Internal and External cage.

Yes, the only damage was to the front wing, just some light crinkling from ruts that unfortunately the front driver's side wing was leaning on as it was slightly past the point of just laying on it's side but nowhere near going all the way over if you know what I mean!

You can see the guilty driver in the photo looking at what she had done!

What you have to remember is that this was a very, very slow plop on it's side. The cage did flex and just kiss the bodywork as there are witness marks on the paint. It flexed because it is just two loops going from the welded on rocksliders over the roof and down the other side, so it can pivot on the rocksliders as the tubing bends - which it would do as that's what metal does!

When the car came back on it's wheels - having been winched back using the cage to do so, it sprang back to it's original position bar the odd couple of mm.

If you put an internal hoop inside with a single cross bar in the centre that can be removable and that internal hoop is mounted to the chassis and both the internal and external cages are connected together by sandwich plates on the roof or whatever other clever means you may have, you will have a cage system that protects both you and the bodywork.

Cages are heavy though and Jimny's are not powerful machines.

So you have to make your choice with this all in mind.

If mine had gone all the way over would the external cage have pushed into the body and caused as much damage as if I hadn't got one - at that speed I doubt it.

I know that when I decided to get a cage I accepted it was for rubbing on trees to stop me caving the side of the car in on trees. I was told by it's maker that it was only strong enough for that purpose. The fact it did so well in the picture above is testament to his work.

Mine is linked to the roof by the original roof rail mounting studs, which I think to some extent kept it away from the body as the shell and cage moved together but they are only small studs so you can't expect too much out of them.

It's all a compromise and you just have to decide which way you want that compromise to go, make the choice and pay your money for it.

kirkynut

40mm external diameter with just over 1mm of paint!!!!!!!

3mm wall thickness but it is seamed given it's intended use as mentioned above.

kirkynut