Short runs are harder on a truck than they look
A unit working the Mat-Su valley and the road to Anchorage does not accumulate highway miles the way a long-haul tractor does. What it accumulates instead is manoeuvring: yards, sites, loading areas, turns at low speed with weight on.
That work shifts alignment quietly, and because the mileage looks modest, the alignment tends to go unchecked for longer than it should. The tires are what eventually say so.
What the alignment covers
The steer axle angles, the drive axles relative to the frame, and how the unit tracks as a whole. A drive axle out of square makes the truck run slightly sideways down a straight road, scrubbing rubber off continuously.
Book it when:
- A set of steer tires is going on. Before, not after.
- Steer tires are wearing on one shoulder or feathering across the tread.
- The truck pulls or the wheel sits off center.
- Something has been hit hard, or suspension work has been done.
Trailers cannot be aligned in Alaska
No Purcell location in the state offers trailer alignment. It is worth knowing, because a trailer that tracks crooked drags the tractor's drive tires sideways for every loaded mile, and the driver feels nothing.
If the drive tire wear does not match what the tractor's own geometry explains, mention it when you book. The store can tell you what is worth doing here.
The tires are on site
This store carries eight tire categories and shares its address with the Purcell distribution location holding all nine for the state. If an alignment turns up tires that have to be replaced, the chances of the size being available here are better than anywhere else in Alaska.
About this store
The Wasilla commercial store is managed by Colton Savage and also offers 24-hour roadside assistance, fleet services, car and light truck alignment and tire and wheel balancing. No general vehicle repair is performed at any Alaska location.
The same service elsewhere in Alaska
- Heavy-Duty Truck Alignment in Anchorage, AK, (907) 276-7515.
- Heavy-Duty Truck Alignment in Fairbanks, AK, (907) 479-3399.
See the national heavy-duty truck alignment page for all 40 locations.