I've got a class A motorhome on 2014 Ford F-59 commercial chassis.The front wheels are each wearing excessively on the outside edge, with feathering across the width of the tire, and the steering seems too flighty IMO where the vehicle wants to wander in the lane and requires constant steering corrections. It won't track straight on a straight road with no wind; it rapidly wanders off one way or the other. (I've never driven any other motor home though so maybe this is just normal?)Last summer I took the RV to three (3!) different places and couldn't get it properly aligned.The first place was a truck shop that said their drive-on-top alignment tool was broken today.The second place was a truck shop that said their attach-to-wheel-from-the-front alignment tool couldn't reach as the wheels are set deeper in the wheel wells than commercial truck would do.The third place was a ford truck dealer who happily claimed to align the tires. But I noticed no change at all in the driving and the bad wear pattern has continued getting worse, in the same way, since it was aligned.I haven't found any RV place that will do tire alignment. All the RV places I've called only want to work on the house, not the truck.How do you all pick a good shop to work on your mechanicals?Currently I'm located East of Seattle.Edit: I got the bad alignment done with the truck fully loaded for travel. I'm running at about 12,000 lbs on the rear axle, which is max rated load, and about 6000 lbs on the front axle (1000 lbs short of 7000 lbs max rated load on that axle)

You may want to find folks that work on tour busses. The reason I say that is here in Branson MO is a great place for all chassis work. They started out mainly for tour busses and are now more RV chassis folks. They have an alignment set up for larger busses etc. Good Luck

Assuming no worn parts (we don't know how many miles on it, or if chassis lubrication has been done as it should) there isn't much to a front end "alignment" on that chassis.With its solid front axle, CAMBER can only be changed by bending the solid axle.Caster can only be changed by adding/subtracting solid metal shims (and caster is really not a significant factor when it comes to tire wear)Toe- IN is really the only normal "adjustment". And, it can be checked with nothing more than a tape measure. No exotic machinery needed.Yes, to check rear axle to frame alignment to insure that the coach is not "dog tracking" which can also affect tire wear, is a little more complex.

You need to find an alignment/frame shopthat deals with trucks. Stay away from normal RV and Ford dealers.It would be good to know where you are at!

You are describing what my 2012 was doing. The day I brought it home 3 hours on the interstate it was a handful, darting to one side or the other. I did a tape measure alignment and found the toe out 5/8” I set it to 3/16 toe in and it became a completely different vehicle. No more constant steering input, you can drive with one hand if I wanted to. I would go under and measure the distance of the tires on the front of the tread and the back of the tread. The difference is the toe. Ford recommends 3/16-1/8” tow in.

Hunk of Cheese,I didn't see it mentioned here, but do you have the tires properly inflated for the load that they're carrying? Some places just air up the tires to the max inflation pressure on the tire, but that is often times over-inflated for the specific tire & RV/weight combination. I know on our rig that gave a very poor (hard) ride and made steering a bit squirrelly, especially on rough pavement. It definitely sounds like you need an alignment, but make sure the tires are aired up properly as well, if you haven't done so already. That's an easy and inexpensive fix, especially if you already have weighed the rig ready for travel. Safe travels,~Rick

Where to get steering alignment done for a class A?

22 Replies

jeromep
Explorer II
Sep 30, 2021
You say you are east of Seattle? Come to Yakima. The White Front Shop in Yakima, WA is locally recommended as the best place in our area to deal with large vehicle alignment and suspension issues. They seem to do all the alignment work for just about everyone's heavy trucks, motor homes, school buses, etc.
Rocky2
Explorer
Sep 29, 2021
Another source might be Brazel's in Centralia, Wa. Next down the road is Henderson's. If you make it to Southern California, Redlands Tire. All can do RV's, both alignments and repairs as needed.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Sep 29, 2021
Years ago Hendersons was recommended for alignment. When the subject comes up I've asked others about their experience. That's why I went there for shocks and a banging noise which resulted in watching and learning what they do and talking to other owners. I went in the pit as they and they explained what they were prying on and looking for, no problem. Alignment showed tow in problem and rear axle torque problem that was just out of spec and did not need resolution - cutting and rewelding involved.

