Axle alignment

[lcarter]

We had a blow out of one of those Chinese tires last fall. Since then we replaced all of the eight year old tires on a 2007 Montana.
Oh well, I since have discovered that the distance between the dual tires is at least 3/4 inches difference. We haven't been anywhere since replacement of the tires. No tread wear to check. Shouldn't these be about the same measurement?
How do you align axles? I'm thinking the blow out and subsequent pull off may have caused the problem if there is one?
Thanks for the input.
LCarter

[Dean A Van Peursem]

I'm a little confused by the "eight" year old tires on a 2007 model. We have been through the replacement of all 5 Mission Tires recently and since we were getting tread separation on both front tires we also became concerned about axle alignment. But ours was showing wear on only one side of the tread and tire dealers attributed that to the tread separation. When we arrived in the Phoenix area this fall during the tire tread separation episodes, we stopped at Camping World in Mesa, AZ to get the axle alignment checked. They couldn't do it but referred us to a close by shop that could. Apparently it takes a shop that has the specialized equipment to do the alignment check and repairs if needed. Not many shops do I have found out. Unfortunately we couldn't get a near term appointment at this shop so are going to have to do it when we head back to Seattle in April. Some other Montana owners have had axle alignment problems but many others haven't even amongst those that have all had Mission Tire failures. As I recall the alignment check is $150 for one axle and don't know what the repair cost will be. My memory may be bad on that number. I don't think the fact that there is a difference in spacing between the tires on one side of 3/4" on your unit is all that significant but I am far from an expert on these issues. I've noticed quite a variance on this measurement based on how the RV got parked and what surface it is on. Our unit has the Moryryde spring/axle mount feature which also allows some extra freedom of movement of the axles during turning and parking. After reading many different threads here on MOC about Mission tire failures I haven't drawn the conclusion that it is related to axle alignment at all. Just plain old bad Mission tires. But... if worried about it, a check at an alignment shop that has the right equipment is probably in order.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

My understanding, having dealt with some axle situation on our early 2004,

1.) places that work on BIG trucks (18 wheelers) do this kind of alignment.

2.) there is a place in Indiana that a lot of the manufacturers tell you to go that we cannot recommend, but have heard of a few other good ones, one which, I believe, was in or around Pensacola FL. No, I am not gonna name the bad place, you wanna know, email me.

3.) 3/4 inch is too much, IIRC, 1/2 inch was the tolerance. if I don't remember correctly, I am sure that someone will happen along here and correct the bad memory data.

4.) You must have the unit all lined up, as Dean points out. That means, get it in a parking lot and pull straight for a bit, not 10 foot, like 30 or more. THEN measure.

5.) If you have this done, pick a shop that will allow you to watch, or at least one where they will show you around the shop and show you the equipment they are gonna use.

6.) Again, IIRC, ours took less than 1 hour, and someone else we know had same job done and it took considerably longer.

7.) we paid back in 05ish time frame, $150.00 for both axles to be bent back into the proper camber.

8.) We were not pleased with the results of our work, but others have been, some of them did not go where we went.

9.) When the job is done correctly, and you eyeball the tires from the back of the rig, the two on the left and the two on the right, will be lined up. I am talking the veritical allignment, when viewed from in back of the rig and looking square on, it will look like there is one tire. One will not be toed in or out, both will be very close to straight up and down. Now, I know you cannot take a square to your tires, this is not woodworking, etc, but that is the theory I am trying so clumsily to explain.

But, to repeat what Dean said, as this is really quite important when you are measuring, BE SURE that rig and the tires are straight, pull it forward before measuring.

Good luck and up front appologies for my bad and ole leaky memory.

[capn chris]

I would just add to what's been said, based on our experience, keep an eye on all shackle bolt holes. Elongated ones will affect the camber, too. Believe me! That's why I now have Dexter EZ-Flex Equalizer and wet bolt system.

[OntMont]

Trailer alignment is different from car alignment. There are places that do this work, and any good RV dealer should know where they are in your area. We went to the one in Pensacola, and observed the process. There is a lot of manual measuring and bending involved. They had a special bay set up for just this purpose.

(The place we went also "true" tires. I believe that this almost a lost art, but instead of adding weights to the wheel to balance the tire, they put the tire on a sort of portable lathe that spins the tire while mounted on its axle, and cuts off any excess rubber that causes the tire to be "out-of-round". It was an interesting process to observe, but I'm not sure that it could be applied to something like a Montana).

[lcarter]

Thanks for all the information. I have to back into my driveway at home. So the stress of manuvering in the driveway while backing in could hinder good measurement. Before we take our first trip this spring, I will go to a parking lot and re-measure. Dean all the tires on the ground were "Nankang tires" One of them literally exploded. When I checked the DOT manufactured year stamped on the tires, all of them were manufactured in 1999. That means that Keystone installed these tires on my 2007 Montana at the factory.
Thanks again for the information.
LCarter

[Dean A Van Peursem]

LCarter,

I think that data merits a call to Montana. Putting 8 year old tires on a new unit is unethical at best and probably illegal. Surely something that shouldn't be done. I don't know what the warranty would be on tires like that but if there is a 4 year warranty on them like Missions, they were out of warranty before they were installed on your unit. I'm really surprised Montana would even do that. Something doesn't compute. Wonder if the dealer did a swap?

[8.1al]

I'm with Al & Carol, don't go to the guy in Indiana, PM me and I'll give you his name too. If anyone is travelling thru St. George, Utah I can recommend a very good alignment shop there

[beakyfudd]

I've never checked the alignment on our 5ver or the trailer we had, but, as a past truck mechanic, I know we checked that alignment with a tool that was just two pieces of wood that slide next to oneanother to lengthen or shorten it. It had two rods, one at the end of each piece, that we would line up to the center of the wheel hub on one side. Then go to the other side to check that distance. If there is any difference, the axles will track in opposite directions causing a scrubbing action on the tires. I don't know what the tolerance is on this measurement. Just an FYI, the camber of a tire is the tilt of a tire from top to bottom.

[Clyde n Deb]

Go pull it first for a ways straight, as suggested. Then remeasure. I notice a difference in mine sometimes too, depending on how I had to maneuver into a parking spot. When I go to put my chocks on, the difference from the previous time is apparent.

[lcarter]

Clyde, that is how I first noticed the difference. I bought rotochocks and caught the difference when trying them out.
Checking out the distance between hubs is good idea.
Thanks,
LCarter