RPG Offroad Harness Bar Kit and RPG Custom Raptor Four-Point MasterCraft Harnesses

[INI]

Hi Charlie
come here much

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Gotta love Raptor taxes. If your serious and want to cage your truck I can give you a list of guys that can build the cage for MUCH less and the quality will be more than adiquite


I remember what you spent on your cage, do you think it was worth "X" cost? I personally thought the price was right at what most honest shops should charge

No need to spend $9 a foot on 4130(buzz words) just run DOM and save 1/2 the money on materials.

I mean let's be honest here, fab guys are almost always 1099'ed, make $10-12 an hour and are always over worked, so regardless of what the shop is charging you, your still get an under paid fabricator doing the work

Wow! 10 - 12 an hour? Kids at McDonald's make $10.50 an hour up here, that's minimum wage, lol.

 

[MisterMundane]

Right here in So. Cal. Some of which are vendors on this forum. RPG, Outlaw, SVC.....

That explains it, market is bigger there I guess, and raptor specific companies are obviously going to charge a raptor tax.

A lot cheaper, and same quality, to have a non branded fab shop do one.

Always my experience. Had a caged Chevy before I bought my raptor. Bigger well known shops were always more than the smaller, friendlier shops were.

 

[svc]

That explains it, market is bigger there I guess, and raptor specific companies are obviously going to charge a raptor tax.

A lot cheaper, and same quality, to have a non branded fab shop do one.

Always my experience. Had a caged Chevy before I bought my raptor. Bigger well known shops were always more than the smaller, friendlier shops were.

I understand the need for people to refer to parts for a raptor as Raptortax, but when you break everything down, it doesn’t matter what emblem is on the truck. The cost of doing business is the same regardless of brand.

When I hear quotes of $10,000 for a cage, keep in mind there are numerous variables that go into that, and typically that quote is filled with goodies because people who drivers Raptors, typically expect a different level of end product vs. a guy who caged a Ranger or Tacoma.

Look at it step by step.

Material. We will only build ours out of 4130. I completely understand that DOM will do the trick, but lets not forget, when Raptor owners contact us for quotes on cages, they typically only want the best of everything. So you have roughly 100-150 ft of tubing at $8.00 per foot totaling about $1000 not including delivery charge. You will need at least $300 in plate work to accompany that making that a grand total of about $1300 for just raw material.

Step 2. Disassemble. You will need to have the Windshield professionaly removed at $150.00. After that you have to disassemble the entire interior of the truck. Headliner comes out, airbags removed, wiring harness out, carpet out, center console out, dashboard out, doors off and then cataloged and stored in a safe area. Typically this is about a 1 to 2 day process at a shop rate between $55-$75 hour depending on the shop. So lets use $55 on the low end and cut total labor time to 12 hours totaling $810 when you include windshield removal.

Step 3. Cage fabrication. Typically this is about a two-three week process totaling roughly 120-150 hours at the shop rates of $55.00-$75.00/hours. I’ll be totally transparent with why our shop rate is in that ballpark. We have rent to pay, liability insurance, utilities, cost of consumables and labor for employees. I’ll also let it be known that we believe in the long term goal of keeping our team together so we don’t have one employee who is paid less than $18.00/hour. So, your total cost for the raw cage to be built, plated to the cab, and attached to the frame is in the ballpark of $5500.00.

Step 4 Interior. Depending on your needs, most people will do either 3 or 4 custom seats at anywhere between $400-$800 depending on the choice of seat. Tack on sliders for another $300-$400 and then you have headliner, and carpet. Typically everyone does a suede headliner, complete sound deadening material on the roof, back wall and floor. We aren’t interior guys so this gets sourced out to professionals at a cost of about $2,000-$3,000 for a very nice hot rod quality interior. On top of that, many people want yeti coolers or mini fridges, custom storage and so on. This brings your total for interior to about $3,500 when you factor all those variable together using the low end of the spectrum.

Step 5. Assembly, This is another 1-2 day process at the shop rate of $55-75/hour depending on the shop. Windshield has to go back in, Dash needs to be trimmed to fit cage pieces, wiring harness etc. This will be roughly $660.00 more dollars at an average of 12hours total.

Total price using these figures is roughly $11,770

I hope now you start to have an understanding of where those type of quotes come from. If you want to bring us a stripped cab, purchase the material your self, take care of your own interior including all items associated with that, and then reassemble everything yourself, the quote from our end will be way below the 10K mark.

I can only speak for my company SVC. We are not out to screw anybody or institute a Raptortax just because Raptor owners have more discretionary income than the average Ranger driver. If a kid pulled up to us in a 94 F150 and wanted a caged interior with all the same bells and whistles, his cost will be the same. the cost of doing business is the cost of doing business regardless of emblem.

Jarrett

 

[Deleted member 12951]

Don't think you have to explain how you want to handle YOUR own business. I have never complained to any vendor on their prices, everyone deserves to make money and most raptor shops, the owners have raptors themselves. Personally I want these shops to stay in business, I like the variety and things they come up with to bring to the market. You didn't even talk about research and development that you just do and don't get paid until you finally make something that people want and you need to recoup some of that cost, if preferably all of it and move forward.

 

[slowjoe]

Don't mind me, I'm just subscribing. Good knowledge throughout this thread!

 

[MisterMundane]

I understand the need for people to refer to parts for a raptor as Raptortax, but when you break everything down, it doesn’t matter what emblem is on the truck. The cost of doing business is the same regardless of brand.