From your post you might benefit from their Road Performance Assessment. Their work is pricey.
enblethen
Nomad
Sep 28, 2021
Experience!
I had Henderson's do my front end with their Bellcranks. Still good!
Eric's did my banks setup and chip.
Gail Banks works with Eric Davis.
Both have been in business for many years. Both have been improving poarts over OEM.
Hunk_of_Cheese
Explorer
Sep 28, 2021
enblethen wrote:
Closer but still a day trip would be Eric's
This time of year could be very busy!

How do you find these places and know that they are good?
enblethen
Nomad
Sep 28, 2021
Closer but still a day trip would be Eric's
This time of year could be very busy!
Hunk_of_Cheese
Explorer
Sep 28, 2021
CA Traveler wrote:
Hendersons Lineup has an excellent reputation and the only west coast place I would go to.

This is getting to the point of my post -- how did you find out that Henderson's Lineup has an excellent reputation?

I can't easily take minimum three days (+ possible extra in case of trouble) to get work done.

How can I find a place that's nearer to me that also has a good reputation? I can find lots of places near me but identifying their reputations in a trustworthy way is really hard.
down_home
Explorer II
Sep 28, 2021
Hunk of Cheese wrote:
Rick Jay wrote:
Hunk of Cheese,

do you have the tires properly inflated for the load that they're carrying? Some places just air up the tires to the max inflation pressure on the tire, but that is often times over-inflated for the specific tire & RV/weight combination. I know on our rig that gave a very poor (hard) ride and made steering a bit squirrelly, especially on rough pavement.

Argh. Yes, I have the tires aired properly -- I keep them all at 90 PSI, which is slightly higher than the tire manufacturer's recommendation for my weight. Tire mfr. recommends 80 PSI which is also the tire's minimum allowed inflation and I wanted to stay above the minimum.

When I first got my coach and took it in for inspection, the shop filled my tires to 140 PSI. Ride was so hard. I came back later after learning some stuff and tried to tell the guy he had made a mistake. The whole shop was immediately very angry, (I guess they had had this argument before.) and somebody sarcastically yelled at me "if 140 PSI wasn't the tire manufacturer's recommended pressure then why would they stamp it on the side of the tire?!". They waved away and didn't want to look at my PDF brochure from the tire manufacturer. Wow, that was frustrating.

De-airing the tires did help a lot with the squirrely but it's still there.

Behind the seat on the wall or elsewhere there should be a label with recommended tire pressure for the coach.Our coaches do not weigh 100,000 lbs and the sidewall molded in maximum pressures are for a semi. We had the pressure for our tires raised in 2012 when the bays were filled with things for our kids, out near Tucson.
What a mistakeI59 was real bad then and it nearly beat us to death...and loosened everything in the coach including screws in the shower, the washer/dryer half out of the cabinet and so on.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Sep 28, 2021
Hunk of Cheese wrote:
Rick Jay wrote:
Hunk of Cheese,

do you have the tires properly inflated for the load that they're carrying? Some places just air up the tires to the max inflation pressure on the tire, but that is often times over-inflated for the specific tire & RV/weight combination. I know on our rig that gave a very poor (hard) ride and made steering a bit squirrelly, especially on rough pavement.

Argh. Yes, I have the tires aired properly -- I keep them all at 90 PSI, which is slightly higher than the tire manufacturer's recommendation for my weight. Tire mfr. recommends 80 PSI which is also the tire's minimum allowed inflation and I wanted to stay above the minimum.
First load for travel, full water, propane and fuel then weigh each corner and check for significant side to side balance, correct as needed. Then using the heavest side for an axle use this valve to determine the CORRECT psi for that axle based on the tire manufactures load inflation table.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Sep 28, 2021
Your problems may be more than worn parts and alignment. Best to have a plan B for more than one day at Hendersons, just in case.