[theastronaut]

I got the rear bags finished up today. At their minimum design height I'm not sure it'll sit as low as I want for the ride height so I may add two inch blocks to lower it without collapsing the bags under their design height. I definitly don't see how guys are using these bags with cups unless they want a near stock ride height.


Aired up.






Aired out. Should sit slightly lower once the weight of the bed is on the frame






More frame rust.








What's with all that mess on the floor?




Might have something to do with this?




Yep, I decided to box the frame rails. The truck won't ever get finished if I keep heaping more and more on the "to do" list! This will strengthen the frame and make it easier to mount the X member. The front will be boxed up to the steering box but I'll need to figure out a way to keep the crossmember and control arm hardware accessible.






Unfortunately after all that hard work, adding the cardboard plates didn't add as much structural rigidity as I had hoped they would. And after thinking about it more, if they ever got wet they'd lose some of their strength, so I decided I'll have to step up and get 1/8" plate cut to fit and welded in. Better not take any short cuts at this point, right?

I've been researching X member designs and found one that I like. It's got a solid tube as the center section. Round tubing is very strong against torsional twisting so this design should limit frame flex better than an open square shaped design. I'll start a separate thread on X member designs and frame bracing to get more input before I decide on a final design. Also planning on using my tubing roller to arch the main tubes of the X member for more strength.


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