The machine, the certification and the time
Bay 12 has a Hunter HawkEye XL, Hunter’s heavy-duty alignment system. Long-range HD cameras read non-electric 3D XL targets hung on the wheels, and the system measures three axles at once, so a tractor’s steer axle and both drive axles come up on one screen in one pass. No electronics on the targets means nothing on the wheel to drop, charge or calibrate.
Sam’s is a Hunter Certified Alignment Center and a NAPA Certified Truck Care Center. The alignment itself usually takes one to two hours for a tractor during shop hours, Monday to Friday 8 to 5. Trailers take longer because the measurement includes the kingpin and each trailer axle’s thrust angle.
That is the whole pitch. The rest of this page is what the alignment fixes and what it cannot.
What it fixes
- The truck pulls to one side on a flat road. Usually a camber or caster split on the steer axle, or a drive axle out of thrust.
- Steer tires wearing on the inside or outside edge. Toe. A toe problem can scrub a new set of steer tires in a few months.
- Steering wheel off-center. Toe set unevenly side to side, or a drive axle pushing the tractor crooked.
- Vibration or wander at highway speed. Sometimes alignment, sometimes a bent wheel or a tire out of round; the measurement tells which.
- Trailer dog-tracking in the mirror. Trailer axles out of parallel with the kingpin. Scrubs trailer tires and costs fuel.
On a tractor-trailer, fuel economy and steer tire life follow directly from how straight the rig rolls. Rolling resistance goes up when any axle is dragged sideways by the others. We do not print a percentage because your number depends on your tires, your routes and how far out the truck was.
What a total-vehicle alignment covers
Steer axle: camber, caster, toe, and the steering gear centered.
Drive axles: thrust angle and scrub angle for each, parallel to each other and square to the frame. Most pulls that survive a steer-axle-only alignment at another shop are here.
Trailer axles: each axle’s alignment to the kingpin and to each other. Shims or adjustable torque rods as the trailer design allows.
We print the before and after readings and they go on your invoice.
Vehicles the HawkEye XL handles
Class 6 straight trucks through Class 8 tractors and trailers: semi-tractors, straight trucks, box trucks, delivery vehicles, trailers, buses, RVs and specialty vehicles.
What it cannot fix, and what we do about it
An alignment is a set of angles. It cannot hold if the parts that hold the angles are loose. Before we adjust anything we check:
- King pins and king pin bushings for play.
- Tie rod ends and drag link.
- Steering gear mounting and the steering shaft.
- Wheel bearings and endplay.
- Spring pins, bushings, hangers and U-bolts.
- Torque rods and air ride bushings on the drive axles.
- Tire pressure and matched tire sizes on dual positions.
If something is worn, we tell you before the alignment, with the price for the part, because aligning around a bad king pin is charging you for a job that will not last the week. Most steering and suspension parts for common axles are on our NAPA shelf, so the repair and the alignment usually happen in the same visit.
A bent axle or a frame that is out of square gets measured and reported. Frame work goes to the welding and fabrication bay.
When to schedule it
- New steer tires. Align first, then mount the tires, or you have put edge wear on a new set.
- After any steering or suspension repair, including spring replacement or a collision.
- Any time you see a pull or edge wear.
- About once a year as a check, or on the interval your OEM schedule gives. Catching a toe drift at a PM costs an hour. Catching it at a tire change costs tires.
Where and how
820 Matzinger Rd in north Toledo, a mile off I-75 exit 207 (Stickney Ave), minutes from I-280 and the Michigan line. We draw from Toledo, Maumee, Perrysburg, Sylvania, Bowling Green, Findlay and southeast Michigan, and from drivers off the Ohio Turnpike who would rather fix the pull before it costs a steer tire somewhere in Indiana.
Call for the current rate. Book with the 30-second request form or call (419) 724-2475, and say whether it is tractor only, trailer only or the combination, so the bay time is right.