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Project: Roll Cage and Grill Guard Modification

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  • Project: Roll Cage and Grill Guard Modification

    I purchased a Max IV to transport people and gear while duck hunting in flooded rice fields. But a few modifications were needed. A link to pictures is at the end of this post.

    I wanted to replace the heavy steel roll cage. And a winch was needed. I also wanted dry storage.

    First, I decided to go strictly with aluminum to save weight. I wanted a cage, not so much for roll protection, but to support a windshield and grass mats to camo the Max.

    The cage is made from 2" aluminum tubing. (Note the smooth bends in the tubing. Tricky!) The cage is welded to side plates made from aluminum diamond plate.

    A bumper and winch mounting plate were also fabricated from aluminum. The cage, bumper and winch plate are all welded as one unit. It is so light, I can pick up the entire unit with one hand but the design makes it quite strong.

    A lockable, aluminum tool box sits neatly on top of the winch guards and easily attaches with 3 wing nuts. The winch hook then attaches to a ring welded on the bottom/front of the tool box. I toggle the winch to hold the box tightly agianst a small plate (primed with yellow primer in the pictures). The base of the plate is notched and fits in a slot atop the cable fairing. The box sits rock solid and provides excellent dry storage. It can be removed in less that a minute.

    I won a new-in-box 3000lb Ramsey ATV winch in an Ebay auction for only $230. It sits neatly on a small aluminum mounting plate that is welded to the front bumper and then bolted to the Max. A toggle switch was installed in the dash. The Ramsey is a very reliable winch and made in USA!

    I will weld small attachment points on the cage to attach camo grass mats and stretch a cargo net on top to carry decoy bags. The Max will be well camoflaged so it can be parked near the duck pit or even used as a mobile blind. I made the cage a few inches taller to better allow a hunter to use the the Max as an effective blind and allow for sag of the cargo netting.

    The aluminum will be prepped, acid etched, primed and spray painted with a tan camo paint. A large rear platform will be added to carry more gear or used as a dog platform when hunting from the Max.

    I sold the factory steel roll cage for $400.00 which paid for the costs of this project, excluding the winch and storage box.

    Near competion, I am pleased with the project and the Max lV. Argos abound where I hunt, but my little Max will serve us well.

    You can see pictures at this link:

    Max lV Roll Cage - djack41's Photos

  • #2
    very nice job. a roll cage is on my to do list..wonder how well it would hold up in a roll over?

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    • #3
      Wow, nice work and nice fab skills! That looks exactly like the factory roll cage, but I bet it's much lighter.
      "Looks like you have a problem with your 4 wheeler........you're missin' two wheels there"
      sigpic

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      • #4
        That's a job you can be proud of, I don't think your machine would be heavy enough to damage it. Did you MIG that yourself, or am I way off and it's tigged? Either way, what brand rig do you have? The reason I ask is that I have a Lincoln 135 that is aluminum capable but have never gone to the expense of rigging it for aluminum, you know getting the gas and such. They also recommend getting a different liner due to contamination from the oil used on the steel wire. Is that your experience?
        DESTRUCTION is just a couple of vowels down the street from DISTRACTION

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