Wheel Alignment on a Fiver
I'm looking to have my fiver's wheels aligned before buying new tires. I just spoke with a guy at a big truck service (Wingfoot Goodyear) and he says most trailers are have straight axles with no adju...
Forum Discussion
This is likely wrong but:
Trailer axle alignment can be checked at reasonable cost and verified it is within specs before tire wear begins.
In our area shops that work on truck and trailer suspensions ("spring shops") do trailer alignments. The axles are bent to adjust the alignment.
The shop that aligned our 3 axle Carriage after I installed new tires charges $95 to hook up to the trailer with their tug, tow it in to the shop, rig the alignment equipment, measure and record the alignment, make recommendations if needed, hook up their tug, tow the trailer out to their customer lot and dolly it off.
If an alignment is needed that is by the hour. Our trailer did need alignment and the total cost was just over the value of one tire. ($400 or so).
After 2750 miles, the mold tits are still visible on the center axle tires, some still there on the lead axle, and they are gone off the rear axle set, which does the most scrubbing on sharp turns.
I pulled a project rebuild gooseneck 3 axle flatbed the other day that hasn't been to the alignment shop yet. It dog tracks about 4 inches in it's 30 ft length, and if you let go of the wheel the trailer straightens up and steers the tow vehicle to the right.
So alignment is do-able and important to how your rig drives and handles, not to mention the tire wear concern.
Trailer axle alignment can be checked at reasonable cost and verified it is within specs before tire wear begins.
In our area shops that work on truck and trailer suspensions ("spring shops") do trailer alignments. The axles are bent to adjust the alignment.
The shop that aligned our 3 axle Carriage after I installed new tires charges $95 to hook up to the trailer with their tug, tow it in to the shop, rig the alignment equipment, measure and record the alignment, make recommendations if needed, hook up their tug, tow the trailer out to their customer lot and dolly it off.
If an alignment is needed that is by the hour. Our trailer did need alignment and the total cost was just over the value of one tire. ($400 or so).
After 2750 miles, the mold tits are still visible on the center axle tires, some still there on the lead axle, and they are gone off the rear axle set, which does the most scrubbing on sharp turns.
I pulled a project rebuild gooseneck 3 axle flatbed the other day that hasn't been to the alignment shop yet. It dog tracks about 4 inches in it's 30 ft length, and if you let go of the wheel the trailer straightens up and steers the tow vehicle to the right.
So alignment is do-able and important to how your rig drives and handles, not to mention the tire wear concern.
