Tube decision for cage

BWOOD

BWOOD

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DOM for $3.15 a ft. HREW for $1.84 a ft.

Would it really be worth the extra $1.31 per ft for DOM?

I don't really plan on any hardcore wheeling or rock crawling. I just use my vehicle for light off road, backwoods camping, hunting etc.
 
I haven't built with DOM in over 10 years. Even my last three tube chassis were HREW. Built correctly it will hold up to many rolls and flops. It has a lot more to do with design and weld quality than the small difference between DOM and HREW. Shoot, only the outside bits of my cages are 0.120 wall. The rest is 0.095 or smaller since those pieces won't be touching any rocks or trees.

Now when you get to building cages and chassis with weight savings in mind I would go DOM or Chomoly. Or if I were going to be racing Ultra 4 where a 80+mph yard sale is a real option.
 
I just don't see the difference in material price being prohibitive. How many thousands do people throw at their rigs, but saving $200 on tube is a factor?
 
Yeah I was more or less just asking (curious). Since I'm dropping 6-700 for a bender then that extra loot comes in handy. But 200 bucks isn't going to make or break it. I just want the most bang for the buck.
But now that I thought about it(safety)I guess a roll down the highway is just as bad as a tumble in the rocks.
 
I am always trying to save $100-200 anywhere I can no matter how much I spend on a rig. If the extra money doesn't buy me anything it is just extra money because a forum told me that is what I have to have. In reality now all the rage is the chromoly cage. I have taken some brutel hits with an HREW chassis. I also found that the HREW actually held up a little better than the DOM when you smack a rock against it. Probably because the HREW I get my hands on is slightly thicker than 0.120 DOM.

If it is your first time building a cage and you realistically aren't going to be building cages/chassis down the road just buy a cage kit. You will save tons of money. The first time you bend and notch tube you waste a ton of it. A cage isn't the greatest place to learn. Build some sliders or something so you aren't wasting 15 feet of tube when you screw up a notch.
 
^^truth. What little tube I have bent and notched makes me appreciate the eye and patience people have.
 
Well I'm not working on a jeep, so not too many choices out there. There are some, but they are expensive, not very well engineered, and are just plain ugly. I did the cost comparisons. For the cost of kit and shipping I can spend a little more and have a bender and materials for cage, sliders, rack, etc. After that, well, I will be able to help others out with tubing projects, build stuff to sale, and make some nice yard art:)
 
I definitely understand all those reasons. That is why I have a bender. Well except helping people. It isn't that I don't want to be helpful, but time at the shop is crazy valuable to me now so I don't tend to help others nearly as much as in the past. Same with tube work for money. Just plan for a lot of screw ups or pony up and buy bendtech. I wish I had it, but now that I know what I am doing I can't justify it. I know it would save me time and money, but I just don't bend enough tube anymore. I actually just got my bender back after letting someone borrow it for a year.
 
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