Well, there's no going back now. If you're like us, and you probably are, there's only so far you're willing to travel in the stuffy confines of your trail vehicle. For the most part, a true trail vehicle is an open-top vehicle. You can commune better with nature, throw junk in the back, hop in Duke-Boy-style, and simply not roast your cajones off while wheeling.
In our case, the A/C on our Ramcharger stopped working two years ago, the tailgate wouldn't open on uneven terrain, and the side glass kept us from negotiating the really fun stuff for fear of shattering it. It was time to put up or shut up. We decided to cut off the top, ditch the squeaky factory dash and gauges, lose the hammered, uncomfortable stock seating, and have a custom rollcage built for safety, stability, and vehicular preservation (more on this later).
Going Topless
Unlike the other vehicles you'll read about in this Topless Wheeling section, we removed that which was not designed to be removed. On our Dodge, as with Cherokees, Wagoneers, or even cars, the roof is a structural component in keeping the body together. Removing it is like taking the top off of a house of cards. Without the roof to tie things together, twisty trails or even the vibration of street driving will cause the whole body to sag, fold, and collapse.
Topless Preservation
To keep our rig (and ourselves) from getting destroyed off road, we wanted a rollcage that tied into the frame but that also used plates to sandwich the floor. This not only stiffens the whole structure and prevents unwanted frame and body flex, but it's also like adding six additional body mounts. Plus, there's added safety; by connecting the cage to the frame, there's no chance of the floor ripping during a roll and making the rollcage just one more projectile in the cabin. Since we fabricate like a bunch of blind monkeys, we hooked up with Jesse Nelson and Dave Dinsmore of JD Fabrications in San Marcos, California.
We needed this cage built right and we needed it built fast. We've seen a lot of rigs roll out of JD Fabrications and are continuously floored by the quality of their work. It's quickly becoming the place to get your rig built--not only because of the great craftsmanship, but also because of the extremely fast turnaround time. It's little wonder why guys are trucking their projects there from all over the country. Nelson and Dinsmore graciously squeezed us in and busted out our cage in about a day and a half, including the removal of the roof.
However, before bringing it down to their shop, we first installed a set of Daystar Products polyurethane body bushings that we ordered from Rocky Mountain Suspension. Call us lazy, but we like mail order companies that can get us almost any part we need in a matter of days without our having to leave the house. The poly bushings raised the body slightly and put the fender and door panels back into alignment before the rollcage made things permanent. Then, we blew out the side windows, unbolted the tailgate, removed everything from the interior except the steering wheel and driver's seat, and crossed our fingers that the CHP wouldn't notice us.
 01. We left the top on for...  01. We left the top on for the drive down to JD Fabrications in San Marcos to keep the vehicle from disintegrating on the highway. It took Nelson and Dinsmore about 10 minutes with a Sawzall and plasma cutter to rid the vehicle of 80 pounds of worthless metal. |  02. The tubing we used was...  02. The tubing we used was 13/4-inch 0.120-wall DOM. You can see the crossbar up front where the dash used to be. This tubing is rather expensive so we appreciated that Nelson and Dinsemore didn't mess up on the bender once. |  03. We wanted protection for...  03. We wanted protection for our rear seat passengers but gagged at the idea of a full-on family cage. Nelson and Dinsmore came up with this design that provides protection for the rear seat, but doesn't look at all hillbilly. We really dig the triangular gussets. |
 04. Dinsmore got the dirty...  04. Dinsmore got the dirty duty fabricating the down bars to tie the cage to the frame. Tying the cage to the frame keeps body and frame flexing to a minimum, improves handling on and off road, and just makes the whole vehicle feel tighter. You can also see the new Daystar body bushings from Rocky Mountain Suspension. |  05. Nelson fabbed some crossbars...  05. Nelson fabbed some crossbars to mount our new Mastercraft Rubicon seats. The Rubicon seats have slightly smaller side bolsters than the racier Pro seats for easier ingress and egress and are so comfortable it's insane. We also mounted some Mastercraft waterproof tool bags that secure to the floor with included clips. Just unclip them and take your tools with you when you park. |  06. Since our stock rear seat...  06. Since our stock rear seat wouldn't fit with the new wheeltubs (see "Whack and Weld" this issue) we used this trick Mastercraft 36-inch-wide bench seat. It's designed to bolt into CJ-7s, YJs, and TJs. It was a little tall because of our raised rear floor, so we cut off the mounting feet and welded tabs to the seat frame to lower it. The results were perfect. |
 07. We went with a full complement...  07. We went with a full complement of Auto Meter Ultra Lite gauges mounted on 1-inch tubes welded to the back of the crossbar. The liquid-filled mechanical water temperature and oil pressure gauges are really cool, as are the voltmeter and fuel level gauge, but the standout pieces are the 120-mph electronic speedometer and the 5-inch 9,000-rpm tach with two-stage shift light and recall capabilities. That's right, we bad. |  08. Removing the stock A/C...  08. Removing the stock A/C and heater assembly meant a big hole in the firewall that we'll simply cover with Plexiglas. We're Californians and that means we're weather wimps, so we got one of Flex-a-lite's sweet little Mojave heaters to keep us toasty. It's super-compact and light, but puts out many BTUs of heat. |  09. We still need to clean...  09. We still need to clean up what's left of the stock wiring and cut some sheetmetal covers for the exposed double-wall areas. You can see how Nelson and Dinsmore bent the upper hoop to cover most of the gap in the roofline. The end result of the top chop is more than cool--it's functional, safer, and comfortable. |