Expanded metal on the cage.

I was thinking about putting expanded metal on the top of the roll cage once i was finished with it. I have seen alot of stuff done with that metal and most of it turns out purdy good looking. Anyone ever do anything like that before?

 

i wouldnt..if you roll and heaven forbid any part of ya rest/slides through whatever..cheese grater effect...

 

Think so? Dont they make expanded matel with the small holes like 1/2" or so or am I getting my materials mixed up?

 

Some is flat, some it sort of twisted. The flat stuff isn't too sharp/dangerous especially with a heavy coat of paint. We use it in applications like this on mining equipment regularly.

 

You could perforated metal too. It looks good and give you some shade too.

 

Whats the difference between perforated metal and expanded?

 

The holes in perforated are punched and typically smaller and smoother. Expanded is where the metal is punched with slits then stretched. Tends to be much rougher.

 

Ah ok. So perforated would probably be the better way to go if i wanted to top my cage. I will also assume that its more expensive then expanded?

 

alert :this is not a wise *** question,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but ,,,,,,,,,,,why?won't it rip the bikini? be hot? be noisey- I would imagine the howl could be annoying?

 

Well once I get my spreader bars in the middle of the cage (two on top), I was thinking of cutting the metal to size, then welding it to the roll cage on all places where it touches the cage so i dont think there will be too much noise. As for heat, i dont think it will be any hotter then having the sun blazing on a solid black canvas bikini top and it will be smoothed out on all edges and welds so it shouldn't rip the top. Just an idear floating around in my head from seeing alot of expanded metal projects and thought it would be a nice touch. Oh and the howl from the wind I aint worried about haha my jeep is running a 304 with straight pipes running to the front of the rear axle so its a little noisy anyways on the street.

 

ok ,just throw it out there,,well then carry on ........................

 

I guess my question is also, why? It doesn't seem like it will add anything to your rig except weight. Expanded sheet is great for floors as it allows stuff to drain through, usually with roofs we don't want stuff coming through. If yo want to keep the sun off of you you'll want something without holes in it. I wound up sheeting in the top of my old jeep just so I could ditch the flappy bikini top.

If you like the way it looks, go for it. Although, with any kind of top on you'd never see it.

Kevo

 

Another option is boat canvas. Cut to fit between the spreader bars with grommets around the edges. It then can be laced or zip tied to the cage. This allows a drum tight installation, no more flapping bikini tops, and can be left on when you install the full top.

 

There are two types of expanded metal.
Expanded Standard is:
slit and then stretched which creates the diamond shapes and creates the cheese grater.
Expanded Flattened is:
Slit and then stretched like the above but then it is flattened.

If you get it Rhino-Lined, it is a very finger friendly surface.

 

Main reason i was thining about doing somthing to the top is becuase I wanted somthing on the there that wasn't as annoying as the bikini when on the road but somthing I didn't have to take on and off when I put my full top on. I really like renegades idea of the boat canvas and think I may just go that route. And thanks heep for the explanation. Oh, and thanks 442 for your questions of concern. Its always a good idea to look at an idea from as many angles as you can to make sure you dont end up doing it and then thinking to yourself..."damn it".

 

The other advantage is laying the windshield over and getting that flow thru ventilation. No more dust rolling from the back.

 

how about using sheet metal and ditching the bikini top altogether.
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that would bake your brain

 

How would I get the aluminum up there...screws or rivots? I like wheeling with the windshield down now and again which also adds a point to the metal top. Also, isn't aluminum sheet purdy expensive?