Front bags?

When I'm setting up to mount my front bags, do I measure the mount from the LCA and go with the full compression measurement or give it a half inch extra? This is with Slam re7's by the way.

no.. you weld in your lower bag mount.. jack up your suspension till your wheel/tire is higher then the frame.. measure up 3" from that and that is where the upper bag mount goes.. that way when laid out, you are fully compressed.

its with CanDo arms, so its just a plate on the bottom. So I push my LCA all the way up and then go 3" from there, correct?

yes

I'd bolt the bag to the LCA with the upper bolted in, jack up the wheel all the way, compress the bag and tack it in.
strip it , gusset it, and weld her in.
But what do I know, I have I-beams haha.

sorry man, but compressing a slam bag by hand, let alone holding it all in place, isnt happening.. 3" is their number compressed.. actually its 2.9" till the bumpstop.. so you're good with 3.

I was thinking the same thing about compressing them by hand, so I'll just go with a 3" piece of tubing to use. It makes sure the mounts stay squared to the LCA as well I'm guessing.