Roll cage

[mike]

Protection and Performance want £970.44+VAT for a wide fit roll cage for my truck cab. It's MSA approved etc and I think it's a Devon 4x4 design. Basically it consists of;

- 1 x front hoop that mounts down through the wings
- 2 x gutter bars
- 3 x roof bars
- 1 x main hoop with full cross
- 2 x rear stays.

The main hoop and rear stays mount to the chassis rails through the tub.

It comes with 4 spot light brackets as standard, and they can also put on winch hooks, aerial mounts, work lamp mounts, waffle mounts and a wheel mount.

They then want £720+VAT to fit it to the unique LR build tolerances of my vehicle, leaving no change from £2,000.

I'm going to give North Off Road a call to see what his prices are, but I suspect there won't be much in it.

I've pretty much decided that this is the way I'm going to go and so am examining the security weaknesses of my local bank.

Obviously it makes sense to get all the mounts etc sorted at the start, so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions or advice about what and where. I'm not sure where, or even if I need 4 spot light mounts, but am definitely thinking that aerial and work lamp mounts should be on the main hoop, and a couple of winch hooks by the bottom of the windscreen on the front hoop. The spare wheel would have to go vertically on one of the rear stays I think, running front to back, if you see what I mean.

As I said, any comments or thoughts welcome.

Thanks

Mike

[davew]

The D44 "design" P&P cage is a good option, P&P aren't cheap but you do get a very well made cage that'll do the job.

Some insurers won't cover a motor with a cage so you might have to change insurers.

[varleym]

Mike

Check out Whitbread-Offroad.co.uk - they have some similar cages and also do fitting to ALRC regs. Full external cage inc. fitting is roundabout £1,000. Only problem is they're in South Wales !

Cheers

Mark

[davew]

Bear in mind though you're not comparing like with like there. Whitbread cages are normally Blue Band and not CDS which is why they are cheaper.

Nothing wrong with Blue Band cages, just make sure you know what you are getting as you don't want to be paying CDS prices for a Blue Band cage !

[Dave]

So when do we open the 'can of worms' about welding extra bits onto an approved MSA cage!!

[varleym]

Dave(s)

I was thinking about roll cages the other week and the relative merits of blue band and CDS tube. I guess if I was building a comp safari racer or something like, I guess you're better off with CDS but presumably for the sort of stuff we do you're more likely to want to protect against a low-speed roll in which case Blue Band is probably adequate, isn't it?

Also, in terms of regulations and competitions, is the use of Blue Band tube frowned upon, or even banned when you are competing at a certain level?

Cheers

Mark

[davew]

Blue Band meets the current regs for all levels of cross country motor sport you're likely to get involved with. The only real downsides of it are weight and consistency, although I'd have thought someone like whitbread will use enough of it to have a decent supplier.

[mike]

The good news is that Adrian Flux only wanted to increase my premium by 10% for fitting a cage.

Some other good news is that North Off Road are only charging £780+VAT for the cage and fitting.

I'm a little surprised that this is half the price of P&P, and more like the price of Whitbread (for a different tubing) but the only difference Shaun was admitting to is that his cages aren't powdercoated, but finished with some sort of black vinyl coating.

I've been to NOR and believe he makes some good stuff, and have also read some good things about them, however some reassurance or other views would be good, if anyone has any.

Thanks

Mike

[davew]

I've not had any direct dealings with NOR but all the reports I've heard about them seem to have been positive. That certainly seems like a good price if it includes fitting.

[Zedman]

Also be aware you can buy roll cages on Ebay with a free land Rover thrown in, just pick the right one )

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LANDROVER-OFFROAD ... 1e5f3694c4

[Matthews]

As with Dave I've not had any direct dealings but have seen his products on display at show and heard good reports.
Matthew