JK 4-Door Trail Cage '07-'10 | Jeep Wrangler Unlimited JK Roll Cages| Poison Spyder Customs

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JK Trail Cage '07-'10

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PN: 18-18-010

The Poison Spyder Bolt-Together Trail Cage Kit (patent pending) is the strongest add-on cage you can bolt in to your JK. Designed to strengthen your Jeep's existing roll bar, the Poison Spyder Trail Cage Kit fortifies the driver and passenger area by adding a robust cage fabricated from CNC laser notched, NC-bent DOM steel tubing and CNC laser cut, precision brake-formed 3/16" plate steel components. When shopping for a cage kit for your Jeep, make sure that any product you are considering uses stronger DOM, "Drawn Over Mandrel" structural tubing rather than the cheaper welded seam tubing that some manufacturers use.

Product Description

A Better Bolt-Together Method
olt-in cage kits need a way to join the structural tubing components of the kit. Popular kits on the market today use either a knuckle-style clamp or a simple tube insert with crush bolt. Both methods have their weaknesses. For instance the large knuckle style clamps may look beefy, but they're still pre-loading a clamping force onto a rather thin wall tube, creating a dangerous stress riser right at the junction of two tube members—where the cage is likely to see its biggest stresses. Poison Spyder uses a system of CNC machined, solid steel interlocking tube couplers that are placed inline along the run of a tube member, rather than at the joints of the cage. These tube clamps are placed where the cage is not likely to see side loads, however they are still stronger than the knuckle style clamp in a side-loading situation. At the tube junctions are the high quality, laser-notched, professionally welded tube junctions you would find in a custom fabricated cage. The interlocking tube couplers are also lower profile, with the same outside diameter as the tubing itself, so it yields a sleeker, less "bolt-in" appearance.

Full-Height A-Pillar Assembly
The A-Pillar section of the Poison Spyder JK Trail Cage Kit extends all the way to the floor of the JK with a single piece of CNC laser cut, precision brake-formed 3/16" plate steel. The A-Pillar hugs the contours of the Jeep's dash ends perfectly, making the best use of the limited space available for an A-Pillar that does not hinder legroom or ease of entry. The A-Pillar bolts not only to the floor, but to the forward door post via a 1/2" thick strengthening rib, and also to the dash structure itself. The lower end of the A-Pillar is fortified with heavy duty gusseting. Competitors' cage kits either do not include full-height A-Pillars (stopping at the bottom of the dash) or require the purchase of a separate bolt-on lower piece.

Full DOM Tube Door Headers
The Poison Spyder JK Trail Cage Kit includes full DOM replacements for the cheap stock header bars. The DOM tube structure of the header bars is integrated into the overal cage design to form a complete, well thought-out cage structure. Some competing bolt-in cages retain the use of the stock header bars, clamping the added-on components to the weak thin wall stock tubing.

DOM Tube Dash and Windshield Crossbars
The Poison Spyder JK Trail Cage Kit includes DOM tube crossbars just above the dash and at the top of the windshield, to provide structural rigidity and side-load strength to the cage. The upper windshield crossbar is compatible with the popular sPOD power disctribution system switch panel, as well as the OE sun visors. The dash bar tighltly hugs the top of the Jeep's dash, but is compatible with the factory tweeter speakers. By using Poison Spyder's interlocking tube coupler system, these horizontal members of the cage bolt together while preserving the strength of a traditional welded cage.

Plate Steel Center Stringer
The center overhead stringer on the Poison Spyder JK Trail Cage Kit is fabricated from CNC laser cut, brake-formed 3/16" plate steel. Other cages on the market use two pieces of tubing for the center stringers, but Poison Spyder's 3/16" plate steel piece provides ultimate overhead protection, great looks, and a convenient flat mounting surface for items like CB radios, switches, dome lights, etc. The top of the stringer "box" is open, for easy access for wiring, or as a convenient place to store maps under a soft top.

Optional Entry Grab Handles
Entry Grab Handles may be added to your JK Trail Cage Kit, by selecting it from the options when adding to your cart. These handles are NC-bent, 1.25" OD DOM tubing, and designed to aid ease-of-entry as well as provide a solid grab point for driver and passenger while four-wheeling. The handles will come already welded to the Trail Cage.

MIG or TIG Welded
Poison Spyder's signature MIG welds are widely recognized as the best looking welds in the industry. For some, however, the lower profile, cleaner look of TIG welds may be desired. TIG welding is a higher skilled, more time-consuming process so there is an up-charge for this option.

