75 Dually Project - 22s and stylin

Looking good man! Just keep hacking away at little goals and you will be done before you know it! Keep up the good work!

So I am starting round 2! Got the drivers side on the table. Had to get all the water out of the shop first, we had 3" in 1 hour last night! Holy cow! So the shop got some leakage under the main door, and I got the job to clean it all up... Them's the breaks.

I also was looking through Craigslist last night and saw a guy parting out a square single cab. So after work today I went by and picked up this tailgate for $40 bucks. OK I know I just finished my other one, but I really wanted the version with the stainless trim across the rear, and this one was in pretty good shape. So I will pull it off and metal work it back into better shape. Then all I have to due to the blue tailgate is sand it down, primer it, and then shoot some color. Easy right!

If the weather permits I will get the drivers side all torn down and the gas hole welded up. Then I can get on that fender and knock this side out.

Stay tuned!

After all the Honey-do's today I got into the shop and with the help of my son we tore down the drivers side. Once we got the dually fender off I stripped all the trim off and then welded up all the holes. I also made a plate to cover up the old fuel outlet and welded it in place, and I welded up all the holes someone had made in the bed rail too. After that I cleaned up all the welds and then metal worked them in preparation for the body filler. Lots of clanging and banging in the shop today, glad my neighbors are so cool...

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Next is the dually fender, which was in better shape than I originally thought. Time to clean it up and get some primer on it.

Exactly what do you plan to do with these?? They go with the 73-80 style molding that you originally had but now you have the 88-91 front. You might as well sell me those

Also, do you think you have enough space to center your airbags over the rear link bar? I'm trying to figure out would I have enough space to run a 4 link with 4 semis with this setup

I be glad to sell you those trim pieces. Do you also need the bed stainless as well? I have both sides, but what I don't have is the front dually fender molding. They are hard to find in good shape. PM me and shot me a price if you want those rear pieces and the other trim.

About the air bags... Mine are centered over the axle and not the link bars. If you want the strongest place to put your bags it is centered over the axle. Hope that helps!

A little bit of progress here and there. Been working on the drivers side body work tonight. Just a couple of spots to clean up, and then I will shoot it's first coat of primer.

Next is the dually fender... Glad it is cooling down some.

Well I actually got something accomplished today on the truck. I was having a heck of a time trying to get the Accuair to calibrate. The tech guys at Accuair are super to work with by the way. The problem I was having was that I was starting the calibration when the truck was completely on the ground air'd out. So with some trial and error we figured out that I needed to start the sequence with it at ride height, and it did the trick. Now it is up and fully running, THANKS Shea at Accuair, you're the best!

Now I can get onto the body work... Hope to have all the rear bed parts in primer by tomorrow night.

How fast does the truck react to the accuair? Been wanting to run their valves, but don't want it too slow trying fill up the big bags

That is an interesting question. From what I understand the Accuair 3/8" valve reacts very quickly for what it is, and that is coming from Brandon Carter who just finished his dually and has their complete 3/8" system. Had I known now what I have experienced so far I probably would have just purchased the 3/8" Accuair valve and moved on, but I thought having a 1/2 valve would be better.

Let me explain... The issue here lies with how fast their ECU can read the data from the sensors. It simply cannot deal with the speed of a 1/2" system feeding the bags we use. So I had to use a ball valve on the exhaust manifold of the valve, and have played around with the speed of drop to get the system to read properly.

I am sure that a 3/8" system is fine for most folks, but for the duallies we build I feel that you need a greater air volume in order to raise these heavier vehicles quicker. I don't like the idea of waiting on a slow system to catch up when I have a pot hole coming up in the road, or a speed bump, or whatever the road throws at us. A 1/2" system in my opinion is better able to handle the quick responses that I feel we require for a fully functional air ride system. This is a belly button opinion and I am sure other will disagree, again this is only my opinion.

I know I have a hybrid system, and maybe I will need to change some components to better suit the whole system. The Accuair system right now is I feel the best unit on the market. Plus the whole iLevel system integration is excellent and works fantastic. I just wish I did not have to go to another supplier for my valve because making everything work seamlessly just takes more time and effort. We shall see in the end if it was worth it or not...

My recommendation for someone who just wants plug and play, go buy the entire Accuair system because you are going to be super happy with the product, the support after the sale, and the overall package.

Ok, so you have 1/2 valves non accuair. Didn't read that part. I have have however that the system adapts to your truck and components. Which means it will figure out your large dump valves the first few miles of using it. But the ball valves can work too.

My worry is the same as yours, fast enough to lift up out of trouble and get over obstacles in a timely manner. But I do love the plug and play ability of accuairs valve block.

I ran 1/2" up and 3/8" down on my body dropped full size and worked well too so I guess I'll just have some thinking to do