Align between seasons, not during them
A truck hauling for an agricultural operation does its damage in a concentrated period. It runs loaded, repeatedly, often on a mix of pavement and field roads, and then it stops for months.
That pattern is ideal for alignment, if you use it. The time to measure a truck is after the hauling season, when the tires carry the evidence of what just happened and the unit can be spared for a day. Fix it then, and the next season starts straight.
The alternative is what most operations do: notice the steer tires are finished at the start of the season, replace them under time pressure, and run the new set through the same fault.
Loaded is the condition that matters
A truck that runs loaded one way and empty the other behaves differently in each direction, because weight changes how the suspension sits.
A unit with marginal geometry can be nearly straight empty and out of line loaded, which is the half of the trip where the miles and the weight are. Measuring on a rack is the only way to settle that, because driving it empty will tell you nothing is wrong.
What gets measured
Steer axle angles, drive axle alignment, and the relationship between them. That last one produces a truck running slightly crabbed, which costs fuel as well as rubber and generates no complaint from anybody.
Where the measurement points at a worn or bent component rather than an adjustment, the store will say so. Aligning around a worn part produces work that undoes itself.
The trailer
A trailer tracking crooked drags the tractor's drives sideways for every loaded mile. Trailer alignment is offered here, and measuring the combination is what identifies which end is at fault.
The casing
A steer scrubbed on one shoulder will not pass at the plant. This store collects casings for the Boise plant, so an alignment problem costs the tire and its retread value together.
About this store
The Twin Falls store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by Stefanie Bluemel. Boise and Idaho Falls Commercial also align heavy trucks.
See the national heavy-duty truck alignment page for all 40 locations.