Image Galleries

Here is our entire collection of images for this product. We're constantly adding more photos so check back often if you don't see a shot with a specific angle or installation you are looking for. Do you own this item already? We'd love to have your photos to add to our collection. Just send the hi-res images via email to [email protected].

Features & Benefits

At Poison Spyder we strive to build superior features into every aspect of each product we make. Every feature has a reason for being included in the design. Here are a list of the most important of these features, along with an explanation of the benefits of each. Consider these important factors when shopping for products, and compare the competition to Poison Spyder's features and benefits!

Feature	Benefit
Pre-fabricated in precision production fixtures	All tube joints are laser-notched and professionally fixture welded for a precise fit.
Bolt-together	Easy DIY installation requiring no welding by the installer. Can be installed with common hand tools, with no weld-splatter damage to the Jeep's interior components.
DOM Structural Tubing	Stronger than HREW tubing used in some competing products
Interlocking Inline Tube Couplers	Competitors' "knuckle" style removable tube clamps can weaken the relatively thin tubing wall where the clamp is applied, as it has to clamp very tightly in order to resist slippage. This can form stress risers right at the most crucial location along a cage member—the point where another tube joins it at an angle, transfering lateral forces into the tube. PSC's interlocking inline tube couplers move the disassembly point away from the cage structure's tube junction, so that those junctions are made with same properly notched and fitted, properly welded joints used in traditional custom cages. Knuckle style tube clamps are big, bulky and unsightly, while PSC's inline tube couplers are the same OD as the cage tubing for a cleaner appearance. Other competitors use an even weaker tube sleeve with through-bolt to form the joints in their bolt-in cages.
Full-Height A-Pillar Assembly	PSC's fabricated A-Pillar assembly extends from the top of the cage, bolts to the heavy gauge door post, and reaches all the way to—and ties into—the heavy gauge sheet metal of the Jeep's floor pan. Some competitors' A-Pillars bolt only to the dash, or to the dash and door post, without extending all the way to the floor. On one competitor's kit, a floor tie-in piece is optional, but it is bolted to the upper piece rather than being a continuous, solid steel A-Pillar.
Superior Tube-to-A-Pillar Joint	On competing cages with a fabricated A-Pillar, there is a 90º bend in the sheetmetal at the top of the fabricated portion of the A-Pillar, which the vertical tube of the upper cage structure rests on top of. This is asking that 90º bend to support huge loads in the event of a rollover. The plate steel component of PSC's fabricated lower A-Pillar extends straight upward above the top plane of the dash—without a 90º bend. The horizontal dash bar is welded directly to this plate, with the upper tubular structure of the cage joining the dash bar just inboard of the A-pillar plate. This design is much stronger for resisting vertical loads.
Precision Formed A-Pillar	PSC's fabricated plate steel A-Pillar is CNC laser cut from 3/16" plate steel, and precision brake-formed to fit the organic contours of the end of the JK dash like a glove. This allows for a very clean install, while providing a solid floor-to-cieling A-Pillar assembly using only the very narrow space existing between the dash and the door.
Gusseted Lower A-Pillar	The lower section of the fabricated A-Pillar is fortified with a precisely engineered gusset to provide un-matched strength all the way to the floor.
1/2" Thick Door Post Fill Plate	A bar of 1/2" thick steel, sandwiched between the fabricated A-Pillar and the Jeep's door post, provides even more strength to the A-Pillar assembly and helps tie the cage, A-Pillar, door post and floor together into a strong semi-monocoque unit.
Plate Steel Center Stringers	Front Center Stringer (and rear on 4-door model) are fabricated from CNC laser cut 3/16" plate steel, precision brake-formed and professionally welded to the front upper crossover bar. Stronger than using tubing in this location, these provide ultimate overhead protection. They also provide a convenient flat underside surface for mounting switches, CB radio, dome lights, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question about this product? We've tried to cover the most frequently asked ones below. Don't see an answer to your question? Ask our sales department by email at [email protected], and we'll get back to you as soon as possible with the information you need.

Q: Can I order it powder coated?

A: At this time we are not offering powder coat for this product. If we are able to devise suitable packaging which will adequately protect the powder coat finish during transit, we may add a powder coat option in the future.

Q: Why are the interlocking tube couplers better than the competitor's knuckle style tube clamps?

