Match the tires before measuring the axles
A truck that pulls or wears tires unevenly is usually booked for an alignment, and often the alignment is the cause. Sometimes it is not, and the tires themselves are producing a symptom that looks exactly like an alignment fault.
The usual culprit is a mismatch. Dual tires on the same side of a drive axle are meant to have nearly the same diameter. When one is new and its partner is half worn, or one is a different make with a slightly different size, the larger tire carries more of the load and the smaller one scrubs along beside it. The pair wears fast and unevenly, and the truck may pull toward one side.
The same thing happens across an axle. Tires of noticeably different tread depth on the left and right of a drive axle can push the truck off a straight line, and no alignment setting will correct it.
Check this before you book
- Duals matched. Compare tread depth on each pair. A large difference within a pair is worth correcting first.
- Same size and type across each axle, left and right.
- Pressures equal within each dual pair, set cold.
If the tires check out and the truck still pulls or wears unevenly, the alignment is the right next step, and the measurement will be reading the truck rather than its tires.
Bring the trailer too
A trailer out of square pushes the tractor off line. Trailer alignment is at this store, and so is tire and wheel balancing for a vibration that is neither. The national heavy-duty truck alignment page covers what the measurement includes.
Other stores nearby
About this store
The Tucson store runs seventeen services and is managed by Mark Laster.
See the national heavy-duty truck alignment page for all 40 locations.