Cage installed
As you know I had purchased a rockhard cage some time ago. The rear section I originally received was crap. The welds were poor and there was a large piece of metal, probably from welding, floating around inside. Well rockhard stepped up and replaced it. The new section I received was MUCH better. I took some time to knock off the spatter from welding and clean up the welds a bit all around. When I was ready to go to powdercoat I realized I was missing the two large clamps for the rear crossbar. A quick call to rockhard and they were on the way. I considered painting this thing but settled on just having it powdercoated. I had 7 main cage pieces and a total of 10 clamps. I had it done in gloss black and it looks great. Cost me $180 total. Rockhard provided a tap with the cage to clean out the threads after coating. You will Lso need a 3/8-16 tap for the side pieces that cover the dash panels. It wasn't too bad cleaning em out and made threading all my bolts hella easier.
Installed yesterday. Took 8 hours for everything. It was a BEAR. The passenger side dash piece didn't fit for crap. It was both rockhard and my jeep. The piece they provided barely fit with serious manhandling. The gap between the door frame and dash on that side was way too small, and made it next to impossible to get it in. After serious bitching and cursing I got it in. The drivers side slipped in with a bit of massaging as expected, but the gap on the jeep was appropriate. Luckily, as Eddie suggests, I took my time measuring and lining up the template for drill my holes. They lined right upand I was on my way. There are a ton of bolts to get in, and lots of measuring going on. Adding the rear section adds some more work and time to ensure it all fits together nicely and matches up. The dash piece on the passenger side is a little different than the drivers side. The grab handle on the drivers side, ironically the side that went in easily, interfers with the sun visor a bit. It is definitely still usable though. Tightening the clamps is time consuming. Once you think it's tight it's not made me think of doing beadlocks. Going back and forth over the bolts again and again. Tighten one and the rest feel a little loose. Curse, repeat, curse, and repeat....etc. I'm gonna play with trimming the front pillar moldings when I have time. Hopefully I can get them back in.
After all the hassle I encountered with the cage including getting the rear replaced, the missing clamps, the fitment issue, and the install fun, I would recommend this cage. Once it's all together and tightened up it is ROCKHARD. There is no movement whatsoever. You can pull and push on any piece and it does NOT budge. I'm sure this will do exactly what I need it to if something unfortunate occurs.
Sorry for the long post:thumb: here's some pics to make up for it View attachment 28282 View attachment 28295 View attachment 28294 View attachment 28293 View attachment 28292 View attachment 28291 View attachment 28290 View attachment 28289 View attachment 28288 View attachment 28287 View attachment 28286 View attachment 28285
As you know I had purchased a rockhard cage some time ago. The rear section I originally received was crap. The welds were poor and there was a large piece of metal, probably from welding, floating around inside. Well rockhard stepped up and replaced it. The new section I received was MUCH better. I took some time to knock off the spatter from welding and clean up the welds a bit all around. When I was ready to go to powdercoat I realized I was missing the two large clamps for the rear crossbar. A quick call to rockhard and they were on the way. I considered painting this thing but settled on just having it powdercoated. I had 7 main cage pieces and a total of 10 clamps. I had it done in gloss black and it looks great. Cost me $180 total. Rockhard provided a tap with the cage to clean out the threads after coating. You will Lso need a 3/8-16 tap for the side pieces that cover the dash panels. It wasn't too bad cleaning em out and made threading all my bolts hella easier.
Installed yesterday. Took 8 hours for everything. It was a BEAR. The passenger side dash piece didn't fit for crap. It was both rockhard and my jeep. The piece they provided barely fit with serious manhandling. The gap between the door frame and dash on that side was way too small, and made it next to impossible to get it in. After serious bitching and cursing I got it in. The drivers side slipped in with a bit of massaging as expected, but the gap on the jeep was appropriate. Luckily, as Eddie suggests, I took my time measuring and lining up the template for drill my holes. They lined right upand I was on my way. There are a ton of bolts to get in, and lots of measuring going on. Adding the rear section adds some more work and time to ensure it all fits together nicely and matches up. The dash piece on the passenger side is a little different than the drivers side. The grab handle on the drivers side, ironically the side that went in easily, interfers with the sun visor a bit. It is definitely still usable though. Tightening the clamps is time consuming. Once you think it's tight it's not made me think of doing beadlocks. Going back and forth over the bolts again and again. Tighten one and the rest feel a little loose. Curse, repeat, curse, and repeat....etc. I'm gonna play with trimming the front pillar moldings when I have time. Hopefully I can get them back in.
After all the hassle I encountered with the cage including getting the rear replaced, the missing clamps, the fitment issue, and the install fun, I would recommend this cage. Once it's all together and tightened up it is ROCKHARD. There is no movement whatsoever. You can pull and push on any piece and it does NOT budge. I'm sure this will do exactly what I need it to if something unfortunate occurs.
Sorry for the long post:thumb: here's some pics to make up for it View attachment 28282 View attachment 28295 View attachment 28294 View attachment 28293 View attachment 28292 View attachment 28291 View attachment 28290 View attachment 28289 View attachment 28288 View attachment 28287 View attachment 28286 View attachment 28285
