Alu canopies and rollbars

[Toyfan]

I am undecided on whether I should get a alu canopy that will fit over my rollbar or should I remove it. Is there
anyone with an IFS 2000-2005 with such a canopy over there rollbars. Any pictures will be helpful. I like the low
look but have concerns on safety. Any comments and suggestions will be appreciated.

[Family_Dog]

I would definitely suggest leaving it in.


-F_D

[OOOOMS]

I am undecided on whether I should get a alu canopy that will fit over my rollbar or should I remove it. Is there
anyone with an IFS 2000-2005 with such a canopy over there rollbars. Any pictures will be helpful. I like the low
look but have concerns on safety. Any comments and suggestions will be appreciated.

Tricky....indeed, agree safety first.......but........the alu canopy is quite strong Could act as a substitute.

Removing it give's you plenty of extra space.

How will you access the cab with a rollbar in place? Defeats the object, not so?

[CasKru]

Jip... that is an essential part of the safety structure....

Have a look at this picture.... there were 5 people in this bakkie when it rolled 300m down a hill. Although badly injured, they all survived to tell the tale. If it wasn't for that rollbar they would not have made it


You could maybe get them to re-inforce the front section of the canopy to replace the function of the rollbar

[ThysdJ]

A rollbar does take up a lot of space, and as Mark says the construction of an alu-canopy is much stronger than a fibreglass one. I removed mine, but that's just me.

[Mud Dog]

A rollbar does take up a lot of space, and as Mark says the construction of an alu-canopy is much stronger than a fibreglass one. I removed mine, but that's just me.

True on both counts, Thys. One could modify the existing roll bar or build the canopy to go over it, but I would prefer as Cassie suggested to build some reinforcement into the front of the alu canopy which will act as a roll bar .... that will give you the extra space and the safety.

[Toyfan]

Thanks guys, I have thought of modifying the rollbar to be lower. Does anyone have a rollbar with alu canopy, I would like to see some pictures. If it does not look too bad I would rather leave it on. Refering to space issue, at this point I am not going to do much long trips that will require such alot of space. Would be interesting to hear from the alu canopy builders on this forum.

[chopper]

Would like to hear if Olaf could incorporate such a safety feature into their new approach/design
Olaf

[george]

I also thought about it and what about a type of flat roll bar that you can put on the inside of the cab.

[kawasifaki]

The canopies we build, are very strong, though we have been fortunate enough not to have any of our clients test that theory. Having the rollerbar in, does give you the extra piece of mind regarding your passengers safety, but does limit you to mounting certain things, eg. ammo box sliders, fridge mount agains cab, it makes access extremely difficult, it also causes the canopy to be about 50mm higher than normal, wind becomes a factor, and the height of your garage once you do fit a roofrack. We can however reinforce the front structure using a 25mm x 50mm aluminium tubing in the upright position, hope this helps.

[chopper]

Dankie Olaf,
Ek glo dit kan werk

[Mr_B]

The issue I have here is how the alu canopy is mounted to the load bin... from what I've seen to-date, even though the canopy itself is structurally strong, the mounting points are the weakest link and could easily sheer if the vehicle rolls... and with it goes all the protection the canopy offered. What I would suggest for those that are very safety concious... keep the vertical upright poles of the rollbar, mod/lower the vertical pipe height, so that a standard height alu canopy fits over, then secure the canopy to the uprights/vertical pipes of the rollbar as well! Another option is too modify the rollbar and loadbin, so that the roll bar is only the uprights, that are secured to the chassis, not the load bin like on the old SFA's!

[Toyfan]

Mr B, are you ref to cutting holes in the load bin just above the chassis and secure the rollbar ends directly to the parallel bars under the load bin? Not a bad idea. Will think about that one. At this point I am leaning towards removing the rollbar due to advice from Gerhard that the canopy will protrude on the side as well as the top and cause abit of wind resistance. I think It will also not look very neat and spoil the look of the bakkie. Leaving the bars on, will also defeat the purpose of the side doors as another member mentioned. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

[Traveler]

Remember that roll bars are not tested so if they work it is not part of the design.