Painful Wrangler

[Jimmyb]

Images couurtesy of www.jeepsunlimited.com (http://www.jeepsunlimited.com)


http://www.magpage.com/~drez/pics/steve1.jpg
http://www.magpage.com/~drez/pics/steve2.jpg
http://www.magpage.com/~drez/pics/steve4.jpg

[ 26 February 2003, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: JimmyB ]

[Texan]

What the???? graemlins/dunno.gif What's the story?

[Ben]

They're not sure exactly, but apparently he ended up down a ditch and up a snow bank. And unfortunately not in very good shape.

[Ra]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!! graemlins/crying.gif

[Jimmyb]

The Story (http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=356614)

[Wooders]

That's a lucky man to even be alive - and you've gotto feel for the family.
Reminds me that I want to do something about a "rollcage"....

[hoppy]

that is some really nasty luck
hope he recovers quickly
hoppy :(

[JP Mark]

Yep Wooders, time to do something about that rollcage for me as well...just don't show these pics to any comp' scrutineers or we're all stuffed!

[JP Mark]

The fact that the TJ cage is square at the rear compared to the sloped YJ cage would have made very little difference in this case as it is the crossmember and windscreen that have collapsed, not the rear half of the cage. It would be difficult to say whether the TJ cage was better constructed than a YJ cage without checking the guage of steel used but you'll find the TJ crossmember looks more substantial because it has a plastic surround on it. I would think that the angled support of the YJ cage would offer similar or more support to the central crossmember than the TJ one as the back of the TJ cage isn't braced across the top at the rear and could collapse inwards. Admittedly, it does provide more head protection for rear passengers though.

[Ben]

Doubt its a scam - Stu Olson's extremely well known and respected on JU, and he knows the person organising the donations.

As for the accident, they believe that apparently whoever was behind him ended up hitting him as well, perhaps even whilst the Jeep was on its side - an already weakened cage could quite conceivably collapse completely if hit hard again by another car.

[OzJeeper]

Having seen a few of this type of cabin intrusion, it's not hard to see how the damage was done.
The final post on JU has the key. The Wrangler has tripped over and the center point of the roll cage/windscreen frame has taken the full weight of the car onto an Arnco railing - which is "sharp".
Looking at the pics, the weight has been shared by the spare tyre! The rest of the impact has been centre cage and windscreen.

Lacking any form of X bracing directly behind the B pillar in the roll cage, this damage is to be expected. Most comp cars have a X brace directly behind the driver. Might be a bit out of place in a Wrangler where the "roll cage" is IMHO designed for low impact/speed intrusions.

Actually, the big risk with these soft tops (of any sort) is bits of people being trown out of the vehicle - and left behind...... :(

[Ando]

well to me it looks like a pretty extreme and unfortunate accident. Certainly not something that would ordinarily happen out on the trails. Any type of high speed crash will always produce unexpected results. Lets hope the guys pulls through.

[big red beast]

thats bullshit i have seen wrangler tj's roll in vid's from the us, running the standard cage and not a single thing happened. i think it was a YJ that ran in the rainforest challange with a standard roll cage and rolled twice i think.

mate that bloke fell more than down a bank- he fell and a rock fell on him or something.

also if you have a look his roll cage is not the same in the rear are a tj's, it seems to be angled down not all the way to the rear at full height which is a much more solid structure. for this to happen to a tj much more force to be applied.

its bullshit - it could also be a big scam for money if you have a look at the story they are askng for it

[Jeeps]

Apparently is was also hit by a car at speed while on it's side. Luckily it wasn't a Mack truck.

[Wooders]

IMHO the TJ rollbar is only mininal protection.
Here's the reasons I believe the TJ rollbar is inadequate:

1. It's bolted - not welded. Ie is weaker and more prone to distortion and twisting.
2. It's mounted onto the body - not onto the chassis. Ie can push through the floor.
3. It's only really a 4 point setup - ie behind the front seats and behind the rear seats. The front section is NOT a solid mounting point.
4. There is no diagonal supports for any of the sections. The entrie TJ design is basically squares, with no bracing or gussts - Yet triangle shapes are MUCH stronger in resisting forces.
5. None of the square shapes of the TJ frame are "completed" shapes. Effectively each section is a simple U - not partiuclarly strong.....
6. While there is SOME support of the windscreen by the forward bars, there's zer support of those bars. So unless the force is directly into the bars, they will simply bend. Think rollover, the screen is being pushed back yes, but it's also being pushed down, which direction those bars are not reinforced for - hence why you see many with the windscreen in their laps.
7. Wall thickness on the factory rollbar is relatively thin. Sure it LOOKS strong, but the reality is the wall thickness should be more.

Enough?

[Coops]

Wooders while your up on your graemlins/soapbox.gif what are your thoughts on how to strengthen/resolve the issues you mention. (Apart from rip it out and start again)

How safe/legal graemlins/dunno.gif are the set-ups that Jumbo and Dennis run considering that they bolt into the door frame? and then to the floor?

Would this not just collapse onto your legs if involved in a roll over?

Anyway see ya Sunday

Coops

[Gildo]

Is this why the factory bars are called "Sports Bars" not Roll bars? graemlins/dunno.gif

[Steve]

Originally posted by Gildo:
Is this why the factory bars are called "Sports Bars" not Roll bars? graemlins/dunno.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I was going to say the exact same thing! If you wanna be safe in a crash at speed you'll have to get the same blokes that build cages for race cars to build you a TJ one. But keep in mind to do that they'll start by building just a cage and then put a flimsy fibreglass body around it so it looks like a Jeep! Probably cost you about $100,000 if not more!

[JSSJeep]

We believe that Steve might lost control on the snowy road and hit a snow bank, and rolled. When the Jeep landed, it landed hard on the guildrail on the side of the road. The factory sport bar totally collapsed was real shocking. Folks get your roll cage now. It is cheap compared to a locker.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">What can we do about improving on the weaknesses of the TJ stocks bars cost effectively??