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Old 11-06-2020, 09:35 AM   #1
Theunz
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Correct track plates

If you have the correct track system on your suspension you might consider purchasing a couple of extra plates along with a wet bolt and nut in case you loose a bolt during your travels. If you loose a bolt then you will also loose the plates and since the bolt hole is slotted you can’t just stick a bolt in without the plates or the spring will be able to slide fore and aft.
They are available from Lippert for about $7 ea. I don’t know how easy it would be to locate a dealer that stocks them, but an internet search revealed no positive results from their sources.
I found myself in this situation 3 days before I was leaving on a short trip, so I fabricated a couple of rectangular plates in case the one’s I ordered didn’t arrive on time. Of course they arrived the evening before I was leaving. I’ll swap them out when I return
 
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Old 11-06-2020, 09:48 AM   #2
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Thanks! I'll do that since I have spare bolts and no plates.
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Old 11-06-2020, 02:40 PM   #3
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Your post has good advice for fiver owners with the correct track option. It seems each time someone brings up correct track, x factor, wet bolts, shocks, and air ride pin box posts, interest is born a new as people digest the content. I just want to remind people that correct track only allows parallel adjustment between each axle and squareness between those axles and the frame. Correct track will not do anything to correct camber or toe in issues both of which are also main contributors to tire wear and tracking issues.
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Old 11-07-2020, 07:10 AM   #4
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In my way of thinking, having the axles square to the frame does produce proper tracking. That is toe in/out. In this case both wheels at once per axle, not adjustable by individual wheel. Camber is what can't be adjusted with this system.
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Old 11-07-2020, 08:20 AM   #5
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Take my experience or question your local alignment shop. On a trailer axle, camber and toe in is built into the axle tube itself. Thats why you see an arch in the tube. The correct track only adjusts the mounting of the axles, it cannot adjust the axle camber or toe in. When a trailer alignment shop corrects alignment problems, they bend the tube for the camber and toe in
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Old 11-07-2020, 08:31 AM   #6
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I agree with you on how an alignment shop aligns. I've had that done. However, the plates adjust the axle, which in turn makes the wheels point forward, which is toe. In other words, makes the wheels point forward. So the plates do have adjustibility pertaining to (some) alignment. Now, if one wheel on an axle needs a toe adjustment then that's different.
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Old 11-07-2020, 08:38 AM   #7
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When correct track came out a few years back, I talked to a Lippert representative at one of the RV shows. He indicated that when the frames were built, sometimes the spring hangers were mislocated causing axles not to be parallel to one another and or not to be square with the frames. Correct was an attempt to more easily fix that for the RV owner. Think about this. Tow in is the front of each tire very slightly pointing toward each other say 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. There is no way adjusting the entire axle tube that will add or subtract to a toe condition. If you pull one side forward, the opposite side will pivot the opposite way slightly.
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Old 11-07-2020, 08:44 AM   #8
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Maybe try this explanation. Say you have an axle that has absolutely no toe in, both wheels point perfectly straight forward. You mount that axle on a trailer with correct track. No matter how you adjust the plates you will never get toe in from that axle. You will either have the entire axle pointing dead straight ahead or you will have the entire axle pointing out very slightly to the left or out very slightly to the right. (Dog tracking) If people reading this are still not convinced, I can't figure out a way to explain it any clearer.
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Old 11-07-2020, 09:51 AM   #9
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Maybe try this explanation...... If people reading this are still not convinced, I can't figure out a way to explain it any clearer.
You're correct.
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Old 11-07-2020, 10:33 AM   #10
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Since we’ve wandered off the correct track I’ll add my two cents. Let’s say you hit a big pot hole and slightly bent one side of your axle back a little. You could use the plates on that side only to force the axle back in position. You couldn’t move it a lot, but I bet there is enough flex in the axle to force it a quarter inch or so.
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Old 11-07-2020, 10:59 AM   #11
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Maybe try this explanation. Say you have an axle that has absolutely no toe in, both wheels point perfectly straight forward. You mount that axle on a trailer with correct track. No matter how you adjust the plates you will never get toe in from that axle. You will either have the entire axle pointing dead straight ahead or you will have the entire axle pointing out very slightly to the left or out very slightly to the right. (Dog tracking) If people reading this are still not convinced, I can't figure out a way to explain it any clearer.
Try this. Go out to your unit and measure from inside to inside of rims on one axle, both in front and in back. If those measurements are not EXACTLY the same, you will always have some form of toe it or out. The only way to correct that is to bend the axle tubes....
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Old 11-07-2020, 11:42 AM   #12
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OK, in the example of one wheel pointing inward and the other outward on the same axle, that would be a case of one wheel having toe out, the other toe in. Adjusting the axle with the plates could correct both toes at once. That's exactly what having adjustable plates is for. Aligning axle/wheels to point forward.

