Farm and equipment trailers wear tires too
Trailer alignment is usually talked about in terms of over-the-road vans and reefers. Around Franklin County a lot of the trailer miles belong to something else: gooseneck stock trailers, flatbeds hauling hay or equipment, and tandem trailers that run from field to road and back again.
Those trailers spend part of their life on surfaces a highway trailer never sees. A field entrance with a deep rut, a gravel lane with a washout, a loading area with a drop at the edge. Each of those puts a sideways load on the axles that pavement does not, and over a season it can move an axle out of square with the frame.
The result looks the same as on any trailer: tires wearing unevenly from one side to the other, a trailer that sits slightly off line behind the truck, and a tow vehicle that feels a constant faint pull. On a farm trailer it often gets blamed on the tires or the road for years.
Signs worth checking
- Uneven wear across an axle, with one tire worn more on its inside or outside edge.
- A pull on the tow vehicle that appears only with that trailer hooked up.
- Tires that wear out long before the miles suggest they should.
- A known impact, such as a hard drop into a rut or a ditch edge with a load on.
Before you book
Call ahead with the trailer type, the number of axles and the suspension it uses, so the store can confirm it can be measured here. Check the pressures across every tire first, since a low tire can produce the same wear and is free to fix.
If the tow vehicle is a truck that also needs attention, heavy-duty truck alignment is offered here, and a trailer on a fleet account can have its measurement recorded. The national trailer alignment page covers what the measurement includes.
About this store
The Washington store runs seventeen services and is managed by Kurt Kottwitz.
See the national trailer alignment page for all 36 locations.