Security cage for a soft top FFR Perentie???

[Aussie Jeepster]

When I owned my Series 3 FFR Military Police Land Rover, it had the 1" steel mesh welded to the canopy frame on the sides and the top, as well as at the front (similar to the cargo barrier, and at the rear. And the raer had a lockable door on it, also covered in 1" steel mesh. When I put a padlock on the back gate, NOTHING would have been able to get into it!
The army then covered the top section of mesh with large sheets of corflute so the soft top would not rub on the mesh.
I found it worked really well for security.
The photos attached show some of the detail, but when I had it, I never thought to take detailed photos of it!!!

[AGAS 5]

Theres no sarcastic content. Not meant to be.
Re-read the OP. You'll see a point or two in my post. There are ways to do the cage. Check. There are some suggested alternatives. Check. He's not re-inventing the wheel. He's got a legit anxiety, and in some places, very legit. This topic is right up my street since i have an FFR. This topic is up my street since i am lapping Oz soon as well. I suggested the ways i will tackle my anxieties at certain places. GPS and Hema rigs are targets. Engels are targets. I think you jumped to a conclusion. Pls delete yr post so i can delete this one and we'll laugh about it later. Its not a good look for the forum. If i could pm this i would but i'm on my little phone.

Members of this forum should be free to post with out ridicule. I am not the only one who thought that of your post.  It was pointless and did contribute. perhaps you need to learn to PM such posts so as to not publicly ridicule the forum members.

No point in coming back at a later stage and saying the you meant this & that or it would of been explained with an emoticon  .  I think you should have the courage to delete your original post and apologies.

[Carzee]

Theres no sarcastic content. Not meant to be.
Re-read the OP. You'll see a point or two in my post. There are ways to do the cage. Check. There are some suggested alternatives. Check. He's not re-inventing the wheel. He's got a legit anxiety, and in some places, very legit. This topic is right up my street since i have an FFR. This topic is up my street since i am lapping Oz soon as well. I suggested the ways i will tackle my anxieties at certain places. GPS and Hema rigs are targets. Engels are targets. I think you jumped to a conclusion. Pls delete yr post so i can delete this one and we'll laugh about it later. Its not a good look for the forum. If i could pm this i would but i'm on my little phone.

Members of this forum should be free to post with out ridicule. I am not the only one who thought that of your post.  It was pointless and did contribute. perhaps you need to learn to PM such posts so as to not publicly ridicule the forum members.

No point in coming back at a later stage and saying the you meant this & that or it would of been explained with an emoticon  .  I think you should have the courage to delete your original post and apologies.

WTF. No excuses. You were an admin. and to deal with the same attitude. You understand the rules. There was another occasion where you needed reminding about PMs and I said nothing. My mistake.
PM incoming.

[alvin]

Hey guys, please don't escalate!
I get it and mistake are easy to make on all sides, particularly with humour or phrasing, so don't butt heads over this, kiss and make up, we all get it wrong sometimes (;->

Alvin

[alvin]

Thanks for sharing Aussie Jeepster!

Yes, well I was thinking of something similar at the back and looks like you did a great job there.
My only concern (and it's naive as I'm just learning) but I thought (having seen the sign inside the car) that it's 'verboten' to drill or weld to the existing ROPS???

But what you've done looks very good and it's sort of what I would like to do.

Regards, Alvin

[dugite]

I can understand a little reluctance to modify the ROPS but you may be aware that some owners have already modified them or removed them completely - what you do about that is up to you.

You will note that there are some bolt attachments on the canopy frame which you could use with longer bolts without modifying the ROPS

While cable ties might hold it in place for planning purposes I wouldn't use them if I really wanted security.

[Aussie Jeepster]

Thanks for sharing Aussie Jeepster!

Yes, well I was thinking of something similar at the back and looks like you did a great job there.
My only concern (and it's naive as I'm just learning) but I thought (having seen the sign inside the car) that it's 'verboten' to drill or weld to the existing ROPS???

But what you've done looks very good and it's sort of what I would like to do.

Regards, Alvin

Please don't think I did the work - the Army did it to make it a secure MP vehicle!

[alvin]

Thanks Dugite and noted, I will certainly consider this. It's just that I thought I may have to (in this wonderful new age of litigation and correctness) follow the rules and NOT touch the bars at all! But all noted and will follow this up further with an engineer friend.

And all fine Aussie Jeepster, not a problem, I could only guess at your story, but it makes sense now and not a problem either way whether you might have done or 'they did', it's still a great job, I just wasn't sure of the legals, as explained above, but thanks for sharing (;->

Regards, Alvin

[Sixty]

SIII didnt have "ROPS", and TRF didn't appear til early 90's...so a lot of vehicles had modifications.
Nowadays unless its approved by OEM, directed in an EMEI, or approved via ECP equipment remains 'standard'.

[BadCo.]

I'm thinking down this path then...

• A series of panels, not unlike Rod's setup that are basically modular in construction, so mirror image on the sides, roof, etc
• A material that's strongish and would deter only someone who comes with proper cutting equipment
• Most importantly apart from strong, it has to be light! Maybe something in a security door mesh/alloy, or whatever, etc
• And apart form the other suggestions like metal straps/cable ties, might there be something more elegant out there? I'm fine on Rods welded tabs, but just wonder if it can be done another way

Right that's about it, and also wonder if anyone has any thoughts also of maybe doing this in the drivers cabin area. In my case I would have some electronic gear up front that would be a pain to have to remove every time you pull up somewhere, so other than door locks, could the drivers area be possibly secured too?

Alvin (;->

Alucobond sounds like what you need

[alvin]

Hi BadCo,
Thanks for that, it looks quite interesting indeed from my short search so far.

Just one thing, after a quick Google as I wanted to understand it's qualities, I came up with this:
    
'Aluminum Composite Material (ACM) consists of two sheets of smooth .02" aluminum thermobonded to a polyethylene core in a continuous process.'

So, just wondering, it's great as a cover/facade, but being 20thou thick aluminum, wouldn't that make it easy to penetrate with something as simple as a sharp knife, or am I missing something here?

 

[BadCo.]

The two layers bonded to the plastic middle make it pretty strong.

It has been used to make rear drawers and even some folk on facebook have used it to make a hard top roof. So for some sidewalls I imagine it would work a treat.

[alvin]

Hi BadCo,
Well yes, that material does look very good, but I've managed to track down some promotional videos on YouTube and as impressive as it looks and I can see some great uses for it, I could also see that it would be no match for someone with a sharp object and some simple brute force.
It certainly has great capabilities and probably has good insulating properties as well, but I'm not convinced it's the right way to go in this application, but thank you very much for the info, it's certainly a product worth remembering for possibly other uses.

The other product I'm in the process of doing some research on is the Crimsafe mesh in the commercial grade.
The product looks very interesting. Light, tough, and if it's possible to bend the frame to suit the car's canopy shape, then this might be a goer. I'm presently waiting for some feedback from the company.

[BadCo.]

Hi BadCo,
Well yes, that material does look very good, but I've managed to track down some promotional videos on YouTube and as impressive as it looks and I can see some great uses for it, I could also see that it would be no match for someone with a sharp object and some simple brute force.
It certainly has great capabilities and probably has good insulating properties as well, but I'm not convinced it's the right way to go in this application, but thank you very much for the info, it's certainly a product worth remembering for possibly other uses.

I don't think you would get through it with a Stanley knife

I reckon aluminium sides on my hard top would be easy to get through with a hatchet and brute force or something similar.

Good luck with your other endeavors, keep us posted how you get on.