rear bag location..... over axle vs. over bars

as im getting ready to do my measurements i was debating over the location of the bags. ive read that installing the bags on the bars makes the truck ride "softer" than mounted on the axle...... not including the extra lift you get.

thing is my pondering lies on how much softer it rides? obviously if you have em set at rock hard max pressure anything is gonna ride rough, but does it really make that much of an uncomfortable ride if i place em on the axle? i just wanna know if it'll be softer or harder then my lowering springs if i mount them on the axle. as it is, i think it rides decent with the springs it has but ive never ridden in any bagged mini.......

i can probably do either or but axle mounted is likely gonna be the easiest way for me with the way i want it set up (not have to move tank and such). what do you guys think?

Convoluted bags on the axle just don't ride that great. They aren't really designed too. The spring rate is much stiffer, and its only soft enough to ride well about an inch off the ground. With them on a link bar, you can drive around 6-8 inches and it will still ride the same, and still drive an inch off the ground with a good quality ride. But a sleeve style bag will ride well over the axle because thats how it is deigned to be mounted.

I've ridden in trucks with BOA and bag on bar, and there is no comparison. But the ride quality of sleeve BOA setups is almost identical to a bag on bar setup. Personally, I will never own a truck with a convoluted bag on the axle. Its not terrible, but after a while its just annoying and riding in something else is a nice treat.

ok... seems like ill need to go ahead and rethink that over axle then...

Mine are on my bars and it rides great. My buddy has an s10 with the sleeve style bags over his axle and it rides like shit and I'm not saying that because it's my truck because he's admitted it himself that mine rides better than his.

yea.... ive tossed back and forth over it...... i was gonna do it over the axle because its a bit less expensive but i had a gut feeling i should ask before i commit and find out later.

i have everything else pretty much set..... my schedule is gonna change at work so ill be able to afford the down time on the truck and ride the bike to work instead..... this will give me more time to figure how im gonna do this.

since im gonna do bag over bars style.... im gonna use square bars and an adjustable wishbone top. imma order a link kit from suicidedoors.com to lessen my chances of screwing up.

the way im looking at it, i have two choices.... either move my tank to the rear and run the bars forward, or run the tank where it sits (preferably) and run the bars off the rear. the only thing im running into however is where to mount all my air equipment. i have 2 5 gallon tanks and a compressor that are gonna need room to sit at and id prefer not to lose the use of my bed by placing them in a position where i lose bed space.......... unless you guys have any suggestions?

I've ridden in trucks set up all ways, and I must say bag on bar is my favorite. Sleeves are next to that. But shocks will determine the ride quality more than most people think. A good shock can make or break a suspension system.

And heres an idea for locating stuff.

thats..................................... alot of blue. haha!

in all seriousness though ive seen alot of setups and i think that yours is by far the cleanest setup. i think imma lay mine out as you have it.

my main concerns were the tank.... i reeeeally dont wanna move it if at all preventable, and i also want to run my exhaust all the way out the back so i'd want to keep enough room around the whole thing to give my exhaust guy enough room to route it.... keeping all this in mind i would still need the room to install everything. i didnt think about doing the link setup like you did (upper wishbone forward, laterals rearward)

wish you werent so far up so i could see your truck up close in person....

Actually its a forward 3-link with two rear lift bars. The lift bars are on shackles so they don't affect the axle location, just lift. I wouldn't run a 50/50 setup.

Also heres a Toyota 3-link I just finished up. Improved on my original design for a production kit.








Its offset so the front can be mounted lower and keep good link geometry and not be influenced by the drive shaft.

Actually those are the bars that the bags ride on. His lowers go forward like the upper. You don't want a 50/50 set up, thats asking for trouble.

I have a reverse 4link on mine. Tank in stock location other than raised. I have a 3gal, and 5gal tank. The 5gal is inside the frame opposite the fuel tank. The 3gal is outside the frame at the rear.