Hummer H3: Roll Cage Ideas?

[Acer4LO]

So last weekend I took the carpet out of my H3 to spray the floor and prevent the floor from rusting. While doing this I took some shots of the empty interior. I thought this would be a good idea to start generating some ideas for a roll cage, because I am definitely going to be doing one later down the line. Here is my idea for a interior roll cage. Note this render doesn't take into account the positioning of the seats or anything like that and isn't based off of any measurements. This is just a rough start and to see if any of you have any input or are looking to do something similar in the future.

 

[amrg]

Why not an exo cage? You have a front and rear steel bumper you coud use to start and end the cage and tie it up at the roof rack and down at the sliders?

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[Acer4LO]

Why not an exo cage? You have a front and rear steel bumper you coud use to start and end the cage and tie it up at the roof rack and down at the sliders?

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Lol I actually did a render a few months back like that but I don't think anybody responded to my post on my build thread because the pics wouldn't show up or something. I will repost. This render also has a few other ideas with it too. Would it be dumb to do both an Exo and a roll cage? If I ever roll my H3, I want to know that it will be okay, because hunting down these exact same parts will take forever and also another finding a cheap 2008-2010 Alpha H3 W/ Adventure, Luxury, Iron Front Diff, & Rancho will not be easy.

 

[amrg]

If your looking for safety and walking out, an H3 will roll on its roof without caving in and may even look like nothing happened (roof wise) from the first look.

If you're looking for least damage, the exo is best. Obviously you need to support somewhere in the B pillar to make it really strong and have it arch abit outwards of the vehicle (makes it stronger against side load). The C pillar needs to be tied to the sliders too (yours end up above the wheel well)

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[06 H3]

Since doing a cage I can throw in a few comments...

#1 From a pure safety standpoint internal cage is better, you can get more triangulation across the cab making it much stronger. The problem with an internal cage is the same problem every person has if it isn't an open top vehicle. If you roll an H3, XJ, ZJ, Xterra, Blazer, etc. once its rolled the body is now wrecked and pushed into the internal cage. You are saved but your vehicle isn't. A wrangler rolls, you buy a new soft top or hard top and a new windshield frame and your good as new...

#2 Exo cages can protect your roof and body but usually come at the expense to not being nearly as structurally sound due to lack of triangulation at the B and C pillar. A lot of people that do exo cages add a ton unnecessary weight just adding tube everywhere to get a mad max look. That is where a lot of people hate the exo's.

This is where hybrid cages have gotten very popular. A lot of Cherokee's and full bodied rigs have done this now and I followed suit. The cage is external at the roof. it comes through the interior, down into the cab, gets the proper triangulation in the cab, down through the cab and to the frame. It's all sealed, there is no leaking and everything is fine.

I am 6'5", an internal cage would have been tight for me anyways and I wouldn't want to hit my head on the cage in case of a rollover. At this point I have an internal C pillar, external C, an external B and external A. I do not have the proper triangulation at the B pillar and that was based frankly on lack of time for UA. I will be adding an internal B pillar and ditching the external B. The A pillar is external and has a windshield bar going across just like the internal cages. I feel I have the best of both worlds and that's why I think they are becoming so popular for permanent roof'd rigs

 

[Acer4LO]

Thanks for the feed back. I did some revisions and I am thinking about doing something like this:


A Pillar - External - Windshield Cover
External is probably a better choice like you have done since I am 6’ 3”. It seems a lot easier to do and you don’t have to take dash the apart. Another small plus of this setup is that you can easily mount offroad lights above the windshield by using tube mounts.


B Pillar - Internal. Maybe External? - Behind Drivers Seat
I do agree with what you are saying about putting internal support on the B - Pillar. I think my goal would be to fit the tubing in a way that you still can slide the front seats all the way back and still have a useable second row of seating that fold down. What I think I will end up doing is removing the back seats and do something similar to what 4speed did and use the second row as cargo space and maybe have space to put a fridge. Even through I rarely have anyone sitting in the back the seat, I still like to have the option to revert back to 4 seats I am somewhat conflicted about having an external tubing on the B-Pillar. On the one hand I think it will provide protection to the body panels and complete the look of the exo, but it seems like it would get in the way of taking off the rear doors. Chris have you been able to take off your rear doors since you put on your roll cage?


C Pillar- External and Internal - Inside Cargo Area and Ouside
If possible I would like to keep my Smittybilt Drawer Box in the rear. This box is incredibly valuable to my setup since it bolted down and houses my recovery gear and tools. The good news is that is there is about 3-4 inches of room on each side that could fit some tubing. The other challenge


D Pillar - External - Outside
One thing I want to do before doing a roll cage hybrid is build a new rear bumper. Even though I have the tow package on my H3, the hitch still sits to low and some times I almost rip off the 8 pin towing plug. The rear quarter panels also sit way to low for my liking. Thinking of building a custom bumper that sits a lot higher and then I can connect the exo cago


I also just did two more renders of what it could look like. Note that this render dosen't take into account real measurements or anything like that. It is just to show the idea. I am making the cage red so it is easy to see.

I kinda stole your idea for the rear cargo area. Not too many ways to do it.

 

[Bruces]

By the time you spend all the money it would take to build a complete set up like that you could buy another h3 ready to move parts over to after the rollover.

 

[Acer4LO]

By the time you spend all the money it would take to build a complete set up like that you could buy another h3 ready to move parts over to after the rollover.

The main reason I want to do this is not to protect the doors, fenders, or even my windows, it is to protect the body. If I roll this thing and the roof or pillars cave in, you're done. Its not like I can easy swap out the body :giggle:. As I am putting more and more time into this build I am realizing how much it would suck that everything could be taken away with a single bad line out on the trail. This cage setup would not be the next thing I do. First I want to do a SOA, SAS, and other small things. That being said I am still looking for a parts vehicle with a good 3.5L so I can fix my other 2006 H3 that has a bad motor.

 

[06 H3]

By the time you spend all the money it would take to build a complete set up like that you could buy another h3 ready to move parts over to after the rollover.

Death or serious injury is more of a concern and the reasoning behind my roll cage for what it’s worth

 

[Acer4LO]

Death or serious injury is more of a concern and the reasoning behind my roll cage for what it’s worth

Also a big concern of mine. I just didn't mention it because I don't know of that many people getting seriously hurt when their rig rolls. I have only heard of a few scarce instances of people hospitalized, but I am sure this is a real issue though.