Now, if say one wheel takes a hit and throws out the toe, it would require an alignment shop to bring that one wheel back to alignment.

We may be saying the same thing to some degree.
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Old 11-07-2020, 11:51 AM   #13
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Just so everyone is aware there has never been an RV axle aligned from the factory or the dealer ever. They simply grab the parts bolt them together and send it out the door.
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Old 11-07-2020, 12:29 PM   #14
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I always like to wander "off track". Getting back on track ... Montana Man, I do think we are thinking the same way, just having a hard time convincing one another. Your example of an axle would work with the correct track, but the likelihood of one side being toed in and the other toed out equally would be rare. Generally on a tube axle concerning incorrect toe, you'll have one side in or out noticeably more than the other. Yes you may have 1/8" toe in in total on a given axle, but one side may be straight on and the other side the entire 1/8" toe in. From my alignment days, that axle will track oddly as you pull over uneven roads and the one toed in side will wear a bit more. On tandem axle setups, owners just don't notice when only one axle is out aside from tire wear because the good axle fights to make the trailer track straight. One other point ... don't try to visualize in your mind toe adjustments between say your steer axle on your truck to a trailer axle as there are no tie rods on a trailer axle nor are both spindles directly connected.
Theunz however will not convince me you'll force a bent axle into alignment with those little plates. Go to a trailer alignment shop and see what kind of chains and hydraulics it takes to bend the axle tubes on 7K on up axles. Likely all that will happen is the axle will pivot on the opposite side adding to the misalignment issue or the equalizer on that side will partially absorb what the plate is trying to do. But I'd guess I'd have to have a video of an alignment machine hooked to that axle to convince. I bid farewell for now as was pointed out ... I've caused this ship to veer way off course.
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Old 11-07-2020, 03:58 PM   #15
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Don’t leave now Dieselguy it’s just getting �� The axles are about 7 feet long and have fairly thin walls. It doesn’t take much to deflect one end of an seven foot tube. I have seen 40 foot by 12 foot 4 inch steel plate bend like a banana when picked up in the middle. Sure it will lay back flat when you set it down, just like the axle will when you take the tension off the end. Now to put a permanent bend in the axle like the alignment shops do, does indeed take a lot of pressure. I’m not saying that correct track is the greatest thing since pockets on shirts, but I do believe that it will correct SOME slight alignment problems.
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Old 11-11-2020, 06:19 PM   #16
Lee A Thorson
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I recently had my axles aligned. I had wear on both the outside and inside of all tires. He corrected both camber and caster. Next time out pulling into a headwind it seemed like the fuel mileage had improved by 1 or 2 mpg. It is a 2016 3720 pulled by a 2011 Dodge 3500 dually.
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Old 11-11-2020, 07:48 PM   #17
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I hope you are just misquoting what you're trying to say. There is no caster adjustment on trailer axles, only camber and toe. The alignment shop photos look like a reputable place. I surely hope he didn't tell you he adjusted caster.
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Old 11-12-2020, 06:49 AM   #18
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Outside and inside wear on all tires I would think would be an inflation issue, since camber will cause wear on only one side or the other.
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Old 11-12-2020, 08:20 AM   #19
Lee A Thorson
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Yes, Toe in not caster. Fuzzy head, I know the difference.
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Old 08-02-2022, 03:54 PM   #20
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Thanks! I'll do that since I have spare bolts and no plates.
@MontanaMan where did you find your spare wet bolts? Do you happen to have the part number? The Lippert Correct Track drawings only show dry bolts being used with the hexagonal cams. Thanks!
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