TECH TIP: For 'bag placement, we need to know two important measurements: half of the overall tire diameter and wheel center when the truck is laid out. A fully deflated 'bag is 3 inches plus a 1/4-inch safety. So, to set up our truck to run 18s, we bolted the top of the 'bag plate on the 'bag, jacked up the truck, and set the 'bag between the frame and the lower control arm to know how much room we needed to lay out completely. Then we can measure wheel center on the hub to ensure we're laying out with our desired wheel/tire combo. See steps 15-17.
13. The upper arm was bolted...
13. The upper arm was bolted up, and the lower control arm mount was capped.
14. Because the new upper...
14. Because the new upper control-arm mount moved up an inch, the control arm had to be notched to clear the steering.
15. After the suspension...
15. After the suspension had been moved up, new measurements were taken for two reasons: first, to ensure that everything still lines up and cycles correctly, and, second, to measure where to place the 'bag mounts.
16. Following our tech tip,...
16. Following our tech tip, we tacked the AVS upper 'bag mount in and jacked up the truck.
17. We needed at least another...
17. We needed at least another 1/2 inch to lay out, so we marked the area on the lower control arm that we would plate as our lower 'bag mount. Mounting the upper bag bracket under the frame instead of on the side allows us more lift, and because this truck will eventually be body-dropped, we'll take all the lift we can get!
18. After our lower arm was...
18. After our lower arm was marked, we cut out the unneeded section and played a quick game of control arm scrap Frisbee. Yeah, it's getting late, but don't worry, we're almost done.
19. After cutting up ourselves...
19. After cutting up ourselves from the Frisbee game, it was back to work making our new arm section. First thing to do was make a template.
20. Next, we traced the template...
20. Next, we traced the template to our plate and cut out our desired shape.
21. All of our edges were...
21. All of our edges were cleaned up and smoothed out.
22. Our new lower 'bag mount...
22. Our new lower 'bag mount was fully welded to plate the lower control arm. Inserting this plate lower into the arm also helps us get more lift.
23. After the plate was welded...
23. After the plate was welded in place, our grinder quickly smoothed out our canvas.
24. After we bolted in the...
24. After we bolted in the lower arm, we tested the 'bag placement one more time and then fully welded our top AVS 'bag mount into place.
25. A common mistake is not...
25. A common mistake is not using proper gussets for the upper 'bag mount. AVS also stocks a full line of laser-cut gussets to take the guesswork out of 'bagging the front end. With everything welded into place, the whole front end was taped off and sprayed with a heavy-duty black to keep away the rust.
26. With the addition of...
26. With the addition of shocks and the AVS Contitech 'bags, you can see how clean everything turned out. You can also see how much lift is achieved: We actually clear the tire by almost 5 inches! Stay tuned as we put the finishing touches on this daily.