how much down time?

okay im thinkin about doing my first bag job on my mazda. well i drive it daily and was wondering what kind of downtime would go into it if i was to do a bag over link that was pretty plain jane and then do the front, to lay out ofcourse. i know that i could split it up and do the front one weekend and do the back the next or something like that. i guess what im tryin to figure out is if i could do the front in one weekend and the back in another weekend. which i mean i can pretty much mock the whole four link and bag mounts and start welding them in and still drive the truck cuz i plan on leaving the leaves on while i weld the links in. i've done alot of welding and a descent bit of fabrication so its nothing new just to the whole bag thing. any help is appreciated and i've had so much help already so thanks. sorry so long

when i bagged my second mazda with a TON of help from friends we did it in 3 days. If your dedicated, have ALL the parts and a couple experienced buddies near by you can knock it out quickly. Now if your going for neatness please take your time. But if your looking to just have it done.. it can be done quicker. I bought my 2nd truck for 500 bux and didn't care too much about the quality of the bag install. It was safe.. but the bed and inner fenders looked kinda ragged out cause we didn't take out time to do clean cuts. Oh.. also make sure you have a plasma torch for the install. If your going to be cutting everything w/ a saw zaw and an angle grinder.. your looking at a lot more time and wear.
Mike

I did a friends truck in 8 days not including welding in new wheel tubs or recovering the box back in. Like Mullet says as long as you have every thing and take care in what you are doing it shouldn't take you to long but don't rush it you should be able to knock out the whole front end in a day and the rear in a weekend but don't rush it as when you are done people are going to be looking at it.

Eh, I have'nt done bags myself, but when I think about it, the only "down time" you should have is when you have no suspension because of installing the bags. I think the rest can be done while driving the truck.

I think the problems you may face is:

1. Measuring!
2. Test-fitting
3. Bag install

I bet these would help hinder you from driving your truck on the day you are doing these. I think you should do one thing at a time and do it slowly. Take a day and do your notching. If you have time do your shock relocation. Anything that you can do without sacrificing your ride.

if you think it will take 4 days expect it to be in the shop for 8 days