Motivation for the Install

There’s nothing like an impending event inspection to motivate an install. Lorne Pearson was looking forward to the PNW4WDA Trail Jamboree in Naches, Washington where he was planning to run the challenging Rimrock Trail. This often-off-camber route required front & rear lockers, CB and winch along with some wheelbase and tire specifications – all of which Pearson had. What his YJ lacked, however, was the mandatory full roll cage. Pearson recruited some fellow jeep fanatics to help install a YJ Trail Cage by Poison Spyder Customs in his 1993 Jeep Wrangler.

Preparing for the Installation

Here’s how you can make your rig ready to run high rated trails like Rimrock:

• Order the appropriate kit to fit your vehicle. 
• Following the instructions provided with the kit, remove the torx head bolts located on the dash around the speakers.  Save the bolts, you’ll need them later.
• Locate the front dash supports and the floor brackets.  The dash supports are handed (side-specific), but the floor plates can go both ways.  You can install the floor brackets at this point, but our crew elected to leave them loose between the dash supports and the tub until the cage was assembled.
• Place the dash supports in position and fasten in place using the torx bolts you took out earlier. 
• Tack-weld the triangle gussets in place in the top of the dash supports.
• Dry fit the uprights that go between the dash supports and the factory roll bar front spreader.  When you can see where this connection will take place, remove the paint from the factory roll bar using a sander, angle grinder, scraper, pocket knife or rock.
• Put one of the uprights in place and tack-weld it into position.
• The straightest of the remaining bars is the dash bar.  Try the dash bar on for size between the two upright bars at a height that just clears the dash and is even on both sides.
• Tack-weld the remaining upright bar in place.
• Reposition and tack-weld the dash bar in place.
• There are three unused bars with bends in them.  The shorter ones that match are the spreader bars that run front to back.  The longer bar goes between the factory spreaders at a distance determined by the two Spyder spreader bars. If the diagram still shows the cross bar oriented with the convex side toward the spreader bars, ignore the diagram (as confirmed by Poison Spyder Customs).  The windshield header cross bar goes with the concave direction facing the spreader bars.
• It’s a good idea to have someone sit in the driver seat to keep the spreader bars away from the head clearance area as they are being placed.
• When the approximate connection areas of the cross bar and spreader bars have been located on the factory roll bar and spreaders, remove the paint with the sander or grinder.
• Put the cross bar and spreaders back in position.
• Tack-weld the cross bar in place.
• Fine-tune the spreader bar locations using a tape measure and square.  Tack-weld these bars in position.
• Decide if you want to remove the cage from the vehicle for the final welding or weld it in place.  If you choose to remove the cage, first add enough bead over your tack-welds to stabilize the cage assembly.
• If you opt to leave the cage in place, fold the windshield down and cover it.  Pay attention to heat build up when welding near the dash and watch for any hot material that may find its way onto the seats or floor mats.
• Paint or powder-coat the roll cage.
• Offer to have the girls ride in your jeep because it’s safer.