Jeep TJ Sport Cage

The M.O.R.E. Sport Cage comes...        read full caption The M.O.R.E. Sport Cage comes with all necessary hardware.

Unzip the padding from the...        read full caption Unzip the padding from the factory rollbar.

Remove the factory stubs from...        read full caption Remove the factory stubs from the horizontal bars.

After trimming about 4 inches...        read full caption After trimming about 4 inches from the front of the padding and slipping it over the Sport Cage bars, install the factory stubs in the Sport Cage tubes using the factory No. 50 Torx bolts, threads facing out.

Pull up the carpet to expose...        read full caption Pull up the carpet to expose the front drain plugs. Remove the plugs and, using a file or a die grinder, enlarge the top part of the hole to 11/4 inches. (Do not enlarge the bottom part of the hole.)

Install the left Sport Cage...        read full caption Install the left Sport Cage bar into the driver side of the Jeep.

Using the two factory No....        read full caption Using the two factory No. 40 Torx bolts, attach the factory stub you installed on the Sport Cage bar to the Jeep’s rollbar.

If you have a soft top, install...        read full caption If you have a soft top, install the upper door surrounds on both sides.

Using a 3/8-inch drill bit,...        read full caption Using a 3/8-inch drill bit, enlarge the pilot holes in the crossbar and drill the inner stub. Drill downward first.

Now you can tighten everything...        read full caption Now you can tighten everything up, starting at the floor plate bolts (torque to 50 lb-ft).

Here’s the completed...        read full caption Here’s the completed installation. Dropping the windshield is now easy, and though M.O.R.E. makes no safety claims whatsoever about the Sport Cage, we feel safer.

Both the top clamps and the...        read full caption Both the top clamps and the sunvisors work as they did before. The doors seal tightly, too.

The Jeep TJ Wrangler is an extremely popular backcountry 4x4; however, its integral sport bar/rollcage is tied into the windshield frame as part of the ’cage. Because of this, it is very difficult to drop the windshield once you get into the backcountry. Dropping the windshield not only increases visibility on the trail, but it also allows dirt and dust to blow through the Jeep and not get caught in the “vacuum” behind the windshield frame.

Those of you who have soft tops need the factory horizontal side bars, as they’re the mounting points for the upper door surrounds, those plastic pieces that allow the upper half-door to seal out harsh weather. In the past, owners who wanted a cage for protection (or to drop the windshield) had to go without a soft top, buy an aftermarket model, or spend the big bucks for a heavy hardtop with hard doors.

Enter Mountain Off-Road Enterprises (M.O.R.E.). Its Sport Cage (PN WCK200) uses two curved bars that attach to the factory rollbar and the floor instead of the stock horizontal bars, which attach to the windshield frame. A crossbar connects the left- and right-side bars. The Sport Cage works with either a soft top or a hardtop, and sunvisors and top latches still function in their stock locations.

The Sport Cage comes with brackets that attach to the windshield frame, which we discarded. M.O.R.E. also offers an optional frame tie-in kit, which greatly increases safety in a rollover, even though the folks at M.O.R.E. tell us its Sport Cage kit is not a rollcage. We were able to install the kit in less than half an hour, once we painted the bars. M.O.R.E. says the kit can be installed with either the hard or soft top on, but we found it much easier to fold down our soft top to do the installation.