What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Take this as you will from someone who hasn't done any tube bending and cage fab...

If the sanctioning body will allow the use of the 4X innovations kit, it might be a good place to start. I would be concerned that the vertical pillars (B, C, and D) are 2 piece 'for easy shipping'.
It would probably a good thing to scrutinize the rule book again, and have a conversation with one of the techs that does the cage certifications to make sure those parts can have a joint in them, or in the location the kit makes the joint. If they don't like, or disallow that cage kit, it might ultimately be a good idea to buy a bunch of tube, start practicing some of the needed bends, and eventually build your own cage.

 

No... I know the 4x Innovations roll cage isn't sanctioned. That's why I said "get it closer to sanctioned."

This 4 runner cage doesn't need to be sanctioned, because I won't be racing it. Their 2 piece pillars can be made safe, though, with sleeves and plug welds.

The 4x Innovations cage doesn't have all the required cross bars, and the S curve of the A pillars would also be problematic. I realize all of that.

 

Okay, I read 'getting it closer to sanctioned' meant you had the thought of eventually racing it, after making the additions you would need to make to the cage to make it 'legal' in the future.
I'll take the rule book, and certification thoughts, and toss them out the window.

Sleeves and plug welds should be more than strong enough, and they can be wherever reasonably needed in that case. Bending and adding some bars to get the cage kit to what you want for a recreational use would probably be where I would start. It is also possibly quicker, and less expensive than ending up scrapping a bunch of incorrect bends from starting from scratch to build a full cage as a first build, let alone something there is a rule book for.

 

Scraping a bunch of bad bends, trying to build my first cage from scratch is exactly the thing I'm thinking of, and trying to avoid lol.

At just under $900 for the cost of the cage, it's not really that much more expensive than buying sticks of DOM tubing.

Those are the reasonings I'm going with anyway.

 

the S-bend in the Front Side Hoop is a big no-no.

if you just plan to bend that FSM hoop twice per side, that will work out pretty well.

 

@El Taco Diablo

I’m not sure with the whole reason behind it but why not buy one made for the DC?
https://www.4xinnovations.com/2001--2004-Double-Cab-Tacoma-Roll-Cage--DOM-Tubing_p_155.html

my personal thought, my truck is heavy enough and the 5vz struggle as is. More weight, more sluggish. Plus, with a cage, I probably end up doing more stupid things with the truck. Without a cage, I’m more careful at picking my approach and departure.

pros vs cons

had a 83 I built with interior cage. That bitch rattle like no tomorrow, drove me nuts.

 

Minus the part where the cage entirely fucks up the interior of the cab and punches a ton of holes to the exterior... a cage does do wonders for rigidity and suspension feel. Controls all the stuff you can't put a shock absorber on like for instance, the frame.

 

Yep, I rather have an intact interior with minimum wind noise and dust. And wait until that one small jump or off camber tire drop and you didn’t buckle in and your head kiss the cage. It’s a bloody messy, ask me how I know LMFAO.

 

Doing go fast stupid shit in the desert is mainly the reason the cages have entered the thought process. I'm not that worried about taking a flop in the rocks.

I'm looking at the 4 Runner as another test rig. If the 4x Innovations cage goes well, and I get the experience, I may do one for the DC, or build that one myself. The 4 Runner will be a lot lighter and we'll be able to do stupiderer shit in it than the DC Taco.

 

Came across this old picture of my 2002 Tacoma in the snow. Miss that truck.

 

The only holes the cage will make is for the legs to drop through the floor, to weld the top of the cage. Those holes get covered by 1/8 sandwich plates.

And let's be honest... those holes are nothing compared to the holes in the firewall I'm about to cut, to fit 37s.

 

Not going to tie to the rear frame... bummer, well so much for the rigidity benefits. What are you using to hard mount the body now?

 

I don't think I understand the question.
Are you talking body mounts? Those are stock, now. But will be poly 1 inch body lift.
Or are you talking the way the roll cage will be hard mounted to the frame? That will be a tie in kit that uses poly bushings.

 

Ah so the cage will be floating like the body too then, this should be interesting. Most of the times you see a cage done they weld straight to the frame and so you must hard mount the body as well to prevent the two from fatiguing against each other. What is this cage's purpose anyway, sounds like you're not doing kicker bars to the back, and it is being soft mounted, which I don't think any sanctioning body allows (I could be wrong there). Kinda sounds like another heavier piece to crush you in an accident this way though.

 

The plan is to do the cage, then add in bars. I would do kicker bars at the door sills and gusset (or corner tube) from the kicker to the B piller. And run a cross bar from the B piller to the C piller. I'd also add in a dash bar, and a bar behind the front seats, with down tubes from the top tubes to the added cross bars. I'd also add in a few ceiling bars (the kit does have a center ceiling bar).

It would actually get pretty close to sanctioned by the time I'm done. The reason for it is A) practice B) possiblity of high(er) speed roll over in the desert.

As far as the Poly mounts go. Hammers, for example, will allow body mounted roll cages with just sandwich plates to the floor. (Not even directly mounted to the frame). Poly bushing frame tie ins direct to the frame are FAR stronger than that.

 

Hammers rule book is based heavily off of SCORE. SCORE has, basically, the same rules applying to sandwich plates.




If you comply with SCORE on safety tech, you pretty much comply with all offroad safety tech.

 

You could always just get the 4x cage and modify it to your liking, like remove the dumb bent A-pillar pieces and add in the parts to make it compliant

 

The S pillars would have to go, and the 2 piece B and C pillars would have to go as well.

You can make 2 piece pillars safe. You can't make them compliant. At that point, it would be better to just build from scratch, because over half the kit would have to be done over. And a bunch of cross bars and kickers would have to be added.

That's still an option. I'm just kicking it around for ideas right now.

 

This is the Way.

 

He has spoken