When I hear quotes of $10,000 for a cage, keep in mind there are numerous variables that go into that, and typically that quote is filled with goodies because people who drivers Raptors, typically expect a different level of end product vs. a guy who caged a Ranger or Tacoma.

Look at it step by step.

Material. We will only build ours out of 4130. I completely understand that DOM will do the trick, but lets not forget, when Raptor owners contact us for quotes on cages, they typically only want the best of everything. So you have roughly 100-150 ft of tubing at $8.00 per foot totaling about $1000 not including delivery charge. You will need at least $300 in plate work to accompany that making that a grand total of about $1300 for just raw material.

Step 2. Disassemble. You will need to have the Windshield professionaly removed at $150.00. After that you have to disassemble the entire interior of the truck. Headliner comes out, airbags removed, wiring harness out, carpet out, center console out, dashboard out, doors off and then cataloged and stored in a safe area. Typically this is about a 1 to 2 day process at a shop rate between $55-$75 hour depending on the shop. So lets use $55 on the low end and cut total labor time to 12 hours totaling $810 when you include windshield removal.

Step 3. Cage fabrication. Typically this is about a two-three week process totaling roughly 120-150 hours at the shop rates of $55.00-$75.00/hours. I’ll be totally transparent with why our shop rate is in that ballpark. We have rent to pay, liability insurance, utilities, cost of consumables and labor for employees. I’ll also let it be known that we believe in the long term goal of keeping our team together so we don’t have one employee who is paid less than $18.00/hour. So, your total cost for the raw cage to be built, plated to the cab, and attached to the frame is in the ballpark of $5500.00.

Step 4 Interior. Depending on your needs, most people will do either 3 or 4 custom seats at anywhere between $400-$800 depending on the choice of seat. Tack on sliders for another $300-$400 and then you have headliner, and carpet. Typically everyone does a suede headliner, complete sound deadening material on the roof, back wall and floor. We aren’t interior guys so this gets sourced out to professionals at a cost of about $2,000-$3,000 for a very nice hot rod quality interior. On top of that, many people want yeti coolers or mini fridges, custom storage and so on. This brings your total for interior to about $3,500 when you factor all those variable together using the low end of the spectrum.

Step 5. Assembly, This is another 1-2 day process at the shop rate of $55-75/hour depending on the shop. Windshield has to go back in, Dash needs to be trimmed to fit cage pieces, wiring harness etc. This will be roughly $660.00 more dollars at an average of 12hours total.

Total price using these figures is roughly $11,770

I hope now you start to have an understanding of where those type of quotes come from. If you want to bring us a stripped cab, purchase the material your self, take care of your own interior including all items associated with that, and then reassemble everything yourself, the quote from our end will be way below the 10K mark.

I can only speak for my company SVC. We are not out to screw anybody or institute a Raptortax just because Raptor owners have more discretionary income than the average Ranger driver. If a kid pulled up to us in a 94 F150 and wanted a caged interior with all the same bells and whistles, his cost will be the same. the cost of doing business is the cost of doing business regardless of emblem.

Jarrett

Guess that makes sense. When I hear roll cage, I think roll cage, not full interior job... Obviously including seats and all that crap will bring up the price. And if you're to lazy to strip then interior yourself that will to.

But I guess that's the raptor way of doing things?

 

[Bigg50]

Coming from drag racing and from what I've experienced in my own rollover. I'm with AII. you could not pay me enough money to put a bolt in anything into my truck. Mounting points can easily shear in the case of a rollover. My 2 cents, either put in a cage or stick with the stock setup. You're safer stock than with any bolt on contraption.

Even doing harness kits are potentially dangerous. 1st they aren't designed to work with the factory seats. 2nd, they do a great job of planting you in your seat. Most love this part and I would like that too. However, you tend to drive faster and feel like you're more in control which increases your chance of a nasty rollover.

I debate every couple days on getting a cage. I know deep down I should get one based on how much time spend in the desert at speeds. I will get one, hopefully sooner than later.

 

[RPG]

Having grown up in a body shop working for my father, I have seen more face prints in windshields then I want to remember. Having been involved in Racing for 26 Years, I have learned that anything can happen. There are many examples that I can site... Dale Earnheart.. Who would have thought that 5 Point Harnesses could fail.. Things happen. I have a picture of Jeff Krosnoff in my office to remind me of how prescious life really is. When I worked at PPI, Jeff Krosnoff was one of our drivers. 2 Weeks after the photo was taken, he died in an accident where the entire front half of the Indy Car sheared off. The list go on and on.... But the reality is, if you want to go fast, your going to take chances.

Safety is very important to me. Having been in an Air Plane Crash I understand that when its your time to meet Jesus face to face, its your time.

If your not interested in the Harness Bar kit, so be it. I feel as if this will work well to hold your shoulder straps. Don't get me wrong, I feel as if all Raptors should have increased safety measures (AND SUPERCHARGERS), due to most of us driving faster then the amount of talent we have. Lets weld in cages to all of them... Having built a few of these, I feel as if we are better off just starting with a CAB and making a chassis, 4 Link, Centermount. If you wanna go, Go BIG. Start price is about $300,000

I have no intentions of getting my feet muddy in a "Dog Fight"

So once again, if you dont like it, dont buy it..

 

[Bulletnjm]

Man i wish i had an extra 300k +