A: There are several reasons. First, the Interlocking Tube Couplers we use are not placed right at the joint where two tubes in the cage structure meet. That means that the tube joints on our bolt-in cage kits are as strong as a full weld-in cage, since the joints are notched and welded exactly the same as a weld-in cage. Second, the competitor's tube clamp design necessarily tightly clamps down on the outer surface of the joined tube. Remember, even though it is a thick, heavy clamp, it is still clamping down on tube that only has a .120" wall thickness, and in some cases may not even be DOM tubing. This can pre-stress the tube in that area, especially right at the edges of the tube clamps, where the tubing goes suddenly from clamped to un-clamped, creating what engineers call a "stress riser". Couple this with the fact that this stress riser is located right at the point where two cage members meet--where side forces can be transferred into the joined tube during impact or rollover. Further, the competitors' tube clamps offer relatively little strength against slippage along the line of the clamped tube. The inline interlocking tube couplers in a Poison Spyder kit are not located right at the juncture of two tubes, so the couplers won't experience the same side loads. And if the Poison Spyder tube coupler does have to take a side-load, for instance from a direct hit from a rock or tree, the solid steel interlocking coupler is actually stronger in resisting side loads than the .120" wall tubing of the rest of the cage. Finally, the inline tube coupler is lower profile, putting the strength of its solid steel within the OD of the surrounding tube, rather than outside of it. The result is a cleaner looking, less obtrusive cage.

Q: Can I trust the two rather small bolts in those tube couplers?

A: If you are suspicious of the two socket head cap screws that keep the coupler halves clamped together, you're probably not grasping the concept of how these couplers work. The two cap screws are not bearing the loads of the cage itself. As long as the two halves of the coupler are held closely together, all of the loads seen by that portion of the cage are borne by the interlocking solid steel of the couplers themselves, not by the fasteners. The two cap screws merely keep the two halves snugly interlocked together.

Q: Wouldn't it be stronger to use a full tube A-Pillar?

A: If there were no bends in it, a straight tubular A-Pillar all the way to the floor would probably be the strongest design for withstanding direct downward forces. However, to do this in a modern vehicle like the JK, the tube has to either go through the dash or go around the dash. Going through the dash is perhaps the best option from a purely functional standpoint, however it requires cutting and modifications that many JK owners would likely avoid. To install such a cage would require completely disassembling the dash and all of its components, and cutting holes in the dash cover as well as the underlying dash structure. That defeats the purpose and cost-effectiveness of a simple bolt-in product. To go around the dash, the tube must bend rearward, into the cockpit, robbing legroom and ease of entry. Then it must turn back forward, creating a relatively weak S-bend in the A-Pillar. There is simply no room to use a tubular A-Pillar around the outside edges of the dash. That's why a full-height plate steel A-Pillar such as Poison Spyder's is the best compromise for a bolt-in kit that retains maximum cockpit comfort.

Competitive Comparisons

It's a crowded market with a lot of manufacturers competing to earn your business. Here we've assembled a chart with a few of the key competing products in this product category, to assist with your shopping. We've tried to make sure this information is as accurate as possible, but if you spot an inaccuracy on this chart please let us know at [email protected].

MFG & Prod Name	Base Price	Installation	Tubing Spec's	A-Pillar Construction	Tube Disconnect Method	Entry Grab Handles	Dash Bar	Header Bar Replaced
PSC Bolt-Together Trail Cage Kit	$899.00	Bolt-In	1.75" X .120" DOM	3/16" Full Height 1-piece to Floor	Inline interlocking tube coupler	Opt +$45	Yes	Yes
RockHard Ultimate Sports Cage	$599.00	Bolt-in	1.75" X .120" (type not specified)	3/16" Does Not Reach Floor	Tube "knuckle" clamp at cage joints	Yes	Yes	No
OR-Fab Sport Cage	$520.00	Bolt-in	1.75" X .120" (type not specified)	1/4" with Opt 3/8" floor tie-in ($100)	Tube sleeve slip-over and through-bolt	Yes	Yes	Yes
River-Raider Sport Cage Kit	$685.00 (4-Door +$45)	Weld-in	1.75" X .120" DOM	Bolts to inside of dash, does not reach floor	None (weld-together)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Poly DIY Sport Cage Kit	$300.00	Weld-in	1.75" X .120" DOM	All-tube to the floor (less legroom)	None (weld together)-Opt Removable Dash Bar couplers $72	Yes	Yes	Yes
Smittybilt XRC Sport Cage Kit	$600.00	Bolt-in	1.75" X .120" DOM	Info Not Available	Tube "knuckle" clamp at cage joints	Yes	Yes	Info Not Available