of experience.

 

So would you not recommend someone attempting it with decent bending and welding experience? I mean just like anything else to be good at anything takes practice, so it won’t be perfect your first go around. I get that everything seems easier than it really is. Figured I’d give it a shot since you are a year out an I have the time.

 

I also get annoyed in my trade when trying to explain things to people and they don’t listen. So being as you are a professional in this field I trust your voice on the subject.

 

It’s not really that it’s not recommended, it’s that it takes a lot of time to get yourself mentally ready. That’s not a project you wanna get in the middle of and say “oh shit”.

 

Posted that one wrong somehow.
That was more of a joke when I said that but yeah I get it. Makes sense. I want to do it but at the same time I want it to be correct. I’m not going to rush through it, I was planning on it taking a while. I’d gladly post pictures of my progress and seek advice through the process. That’s what this forum is all about right? To educate and help people learn?

 

It’s not that I don’t recommend it just be prepared to spend way more time than you think and waste lots of tubing

 

I wasted tons of pipe learning how to bend conduit so I assumed that was going to be the case. With how expensive pipe is right now I guess we will see if it’s even worth it from a cost perspective. Yeah I figured it was going to take way longer than I assume. Just like anything I tell my wife with working on a vehicle. Yeah it’ll take a couple hours. 12 hours later…