At least add a kick in the rear downtube on the cage, looks fugly with a straight tube from b-pillar to frame. Or if your set on a straight tube, add a bend and have the tube hit the frame perpendicular with about 24". It'll clean it up a whole lot.

Also have 2 x's in side the cab will be a waste. You can get away with an x at the back of the cab and behind the seats just run a bar for your seat belts.

The bottom left lace that funs from the frame rail to the middle of tube at the dash needs to be brought up so that it connects to the bend, unless your going to have a tube on the other side of your a-pillar to back it up. The little "gusset" tubes in the corners of the b-pillar are un-needed as well.

Just some observations :)

EDIT: Another Idea, you could bring the x up behind the seats and just run a hoop at the back of the cab or run your roof lace from the x straight out the back of the cab instead of adding all that extra tube.

 

Yea the drawing isnt set in stone, but I do see what you are saying. I have some other stuff drawn up too. I didnt go into huge detail on the drawing with following the cab and stuff which is why most of the hoops have straight bars in the picture. When I make the bendtech drawing I will actually take some measurements and fit it to the inside of the cab.

Edit: and the second door bar should be in the bend of the A pillar, thats just crappy drawing on my part.

 

Lemme know when you get the final version made up so I can check it out.

 

I just dropped my set of stock leafs off with Bucknasty and in trade I am getting his deavers. The chevy leafs dont give me enough lift in the back to match the front and blocks are not an option. so my two choices are to run the deavers and move the front mount back to the stock location or to use the stock leaf hangers I got from Jason and make a new drop hanger for the rear.

 

I thought you were runnin coil-overs on all 4?

EDIT: Just saw the cad drawing of the front suspension, why don't you triangulate the upper and/or kick it down into one of the lowers to alleviate any possible clearance issues.

 

I dont have the Cash to link both ends, So far both the chevy leafs and the deavers have been free. so Im going to stay leafs in the back for now.

If I tie the upper link in to one of the lowers im going to lose that geometry of the 3 link. Which isnt really a huge deal as I dont plan on Running HUGE travel in the front due to trying to keep it low and clearance issues. I just never liked the pinion motion through travel with radius arm style 3 link. But it is something I will defidently have to look into as it would make building the front alot simpler.

Edit: Im also working on that updated Cage drawing right now too.

 

Updated Cage pictures





Now for some explaining. The design I have is prolly overkill for my truck but Ive been browsing and doing alot of my research off of desert trucks. The dotted line is a bar I didnt think I needed but wanted to throw in there to get opinions on if it would really help support that upper A pillar bend. There is no bend at the dash, it is a vertical bar that meets the horizontal dash bar then the seperate continuation of the A pillar to roof bar. From what Ive read and looked at in the dezert trucks these design has both a ease of installing the cage and has a small strength advantage over a bend in that spot. It also makes the one leg of my door bar easier to tie into that node. The two angled bars between the B and C pillar, I switched just to create a stronger node in the back since the B pillar middle will just be a cross bar for harnesses. I did add some more bars to the C pillar middle which is where the overkill comes in but I figure its only like 10-12 feet of extra tube which isnt that bad. I do like the continuous length bar to the end of the frame behind the cab , but Im open to design Ideas. There would be tubes underneath that long bar just didnt draw them in. The second picture is of another behind the cab design. It would prolly work better for carring my spare tire and having storage and a place to mount my Fuel Cell/tank.

Now, Comments?

 

example of the A pillar and dash bar.

 

I would move the X to the b-pillar, and get rid of the c-pillar all-together (since theres what, a foot behind the b-pillar where the c-pillar would be?). Or keep the c-pillar but don't put any cross bracing in. The straight verticle bar in your "back" drawing is really un-needed. I've been asking around at work and school and everyones agreed with me about the x in the b pillar and c pillar.

If you want more a-pillar support you could do something like this...

 

I think both the vertical and horizontal bars across the back are unnecessary. And with the dotted bar... is that going to be on the inside or outside of the truck?

 

if the dotted bar were to go in it would be part of the door bar configuration.

But im workin on a new idea.

 

You need the horizontal bar for seat belts. Which i'm assuming your putting in harnesses correct?

 

Yea harness' will be going in since I have the PRP highbacks now. Im drawing up another design for the cage right now. I should have some new pictures up tonight. I have alot of free time while my CNC does its operation.

My plan is to move the B pillar back a little bit (not much, couple inches) and run the C pillar outside the truck, part of the bed.

 

Oh ok nevermind then!

 

Maybe ditch the c-pillar, run your tubes down from the b-pillar out the back and bend down into the mid-rail somewhere in front of the rear axle, and just run the midrail back to the rear of the truck instead of the down tubes from the c-pillar all the way to the back of the frame?

 

By the way the Deavers turned out to be the F31 spring set.

 

And Im now the proud owner of a Doubler, thanks to scott.

 

Got a Fx4 shifter for a little chrome bling.

Nothing else major to report. Ill be home this weekend to file my taxes, so hopefully I can get something done.

 

Andrew, bling? never...

 

lol...

 

Chrome won't get you home, but I'll be damned if it doesn't look good anyway =)

 

it has some function, I liked the way the truck shifts and the way the shifter feels with the Fx4 shifter.

 

key word "some"

hey somebody has to give you a hard time!

 

i should paint it flat black

 

awe now that just ruined it! lol