Alignment is cheap, steer tires are not
A tractor out of alignment drives acceptably while it destroys rubber. There is no warning light and usually no complaint from the driver. What there is instead is a set of steer tires coming off months early, and a fuel figure that has drifted up with no change in route or load.
In Alaska that arithmetic is sharper than elsewhere, because the replacement tires have further to travel and cost more to get here.
What gets checked
On a heavy unit, alignment is not two angles on one axle. It is the relationship between the steer axle, the drive axles and the frame, and how the whole unit tracks down the road.
The usual symptoms that bring a truck in:
- Steer tires wearing on one shoulder, or feathering across the tread.
- A pull to one side, or a steering wheel that sits off center on a straight road.
- Drive tires wearing unevenly across an axle.
- Tires being pulled early across the fleet with no obvious cause.
Before the new tires, not after
The most common and most expensive sequencing mistake in commercial tire work is fitting a new set and aligning afterwards. The new tires then spend their first miles correcting the problem that destroyed the last set, and the wear pattern is established before anybody notices.
Book the alignment first. If both are due, say so when you call so the store can plan the order.
Trailers are a different question in Alaska
No Purcell location in Alaska offers trailer alignment. That matters because a trailer that tracks crooked drags the tractor's drive tires sideways for every loaded mile, and aligning the tractor alone fixes half the problem.
If drive tire wear does not match what the tractor's alignment explains, mention it. The store can tell you what is worth doing locally and what is not.
About this store
The Anchorage store is a commercial location managed by Ty Jordan, carrying seven tire categories and offering 24-hour roadside assistance, fleet services, car and light truck alignment and tire and wheel balancing. No general vehicle repair is performed here.
The same service elsewhere in Alaska
- Heavy-Duty Truck Alignment in Fairbanks, AK, (907) 479-3399.
- Heavy-Duty Truck Alignment in Wasilla, AK, (907) 376-4755.
See the national heavy-duty truck alignment page for all 40 locations.