Installing a roll bar, anyone have experience?
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Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Kansas
Installing a roll bar, anyone have experience?
I just got a free single/single roll bar to put in my 76 F150 4X4 (with the bed from a 78). The support bars are in front of the wheel wells, and the whole bar "footprint" is such that I can still get a full sheet of plywood in there easily. Each of the four contact points has four holes in the mounting plate to bolt this bar down.
Do I need to fabricate some kind of brackets to attach to the frame and support this roll bar? To me, that is the obvious "bulletproof" way to install it. I really don't anticipate this truck will ever roll over, because I simply don't do serious off-roading (taking the bar helped out a friend who was going to throw it away if I didn't want it, and it looks good in the 4X4). But I'm not one for having things that are only decorative, either.
I've never seen a new bar installed, so I don't know if they are usually attached to the frame or not, but I'm guessing they are not. The bar was not attached to the Datsun flatbed it came with, so there was no example to go by.
Any help would be appriciated.
Matt
Do I need to fabricate some kind of brackets to attach to the frame and support this roll bar? To me, that is the obvious "bulletproof" way to install it. I really don't anticipate this truck will ever roll over, because I simply don't do serious off-roading (taking the bar helped out a friend who was going to throw it away if I didn't want it, and it looks good in the 4X4). But I'm not one for having things that are only decorative, either.
I've never seen a new bar installed, so I don't know if they are usually attached to the frame or not, but I'm guessing they are not. The bar was not attached to the Datsun flatbed it came with, so there was no example to go by.
Any help would be appriciated.
Matt
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Northwest, Arkansas
Most of those are really show bars instead of a full roll bar. They will just attach to the bed. Even if you made mounts and actually fastened it to the frame the bars are not made to take a roll over. Again these are mainly show bars. Put it on and enjoy the looks but don't expect it to protect in a roll over.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Northwest, Arkansas
Basically a figure of speech. The originals were roll bars and when they started making it into the mod scene for pickups the aftermarket people found that most people wanted to look like roll bars but not as hard to install or as expensive. You will find most aftermarket people call them show bars or light bars.
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Actually F150's, at least the older ones, need a roll bar. I mean really need one, I helped pull a guy out of his F150 that rolled after hitting some black ice, that cab flattened like it was made of paper. The window openings were just wide enough to slide a piece of paper through. This was a low speed roll over, ie: 5-10 mph. He slid sideways, hit the curb, and rolled onto his lid. Very scary.
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From: Bellingham, WA
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Post Fiend
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From: Atlanta GA
Probably the best bet for a custom roll bar:
http://www.swracecars.com/
http://www.cachassisworks.com/cages.htm
http://www.rlms.com/
http://www.swracecars.com/
http://www.cachassisworks.com/cages.htm
http://www.rlms.com/
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