Stock "cage"???

[HDGasser]

I watched my older sisters step dad flip his CJ in calico, had an aftermarket cage and help up well.

I have personally flipped a lifted Cherokee in Azusa with no cage... End result was not purdy but large amounts of alcohol fixed it.

Never flipped a sxs but seen it done almost every trip to Glamis and factory cages do not hold up well.

And a friend of mine roll my old rhino with an aftermarket cage 4/5 times down a hill in ocotillo a few years back, everyone walked away.


A JK... Never, and I hope I don't ever see it or experience it. I've seen first hand what happens to a "stock cage" compared to a custom cage hence my questioning the factory cage in the JKu.

 

[wayoflife]

First off, the JK is no XJ nor is it a CJ, a Bronco or a side-by-side (not even fair to compare). Over the years, Jeep has gone through great lengths to improve their CJ and then Wrangler from having NO roll bar, to having a single over head roll bar to one that secures the rear corners in to finally having one that is welded to the tub. Do you really think this was all done by chance and that no consideration for you and or your occupants safety was made in doing this? So that it's clear, I am not saying that bolt in cage isn't nice to have - hell, I have one in both my JK's but I'll be honest, I wouldn't even bat an eye to run trails that a vast majority of people wheel on without one. You can say that I just don't care about my family's safety but, I can tell you that I have yet to see a single instance where their safety was at risk on most of these trails. But hey, that's just me. :yup:

 

[LoPo]

First off, the JK is no XJ nor is it a CJ, a Bronco or a side-by-side (not even fair to compare). Over the years, Jeep has gone through great lengths to improve their CJ and then Wrangler from having NO roll bar, to having a single over head roll bar to one that secures the rear corners in to finally having one that is welded to the tub. Do you really think this was all done by chance and that no consideration for you and or your occupants safety was made in doing this? So that it's clear, I am not saying that bolt in cage isn't nice to have - hell, I have one in both my JK's but I'll be honest, I wouldn't even bat an eye to run trails that a vast majority of people wheel on without one. You can say that I just don't care about my family's safety but, I can tell you that I have yet to see a single instance where their safety was at risk on most of these trails. But hey, that's just me. :yup:

For sure. I'd hope people wouldn't tell you that you don't care about your family's safety because of selection to augment the OEM cage or not. My example of my daughters is just me being the over protective/paranoid father that I am.


But for the previous 3 examples, we might be hyper sensitive to this sort of thing because of our experiences. If I hadn't watched my buddy go ass over nose in his XJ, I probably wouldn't give any cage modifications much thought. I bet if Sharkey hadn't been in that rollout he'd be less sensitive as well.

 

[wayoflife]

For sure. I'd hope people wouldn't tell you that you don't care about your family's safety because of selection to augment the OEM cage or not. My example of my daughters is just me being the over protective/paranoid father that I am.


But for the previous 3 examples, we might be hyper sensitive to this sort of thing because of our experiences. If I hadn't watched my buddy go ass over nose in his XJ, I probably wouldn't give any cage modifications much thought. I bet if Sharkey hadn't been in that rollout he'd be less sensitive as well.

Oh, I totally understand and again, am not suggesting for a minute that a cage addition isn't something worth having. However, I still stand by the fact that most people will never need one. I will also add that the guys I know who wheel with their families on board tend to drive like it. Would your buddy really have been driving on the dunes like he was if his kids were inside? Would Sharkey really be wheeling a Bronco the way his friend was with his kids inside? I would venture to guess, not.

 

[Sharkey]

All fair points. We drove fast and reckless and did a fair amount of damage to our rigs that weren't set up properly for what we were doing. I routinely broke mounting bolts on my RS5000's from jumping and driving too fast (I was running dual shocks in each corner)(this was on my K5 Blazer.)

The Bronco was nothing like a JK and there is no way in hell I'd wheel anthing like I used to when I was younger, much less with my kids in the vehicle. We rolled because we were going too fast, at night, following someone on a dirt road. The "smokescreen" made it impossible to see which resulted in missing a turn. I flew out because I wasn't wearing a seatbelt and because the seat I was sitting in was not even bolted to the tub (we had just been using it as a campfire chair.) Dumb...all the way around. Honestly though, I think a JKU would have faired pretty well in that roll and I suspect the stock sport bar would have totally done its job.

I remember being on the ground and I remember hearing the vehicle still rolling. There was this short period of a few seconds where I was waiting and expecting to feel the Bronco crush me as it continued to roll. Not fun, but in reality we were probably thrown out of harm's way. I'd be a fool if I didn't admit that my desire to at least have a bolt-on aftermarket cage wasn't born from that experience. I'm not trying to say a cage is a necessity for everyone, I'm just saying it is for me. On my '09 it was one of my first purchases and I'm sure it will be again when I get another Jeep. If nothing else, it just makes me feel better to have one and for me, that is worth the price of admission.

 

[LoPo]

Good points Sharkey. It'll make me feel more comfortable as well. My only problem is I'm trying to go to the opposite end of the spectrum and build a tank... when a good sport cage and some C-Pillar support in the rear is probably all I need.

My buddy was just coming over a dune and made driver error, smashed the brakes and didn't come over at an angle. When he saw the steepness, he smashed his brakes, causing them to lock and the front wheels to dig/sink in the sand and the flip ensued. There was no speed, drinking, or being stupid involved, just driver error.

 

[wayoflife]

My buddy was just coming over a dune and made driver error, smashed the brakes and didn't come over at an angle. When he saw the steepness, he smashed his brakes, causing them to lock and the front wheels to dig/sink in the sand and the flip ensued. There was no speed, drinking, or being stupid involved, just driver error.

Again, that was an XJ, not a JK.

 

[LoPo]

Again, that was an XJ, not a JK.

I know, I'm not drawing comparisons between the two. Just stating he wasn't driving outside the bounds of what would be described as family driving and that accident was the result of driver error not fast or reckless driving compared to Sharkey's roll over the result of fast driving. :thumb:

 

[wayoflife]

I know, I'm not drawing comparisons between the two. Just stating he wasn't driving outside the bounds of what would be described as family driving and that accident was the result of driver error not fast or reckless driving compared to Sharkey's roll over the result of fast driving. :thumb:

And, in all fairness, I would still say that most guys who have their families riding in their Jeeps with them take more caution to not come up and over a dune they are unfamiliar with in the first place. To be clear, not knowing what was on the other side of the dune was the driver error and smashing on the brakes only compounded it. To me, that is what was reckless. If you or your buddy would take a chance like this again, with your kids on board and in spite of what you know can happen, yeah, a cage is something you really need.