Expcage/truggyish build thread

[Big Red 88]

This is my first exocage that I have built so I am still working on my bending capabilities but i think it has turned out ok... After I hit a few trees and roll it'll straighten itself out anyways... Let me know what you guys think. Oh and also I'm doing it with a harbor freight pipe bender and notching the tube with a grinder so that makes it a little bit tricky sometimes

 

[Big Red 88]

Also I just included the bare minimum in the front because I am going to take it back off and narrow the front after my next trip. My goal with this whole build is getting the tires outside the fenders and in the end I am going to lower the truck so I have a lower center because the way it sits I am pretty top heavy.

 

[Big Red 88]

Got some updated pictures for ya

 

[woody]

Considering the tools, it's looking decent....just can't get over using the cheap bender...are you using tube or pipe?

 

[Big Red 88]

Both, I got about 150ft of 1 1/2" 1/4 wall pipe for free and got 2 20ft sticks of 2" tube as well. The cage over the cab and front is pipe and the 2nd roll bar and the back is tube. I also learned how hard it was to bend a 20ft stick by yourself on the drivers side of the 2nd roll bar, I'd much rather be using a nice tube bender but I don't have the $$$ to buy one, I was looking into them but I don't have that kind of cash floating around right now and I already had the pipe bender

 

[woody]

I've got a Baileigh that is really nice, but it's not cheap...

My hobby shop has limited space....https://www.roguefab.com/ is what we're considering...and $600 is a great price too.

 

[Big Red 88]

Wow, wish I would've seen that a while ago... I didn't see a die for 2" in the products section though. My buddy is looking at getting a bender for his jeep/buggy project, I'll have to show him this.

 

[woody]

IMO, 2" tubing looks phat on a truck...1.75 looks much nicer...1.75" x .120 wall 1020 HREW tubing makes for nice cages.

DOM tubing is more expensive, but will last longer...the cage I'm retiring right now had over 50 flops/rolls on it, and other than replacing a few dinged spreader bars, was in good/safe shape. Normal 1020 mild steel would have needed replacement sooner, so the up-front investment was worth it.

 

[Big Red 88]

The 2" tube that i got is DOM so that worked out nicely for me. My long term plan with this truck is to get an s-10 quad cab body and put it on this frame so I can take the family out with me but it'll be a little while before I can afford to do that so this cage is to get me by until I can make the swap and I have a little while until my kids can join me. That's when I'll fork out the cash to make it as good as I can (get a nice bender, all DOM tubing, an actual tube notcher etc).

 

[Big Red 88]

Some more updated pics... And a couple of playing around, apparently I'm a little lighter in the rear now... Haha

 

[Big Red 88]

Here's a few more updated pics... I sectioned off the front half to make a tool/recovery/spare parts and fluids box

 

[Big Red 88]

Some more updated pics... I am actually going to section it all off so things aren't rolling from the front to the back while I'm wheeling. I moved my batteries to the back and I got some disassembly pics of the front as well...

 

[Big Red 88]

Upgraded to some 44's

 

[Big Red 88]

Some more updates... I finally got my f-350 master cylinder in (I've had it for a year), moved the rear axle back a couple inches, re-did my rear shackles, lowered the back about 3-4" with the new setup, set it up for more down travel than I used to have, finally finished sectioning the truck box and now I have the front ripped off (no pics yet) and a pic of how the new rear suspension works

 

[Big Red 88]

Here's some before and after pics for lowering it

 

[woody]

at some point, you need to get 'er on the trail and see how it works!

coming along tho!

 

[Big Red 88]

Yeah no kidding!!! Still have quite a bit of work to do before I hit the trails but I'm getting there. Hoping to be done at the latest for snow runs, hoping to be done before though. Here's some progress on the front.

I wanted to be at the edge of the frame and just do a bar up and over then connect the cab to the front but if I kept the core support and did that then I would have had nowhere to mount lights and not enough room for a place to set the hood. So I got an old CJ grill modified it to fit, painted it and bent a bar around that and I'll connect the cab to that bar. Now I don't need to make extra mounts for lights and I have room to set my hood on.

 

[Big Red 88]

Few more...

 

[VMAN]

Looking good.

 

[woody]

when is the inaugural run?

 

[Big Red 88]

Not sure yet, still have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to work on it. I would like to go ASAP but we'll see.

 

[Big Red 88]

Slowly but surely it's coming along...

 

[Big Red 88]

Update: redid the front shackle setup, got it setup for more down travel, grooved the tires and setup my onboard air system (no pics of that though). I still need to drop the front another 2" I'm thinking but it sits pretty level now. I'm going to pull a couple leafs out and see where that gets me

 

[Big Red 88]

Tested it out on a ramp today... Major improvement, very happy with how it turned out. I was just barely starting to lift my rear tire and a pic of how it sits now before I pull a couple leafs out

 

[Big Red 88]

Pulled a couple leafs out and sucked the winch bumper in to the grill and added a Chevy bow tie to the grill

 

[Big Red 88]

Finally got some front fender work in on it. I welded tabs on the tube because I wanted the fenders bolt on so someday when I do the motor I can just pull the fenders off and have complete access.

 

[Big Red 88]

Ok I got my fenders done now, on the passenger side rear fender I welded in a gas door, reason being I set up my onboard air right behind it on the firewall so my air hook up is behind the gas door

 

[Big Red 88]

Got some new goodies today...