Or Fab cage with trex top nx

silverbackjk

New member
Ok guys i have ordered my or fab sport cage. Does anyone have any experience with the two? What will i need to do to get them to work together?
 
Ok guys i have ordered my or fab sport cage. Does anyone have any experience with the two? What will i need to do to get them to work together?

I'm running a cage with very similar measurements and I have ZERO problems with my TrekTop NX. My cage however only covers the driver's compartment, it doesn't extend over the backseat and trunk area. If you are getting the full cage your back panels may be tight.
 
I'm running a cage with very similar measurements and I have ZERO problems with my TrekTop NX. My cage however only covers the driver's compartment, it doesn't extend over the backseat and trunk area. If you are getting the full cage your back panels may be tight.

Just the front. Ho do you attach the door surrounds to the roll bar?
 
Just the front. Ho do you attach the door surrounds to the roll bar?

The door surrounds attach to the factory cage. The sport cage i have covers the windshield, front doors and center line. I don't know how it would work with a full cage. Basically it parallels all of the factory stuff. I will attach a pic later but I need some sleep. Just got off a very long shift.
 
i believe you are going to need to drill new holes in the new bars (if the kit replaces the bars that run from windshield to B pillar)
The best thing to do is- drill a larger hole and weld in a sleeve, instead of just drilling a hole (no point in beefing up the cage, only to weaken it by drilling holes).

Or replace the mounts on your door surrounds with a mag lite flashlight mounting clip- the clip will snap around the roll cage to hold the surrounds in place.
 
The cage has the same holes as stock so unless you need to drill holes in the stock bars to install the top you don't need to do anything with the cage.
 
Silverback-

Make sure to take some pics of the install. I installed the OR-Fab in my '09 and loved the clean look of the cage. (I prefer the look to the Rock Hard, although the install is much more difficult.)

I spent some time working on the interior panels and liked the result.
IMG_0335.jpg
IMG_0339.jpg
IMG_0340.jpg

I'm interested to see how this cage fits with the newer dash.
 
The door surrounds attach to the factory cage. The sport cage i have covers the windshield, front doors and center line. I don't know how it would work with a full cage. Basically it parallels all of the factory stuff. I will attach a pic later but I need some sleep. Just got off a very long shift.

That would be great to see some pics.


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Silverback-

Make sure to take some pics of the install. I installed the OR-Fab in my '09 and loved the clean look of the cage. (I prefer the look to the Rock Hard, although the install is much more difficult.)

I spent some time working on the interior panels and liked the result.
View attachment 42402
View attachment 42403
View attachment 42404

I'm interested to see how this cage fits with the newer dash.

I will be sure to post up pics throughout the install. Your install is super clean. I hope my come out close to as good as yours.


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i believe you are going to need to drill new holes in the new bars (if the kit replaces the bars that run from windshield to B pillar)
The best thing to do is- drill a larger hole and weld in a sleeve, instead of just drilling a hole (no point in beefing up the cage, only to weaken it by drilling holes).

Or replace the mounts on your door surrounds with a mag lite flashlight mounting clip- the clip will snap around the roll cage to hold the surrounds in place.

The or fab kit replaces the two side bars.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
Silverback-

Make sure to take some pics of the install. I installed the OR-Fab in my '09 and loved the clean look of the cage. (I prefer the look to the Rock Hard, although the install is much more difficult.)

I spent some time working on the interior panels and liked the result.
View attachment 42402
View attachment 42403
View attachment 42404

I'm interested to see how this cage fits with the newer dash.

How about I drop it off and you and mtg can set it up for me! Jk


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How about I drop it off and you and mtg can set it up for me! Jk

:cheesy: Sure, but I'm a bit backed up right now. I take delivery of LoD front and rear bumpers for Meanst today and need to try get those on first.

I'm not familiar with the '11 dash but if you have any questions during your install please don't hesitate to shoot me a pm. Not saying I'll know the answer but maybe I can help figure it out.

A couple of initial thoughts: Make sure to measure your windshield in a bunch of different places. If you don't get the windshield set back in the same place after the install you can end up with some wind noise. I took about 10-12 measurements and never had an issue with wind noise or my hard top leaking. Also, make sure to chase all of the threads on the cage as there is likely to be powdercoat or other gunk in the threads. I forgot to chase the threads on my passenger side and it was a real bitch to try to do it on the Jeep. If the sides of the '11 dash have the same metal "fins" that the 09 had let me know. I tried a bunch of different ways to cut out the fins. For me, it worked best to use a drill to make the fins look like swiss cheese. Then I used a hammer and a good metal chisel to connect the holes. I tried a grinder and a cutoff wheel, neither of which got me in far enough for what I needed. To trim the plastic parts of the dash, floor, and A-pillar, I found that a barrel sand paper attachment on a dremel worked great.

Take your time and I'm sure it will turn out great. I did the entire install by myself and I am far from a seasoned mechanic.
 
One more thing, and this is something that would have saved me a lot of pain (and about $100) down the road. Assuming you got the floor tie-in kit, take a look at my second pic in my first post in this thread. You can see how the door retention strap rubs against the corner of the floor tie-in. Well, about six months after my install a strong wind snapped my retention strap giving the Jeep a nasty dimple and pulling apart the wiring harness. The strap had been partially cut over time from corner of the tie-in and I did not notice the problem until it was too late. Buying a new harness (the retention strap and wiring come as one unit) from the dealer was less than $100, but installing it was a major PITA! (Getting to the power locking mechanism to connect the harness inside the door was brutal)

Next time I install this cage, I will zip tie a little piece of rubber tubing around the harness or around the floor tie-in.
 
One more thing, and this is something that would have saved me a lot of pain (and about $100) down the road. Assuming you got the floor tie-in kit, take a look at my second pic in my first post in this thread. You can see how the door retention strap rubs against the corner of the floor tie-in. Well, about six months after my install a strong wind snapped my retention strap giving the Jeep a nasty dimple and pulling apart the wiring harness. The strap had been partially cut over time from corner of the tie-in and I did not notice the problem until it was too late. Buying a new harness (the retention strap and wiring come as one unit) from the dealer was less than $100, but installing it was a major PITA! (Getting to the power locking mechanism to connect the harness inside the door was brutal)

Next time I install this cage, I will zip tie a little piece of rubber tubing around the harness or around the floor tie-in.

Sharkey thanks so much for all the tips. I will let you know if I have any questions. The cage is 3 or 4 weeks on back order ill take a lot of pics and post them up.


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No worries. It's a great setup and was truly something for which I constantly received compliments. It looks great and really blends into the interior well. (It even passed the wife test:yup:) I mounted an external CB speaker to mine which worked great, and I had plans for other stuff as well (like removable side mirrors for running doorless) but sold my Jeep before I got the chance.

I'm not sure if you have purchased something from OR-Fab before, but they could teach a lot of other manufacturers a thing or two about packing. Unpacking the cage will take you some time and is likely to create a mess. I think OR-Fab literally fills the box with liquid packing foam that completely encases and protects every single part. If you have a significant other who doesn't appreciate little pieces of packing material all over the house, unpack in the garage. The only downside to OR-Fab's unbelievable packing job is that you have to be very careful to make sure you actually pulled everything out of the box and packing foam before you throw the boxes away.

If you carry passengers, I would consider adding the Poison Spyder "C" pillars at some point. I bugged OR-Fab about making me some (and also some reasonably priced accessory clamps) but they never took the bait.
 
I looked at the Rock Hard clamps but decided they were too pricey so I made my own. Helps to have access to a lathe and a mill. Mounted mirrors and a tablet to the cage.

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