Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

Watch this guys videos. Pretty good info and tips on this stuff.
https://youtu.be/3n_lf2RHIPs

 

Also hit up BReynolds on instagram. He built his own like that but tore it out for some reason

 

Thanks. Been a while since ive bent any tube and never done anything with this many bends in it and the less I have to cut and weld it back together the better.

Ive talked to him and some other guys hes helped build cages for and got some pictures from them. Said he wants to build an internal cage and someone offered to buy it.

Wondering if I should replace the body mount bushings with delrin or something along the lines to keep the body from flexing into the cage.

 

I went with HREW. I had dies for it already and like you said, it's much cheaper.

I just winged everything on my cage. I would roll/bend a piece and hold it up and roll it or bend it some more until I liked what I saw and then duplicated it for the other side. I didn't use any bending software the entire build. I kept mine probably no more than 3/8" off the body in some spots.

I just tied mine into the body under the front fenders and kept the stock body bushings, but have still been considering changing them out to something more rigid.

 

Mine is a blend of HREW and DOM. DOM for the halo bar, a-pillar bars, and b-pillar bars. HREW for the supporting braces after I ran out of DOM. I fucked up an a-pillar bar but still used the stick as other smaller tubes so it wasn’t a waste. Seemed to same a lot of tube by doing the big bars first.

I used a level off the die and my other bends to keep things in the same plane. Swaged it on my multi-plane bends.

The tie in under the fender is just welding it to the body and then plating over it and welding again for reinforcement. That part of the body is super strong right there at the a-pillar to cab mount (think stock roll protection...triple layered plate). 1-3/4” slots in a perfectly to how the body is stamped.

I’m about a 1/2” off the body in most places, some places more and some less...just depended on the body lines and what I could do without a tube roller.

 

I have not built a cage, however if you tie it into you sliders, look at the mounts and see if they need beefing up. My sliders were welded on by the best welder I know and they tore off the frame on the drivers side on a tree a couple of years ago. It made me rethink ever tieing a cage into them.

 

Nice, a lot like mine, and a V-6 std cab too..Go figure!

 

Never really looked to close at yours but those rolled tubes on top are sweet. May have to try to duplicate that.. Looked through your build again and you had some good pictures of how it tied into the firewall. THanks. Is yours mounted to the sliders in the back?

Yours looks good at 1/2" figured away. If I could get it around 1/4-3/8" I think that would be best.

I kind of like that rear part of the cage going over the bed. Any worries about it caving in the bed side? Was thinking of doing something similar but going through the bed and into my shock towers or frame.


Thanks guys. Will compare prices and probably pick up some tube and just start bending. Have the jd2 with with a hydraulic conversion and swag roller so I'm sure I can figure something out.

 

How do you think do it then? tieing it into the frame? would think it would have to be a pretty sharp bend to get it to curve under and to the frame. Plan would be to gusset the rear part of the sliders

 

Build something that comes off the frame for the cage to land on

 

So just use the slider like everyone else and make some non rock catcher gussetts lol. Probably just do the little triangles right at the frame onto the tube. Id be afraid anything else/bigger would cause me to get hung up to much because I slide a lot on them and pivot off of them.

 

It’s sitting on/welded to, 1/4” angle that runs full bed length so I doubt it’s going anywhere, but they’re mainly there to soften up a backward roll over. The ‘X’ behind the cab passes thru the bed and is welded to the frame. There are also downtubes on each side of the lower horizontals that do the same.

 

Appreciate it, and IMO, exo's need to have some rolled tube to really look good

And yes, the main hoop is welded to the slider. I have always meant to tie it into the frame more to strengthen it, maybe something I should do during the wheeling off-season.

 

Figured this thread might be better to post this in. Finished this yesterday.

 

Now you can fit some 54’s


Looks great man. Simple and clean

 

Couldn't find the picture earlier, but may be tougher to do with an exo cage. But this is what I was talking about done for an internal cage that's in the works.

Then the cage tube just has to land somewhere, ideally centered, on the flat plate on top

 

I agree that would be ideal but I think to run something like that I would have to make the underside of the sliders like a "boatside". Essentailly do that on every leg and then put a piece of sheet metal along it as that would easily get hung up. I have a video on my Instagram where a sharp rock catches on each leg going to the frame and soething like that would literally stop me in my place. And I already get hung up on the sliders quite a bit and think doing boat sides to cover something like that would cause more problems than good. Probably run it to the slider like everyone else and strengthen it the best I can as close to the frame as I can and go from there. Good idea though. Kind of what I had in mind but not willing to sacrifice the ground clearance. If I did an internal cage that would be how I do it but not enough room in the 1st gens.

This cage is more for a slow flop on the side rather than a high speed roll. Worst case would be rolling multiple times down a hill but even then it would be a slow roll. I understand the forces that the legs are holding but I think with plating the frame where the slider leg attatches and some small gussetts and tubes to the frame in the form of an X behind the bed/between the cab (if possible) itll be more than enough to save me. Unless I'm missing something

 

I'm just giving my observation after being pinned against a tree and having the ass end come up and hearing 3 loud pops. It made me rethink ever tieing a cage into them.

 

Were you able to find fittlings to tie into the factory fuel lines?

 

No actual “fittings” involved. Just longer fuel lines attached to the hardlines under the truck with tube clamps so it doesn’t leak with the fittings that go on the gas tank sending unit attached to those on th other end. I also used the urd fuel pump upgrade kit that uses an external filter so that’s spliced in under the truck.