A crabbed truck has less to give on a slick road
Alignment is normally discussed as a tire cost, which is accurate for most of the year. In winter it is worth thinking about differently.
A truck running out of line is already using some of its available grip to resist going where the geometry is pointing it. On dry pavement there is plenty of grip and nobody notices. On a wet, packed or icy surface, where the total available is a fraction of what it was, that is a share of a much smaller number being spent before the driver asks for anything.
It also means a unit that handled winter acceptably last year and feels less settled this year is worth measuring rather than attributing to conditions. Something may have changed underneath it.
Check the before and after figures
Worth asking for whatever the season: the readings taken before the adjustment and the readings afterwards.
That is not a formality. It tells you how far out the unit actually was, which is the information that lets you decide how often this particular truck needs doing. A unit that was barely out after two years does not need the same interval as one that was well out after six months, and the second is usually telling you about a worn component rather than about alignment.
What gets measured
Steer axle angles, drive axle alignment, and the relationship between them. The last of those is what produces a truck running slightly crabbed, which is quiet, constant, and expensive in both fuel and rubber.
Where the readings point at a worn or bent component rather than an adjustment, you get told. Aligning around a worn part produces work that undoes itself.
The trailer and the casing
A trailer that tracks crooked drags the tractor's drives for every loaded mile; trailer alignment is offered here. A steer scrubbed on one shoulder will not pass at the Denver plant, so the loss is the tire and its retread value together.
About this store
The Loveland store runs sixteen services, carries all nine Purcell tire categories, opens at 7:00 AM, and is managed by Joe Servin. Denver and Colorado Springs also align heavy trucks.
See the national heavy-duty truck alignment page for all 40 locations.