Wheel Alignment questions

[Elsie72]

What would be a reasonable expectation of what kind of time it should take to get a truck aligned?

I just got my truck back from the alignment shop, and when it was all said and done, it took the tech 4.5 hrs to get the alignment done. Granted, I had pulled out both lower control arms, and the caster wasn't where it needed to be when I put the arms back on, and he needed to add quite the stack of shims to get the camber back to spec. I'm just wondering if that amount of time is typical, or if most shops could get the job done in much less time than that?

I give the shop a break, because I'd be very surprised if they see one lowered vehicle in 3 years, and the service manager only charged me 1.5hrs of labour.

On another note, are there solid spacers available anywhere to take the place of the large stacks of shims now residing between my frame and upper control arms? I'd feel a little more secure if the majority of the stack of shims was taken up with a solid spacer.