trailer tire/axle alignment
One of our 19' travel trailer tires is wearing unevenly and the RV repair place says we need an alignment of both axles. THis will cost about $$400-$500 so I'd like to know just how often we should ha...
Forum Discussion
First off, there is no such thing as an axle alignment/adjustment.
At least not like a car.
Axles are either installed properly, or they are not.
And Axles are either bent, or they are not.
Good axles installed properly are in alignment.
If you happen to bend one somehow, then the alignment will be off.
Some shops will bend it back for you, calling it a alignment.
I am not a fan of this approach. Bending metal weakens it. Bending it back into shape weakens it more..If axle became bent that didn't experience some pretty severe abuse, then I would install stronger axles. Axles are surprisingly cheap. Less than some of the alignment prices I see quoted here.
At any rate, IMO the proper fix is a new axle, not one that has been bent twice or more.
If you have good axles that were installed wrong, then the alignment will be off. Some shops will bend them into shape as well, calling this a alignment. It is not IMO. What that does is give you axles that are bent. If a axle becomes damaged at some point (spun bearing, large impact etc.) then the replacement will have to be bent to match the old one.
The proper fix for this is to cut off the spring hangers and weld them in the proper locations. Leave the unbent axles unbent.
Then a damaged axle could be replaced with a new one, and the alignment will be right.
From what the OP states, he has axles that are not installed properly.
That is why his new heavy duty axles needed to be bent to achieve alignment..It is also likely the reason they bent again,(out of alignment) as the first bending,,,weakend them.
Now having said all that...There is a member here (Jbarca???) that has made a custom bracket for adjusting one aspect of alignment, and I recently saw a product that will allow some adjustment as well as a small lift.
So there are some ways to get around bending of the axles to align them.
At least not like a car.
Axles are either installed properly, or they are not.
And Axles are either bent, or they are not.
Good axles installed properly are in alignment.
If you happen to bend one somehow, then the alignment will be off.
Some shops will bend it back for you, calling it a alignment.
I am not a fan of this approach. Bending metal weakens it. Bending it back into shape weakens it more..If axle became bent that didn't experience some pretty severe abuse, then I would install stronger axles. Axles are surprisingly cheap. Less than some of the alignment prices I see quoted here.
At any rate, IMO the proper fix is a new axle, not one that has been bent twice or more.
If you have good axles that were installed wrong, then the alignment will be off. Some shops will bend them into shape as well, calling this a alignment. It is not IMO. What that does is give you axles that are bent. If a axle becomes damaged at some point (spun bearing, large impact etc.) then the replacement will have to be bent to match the old one.
The proper fix for this is to cut off the spring hangers and weld them in the proper locations. Leave the unbent axles unbent.
Then a damaged axle could be replaced with a new one, and the alignment will be right.
From what the OP states, he has axles that are not installed properly.
That is why his new heavy duty axles needed to be bent to achieve alignment..It is also likely the reason they bent again,(out of alignment) as the first bending,,,weakend them.
Now having said all that...There is a member here (Jbarca???) that has made a custom bracket for adjusting one aspect of alignment, and I recently saw a product that will allow some adjustment as well as a small lift.
So there are some ways to get around bending of the axles to align them.
