Quote Originally Posted by Tak View Post
Personally I do not like welding straight around a tube--I much prefer "fishmouth" joints--the longer weld is stronger, and less likely to fail catastrophically in an impact (the peaks and valleys of the fishmouth help prevent crack propagation along the entire weld).
I agree 100%. Bad idea not to use sleeves. Aside from the safety concern, the tubes underneath the sleeves do not perfectly butt up against each other. You'll have to weld tubing to bridge them together. It will be a royal PITA.

My cage started as an Autopower bolt-in and over time it has been reinforced and welded in several places. My suggestion is to install it as a bolt-in (as it was designed) and weld the sleeves in place for added rigidity.

Good luck