Not really roll cage/bar question but a hatch body twist question

[rabies]

will frame stiffners, stiffen up the frame enough i can remove the hatch and go "off the road"

for the hatch is structural and keeps cabin/body rigid.

basicaly if i was to remove the hatch how do i retain rigidity but not to have a full roll cage?

1 roll bar in the back? frame stiffeners? front and rear bumpers with tie ins from manhatten to texas? when i do get a new rear bumper it will have the frame insert stuff would that be sufficient.

[Poorboy]

Don't remove the hatch. You'll get exhaust gasses coming back up in, which is no bueno.

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[4.3LXJ]

They certainly help

[cantab27]

my 95 was fiberglass ??????

[Poorboy]

1984 until 1996 all hatches were fiberglass.

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[XJ Wheeler]

I don't really see how the hatch would give it more strength so I think you'll be okay. I mean, it's only bolted on in two places which are hinges so not much bracing going on there.

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[cantab27]

that's my thoughts too jake ..why take it off ..I drove mine with no glass for awhile (what haven't I broken on a jeep)....

[4.3LXJ]

Jeepspeed rigs run without a tailgate and don't suffer any more than usual for that type of use

[rabies]

i tried removing just the glass and its a nogo. i would need to piano wire saw it out. and i would LOVE to put a soft window on the hatch. hatch sux.
awhile ago on abunch of threads about going doorless lots of people said when twisting or stuck they couldnt open the hatch or if it was open they could open or close doors because body was twisted even a smidge.
i can believe that its a unibody.
but i think if i got a roll bar in the back i would end up just hacking the back off.....

:)

[4.3LXJ]

If you are going to do that, here are a couple of nice examples

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/2ntis5j.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/100_1727.jpg

[rabies]

boom you got it. that bottom pic.
or soemthing like this.
http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad277/rick_rabies/XJ%20Jeep/90a6e7db63d15a2bb61cc14e251f7f58.jpg (http://s943.photobucket.com/user/rick_rabies/media/XJ%20Jeep/90a6e7db63d15a2bb61cc14e251f7f58.jpg.html)

of course if i get a truck(a daily driver) il start hacking

[4.3LXJ]

Yeah, that one looks a little breezy for the snow

[Pookapotamus]

I have stiffeners with long arm extensions and a roll bar in the back that is tied into the stiffeners at the bottom and tied into the unibody at the top, at full flex I can open my hatch with no issues.

the hatch offers very little structural support to the unibody. it is just the flex of the unibody that jams the hatch shut when it is flexing. if you wanted to run without the hatch it will not really affect the twist in the body after all the body was designed to flex to some degree. when you take an XJ off road and get into heavy flexing areas you are really adding stress to the unibody that it was never designed to take. that is why people add stiffeners and roll cages.
my last 4 door Xj that had stiffeners on it you could see the unibody coming apart at key locations after 2 years of moderate to heavy wheeling. and that is why I added the roll bar tied into the unibody at the top.

if you really want to hack the back off, add a roll cage and hack away.