I've been bit-

[Pushrod]

By the baggin bug!

I'm not lookin to go cheap nor over the top expensive. I'd like to know which companies make quuality durable bags, valves, air lines, dryers, and compressors. I'd like to peice a kit together myself. Did I miss any parts?

What lb. rating for front and rear bags should be used? What cfm compressor? How many gallon tank?

Would it be wrong to bag a truck that is still used to haul stuff, Like a complete BBC with transmission, or a motorcycle, or an occasional car on a trailer? And driven all year round in the cold north.

Are there any books on the subject? or links on the web for the total do it yourselfer?

[shaved80]

how much are you looking to spend?

tanks doesn't really matter brand, but i've heard AIM ones leak at the welds

bags, either slams or firestones. i went with slams, because when inflated they don't expand width wise.

compressors, although air zeniths look pretty sexy, they are so new and have quite a few problems from what i've heard. viairs have been around longer and so they've had time to work out their bugs. they're also having a pretty good sale right now if you buy 2 compressors. or you can even get an engine driven if you want to dish out that money, only down side is you need to have it running if you don't have a backup electric one, but it will fill up your tank in no time.

valves, i've heard pretty much all valves are fine, with the ocassional sticking that can be fixed with air tool oil. 8 if you want FBSS, 6 if not

fittings, you will need to determine how you plan to do your setup to know what and how many fittings you need.

50ft of dot airline should be fine, if you go with analog gauges you're gonna need some 1/4 line too

teflon tape or another type of sealant

a notch, and misc. nuts and bolts.

i might be forgetting something, maybe someone else will chime in

you're also going to need a switchbox, gauges, a link setup (unless you don't want to lay out and just want it for the ride quality), mounts for the front and back. the tank and compressor is personal choice, how much air you're gonna want to play with, how long you want to wait for it to fill back up...

and on to towing...i read that it's not a good idea to tow while running a cantilever setup, but bags over axle should be fine...good idea to read up as much as you can. fullsizechevy.com has a lot of info on their street forum. www.bagginit.com/ www.suicidedoors.com just a few others i can think of

Edited by: shaved80 at: 10/26/06 10:02 am

[Pushrod]

Well thats pretty freakin amazin! Wouldn't catch me doin anythin like that though, dangerous enough just towin. Thanks for the links!

Some bag ratings for what I need would be awsome! Or simply pointing right at em..

Not lookin to go FBSS, just FB.

My plans are to go air after I get the cab, fenders, and the correct wheel/tire combo up front all situated next summer. So either mid to late summer or possibly the following spring. I figure now is a good time to do my homework and start collecting the parts I need to do the job.

I'm going to retain the rear leaf spring suspension with my setup but leaf wrap is a concern. I'm thinkin slide-a-link style traction bars are the answer but if somebody knows better I'd like to hear it. I already have a big notch kit to use and plan on a crossmember across the top of the notch to mount the bags to. The rear is already flipt and I'm thinkin about 4" more with shackles & hangers before baggin it.

Up front 3" spindles that are already on the truck and a sectioned crossmember is as far as I'll go with it.

I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to fab up a custom trans crossmember so it doesn't hang so low too..

Your guess is as good as mine as to how low it will be when its layed out, unless you've already done all this. Hopefully not draggin. I need to get some measurements together...

[shaved80]

7 series slams should work just fine

if you do just fb, you better hope that everything is even or else you might have to deal with the chevy lean all over again

with the work it would take to make a custom xmember, you could Z the frame and drop the front horns, it'd probably be less trouble

it will only go as low as you make it, if you don't want it to lay all the way out in the back, don't make the notch big enough to lay out, and use bumpstops so you don't kill your axle. up front you could leave the factory bump stops and they will keep you about 2-3" from laying out

[APlunk711]

If your looking to drive your truck on a daily basis, I would strongly reccomend going with the KP Components four link/cantilever setup with panhard bar. I ran it on my 90 gmc sierra and it gave an awesome ride out back, plus i could still tow my waverunner with it during the summer. The kit gives 12" of lift. For the air management part, i would suggest parker gold valves, viair compressors, square d pressure switch, and i ran contitech bags but i have heard that slam specialties are just as good if not better.

[Pushrod]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I've been doin alot of research and have found all kinds of info on the subject.

I also got my first purchase in the mail today. I got a smokin hot deal off fleabay on a set of new firestone bags for the rear.

Its'a good start...