Alignment or ?

[Sumo]

Ok, I got the 5th wheel back from the trailer shop. They "straighten front and rear trailer axles, adjusted camber and toe .0089".

The worn tire was straight everything else was out of whack.

I than headed to the tire shop to have the tires balance and switch the new spare to the worn tire. My account is $327.00 lighter. But I ready to hit the road.

 

[TeJay]

Sumo,
Thanks for the update. For what it's worth I think you'll be OK. I don't now how much you know about alignments but what they did makes sense. Standing on the side of a tire CAMBER is the tilt towards or away from you. Looking down on a tire TOE is the angle of the tire in or out. Those two alignment angles can be adjusted on a straight or fixed axle by bending the axle. That's what you said they did and that's good. CASTER is different. Standing on the side of a tire visualize a rod (kingpin)running down behind the tire. When that rod is attached to the steering knuckle it provides two pivot points, one at the top and one at the bottom so the tire can turn. Now tilt the top of the rod back. That tilt places the bottom of the tire forward. That relationship can't be fixed by bending an axle. CASTER is the alignment angle that makes the steering wheel return to the center after a turn. The extra weight placed forward is what does it. In other words. If they told you that they also adjusted caster I would be suspect concerning their abilities. If what they adjusted was done correctly you'll know after several trips.

TeJay

 

[Bob&Patty]

Tejay, "kingpin"....boy are you dating yourself. Yes I am old....and know about that term. Kingpin inclanation (spelling) can raise havic if not set properly. The statement about tire wear on left and right turns.....think about it. A left turn signal turns green and you accelerate to lets say 25MPH + to make the turn. Right turns you either have to slow down or turn slowly to make them. BTW, on my "fruitcar" the right side drivers alway worn out before the left side. You are putting power to the drive axles and the right side tires is always trying to push the weight up hill depending on how much "crown" there is. 2 lane roads are worse that an interstate with 2-3 lanes. I was younger then....so... I asked an OL' trucker about it. "Yep son, thats the way it is" was his answer.

 

[Sumo]

Thank you for all the input, I now know more about tire, axle, toe and camber than I did before.
I suspect that because the shop works a big trucks and trailer that the computer line item used was "camber and toe". Not that I knew the difference before reading TeJays post.
The true test will be the 3000 plus miles I plan on putting on the 5th wheel this summer.

 

[TeJay]

Bob,
Yep I turned 68 last month but I just thought king pin would be easier than struts or A-frame and ball joint.

Sumo,
All I've ever tried to do is to inform, educate etc so people won't waste money on things they don't need. There are a lot of good shops and a lot of bad ones. If you have some information before you go in to a shop then it might help to avoid those bad guys. My Son-in-law called me from Denver once and told me that a local shop was trying to tell him that he needed new brakes. We had just serviced them 6 months before. I advised him to get out of there ASAP. I'm only an e-mail away if people want some information. There are a lot of guys on this forum that know a lot of stuff and most if not all are willing to share that knowledge.
I hope it works out and as you said you'll know after your next long trip.

TeJay