Reinstalling rollbar

[BigRed Beast]

My son and I are taking off the roll bar--it's the half cab version that bolts on the wheel wells and the floor just behind the driver and passenger seats--off his '72 in prep for floor repairs.

As we're taking it off, we both noticed that the drivers side well has a nice dent in it under the mounting plate. Based on the rest of the truck, I don't think it spent any time upside down, but it begs the question--does the roll bar just mount to the sheet metal of the existing truck, or have you guys used supplemental backing plates?

It is going to be used as his daily driver, light off road (until he sees how much those repairs cost!), so we're not building to withstand anything extreme.

Comments?

[Burt4x4]

I never had a factory bar so I can't say how that one is mounted. I mounted my cage to the bed floor were the underside crossmember is. The body crossmember. I have the bolts run tru the floor and crossmember, I think only the front two bolts hit the crossmember if memory serves
Alot of guys tie the mounts to the frame by adding an underbar/plate that bolts to the frame. I did not do this as it makes the rig very ridged, ya it's safer but I wheel off road at a slow pace, no blasting the desert for me so if/when I go over I'm expecting it to be..well not so harsh of a roll over..more like a flop hahahah..I hope I never find out

[BigRed Beast]

So, is that you in the avatar? Was it a softie?

[Burt4x4]

Yup, that is me. My first and only 'flop'
I was stratteling a V rut and I got too high on one side and the rear sliped into the V and that sent me over

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by BigRed Beast

It is going to be used as his daily driver, light off road (until he sees how much those repairs cost!), so we're not building to withstand anything extreme.

Comments?

Consider it to be nothing more than a light bar, they're not intended or built to handle a roll over.

Backing plates will help but mounting to a body mount or the frame is better.

No such thing as lite wheeling, this happened just running over to get to another trail.

[LUV2XCLR8]

My "factory" rollbar on "GQ" also put a dent in one of the wheel
wells. If you don't have the "backing plates" (under the wells) it
will happen. (Or so I have been told by others here in the past)

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

My "factory" rollbar on "GQ" also put a dent in one of the wheel
wells. If you don't have the "backing plates" (under the wells) it
will happen. (Or so I have been told by others here in the past)

Even backing plates installed on the wheel wells won't do much, they're just sheet metal, thin non-reinforced sheet metal at that.


These 'stock' roll bars we're talking about here have zero side to side bracing and who knows what material their made of, don't count on them for doing anything more than holding up some lights or speakers or similar.

Seen some guys mount the shoulder strap for later model seat belts to em too...gotta wonder about that as well.