Custom 06 extended cab air travel lift system

Hi guys, my name is Quan I’ve got a 06 extended cab tundra that I have hopes of building a 17 inch to 22 inch air travel suspension lift for now I have welding experience so that’s not necessarily my issue. My biggest thing is there’s not a lot of videos out, showing a full in-depth build process of a four link or even a custom lift at that unless I’m just dumb and haven’t looked hard enough and please feel free to mention some video links but main concerns are dimensions of my cradle, the link arms, the arch things they get built on the axles themselves and things of that nature, like what are proper cradle arms, and axle dimensions if there is a standard, of course(which I will end up doing F250 axle swaps, front and rear) and when it comes to the link arms when I’m running bags or an air lift what’s better just the standard rides or can I run the blocky looking arms that people put overlays on or is it even possible to run a mixture of the two because I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that as well when it comes to the frame of the truck itself where the cradle normally goes from wheel well to wheel well it’s roughly 55 to 60 or so that’s a flat surface and just by eyeballing it it looked like 24 to 30 inches was a safe distance for a cradle but again wasn’t sure would definitely need more opinions and if I was doing the cradle based off those measurements from the cradle socket to wherever I would mount it on the front axle and back axle it was 55 to 70 inches and I’m sure I’ll have to go more in depth as not all of this may make complete sense because again I don’t exactly know what I’m talking about but this is a project that I would like to take on for myself, and kind of come out with something unique and different in the show truck world so please feel free to leave. Comment suggestions or other aspects of the lift I probably left out thank you

 

Welcome from NY.
Good luck with your build.

 

Seems quite the undertaking for someone with no experience doing so. Gotta start somewhere I guess? Good luck with your build.

 

Hi Quan! There's tons of 3 and 4 link calculators available online. I dunno if you're planning on 4 link both from and rear, but if you are, a 4 link front usually requires a bucnh of lift and a WHOLE bunch of space for that 4th link to fit. For that reason, most everyone uses a 3 link in the front. I suppose a 17"-22" lift you give you that clearance though. Airbags are going to be much wider than coilovers, so fitting them around all the links and other bits could be very challenging. F250 axles are plentiful, so no problems there. I can only assume that with a sky high lift that you want at least 48" tires? I don't know if the F250 axles would be strong enough for them, but if it's a show truck then it doesn't matter. Linking a Tundra would be no different from any other vehicle out there. The first thing to do is cut ALL the current suspension brackets, shock towers, steering brackets, ect from the frame. Remove the fuel tank (because you probably won't be able to use it with you links. Steering should be pretty easy since you'll have go hydraulic. Plan to spend around $20k for all the parts. You're labor is free, so you're good there.

I'm not sure what you're referring to as the "cradle", "arch things", or "cradle sockets". I know you said you wanted to create something unique for a show truck, but maybe start out with something a bit more simple, such a solid axle conversion (with the same F250 axles and 42" tires)? If done nicely, it will still snap necks.