Alignment and Balancing: Hassle, or Worth the Hustle?
Many fleets dread the downtime. But according to Rush Truck Centers, front-end alignments can be done in as little as 90 minutes. Photo: Rush Truck Centers
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Many fleets dread the downtime. But according to Rush Truck Centers, front-end alignments can be done in as little as 90 minutes. Photo: Rush Truck Centers
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There are always trade-offs when it comes to maintenance practices, and tires are no different. In a perfect world, every fleet would take the time and spend the money to make sure its trucks’ tires were properly aligned and balanced. But trucks are heavy – and the kinetic forces that surge through a suspension after hitting one good pothole are many times stronger than anything a passenger car ever has to deal with. That one pothole can undo an alignment job in a split second. So why bother?
The same philosophy holds true for balancing tires: Every truck shakes and shimmies its way down the road to one degree or another. So unless that shimmy is really, really bad, why bother?
The counter-argument here is a pretty simple one: The biggest fleet expenses typically are drivers, tires, and fuel. If you’re having issues getting one or more of those costs under control, an alignment and/or tire balancing program might yield dividends.
Your fleet may want to invest in alignment equipment from companies such as Hunter or Bee Line to do your own alignments.
Victor Cummings, vice president, service operations, for mega-dealer group Rush Enterprises, says that often fleets don’t perform front-end alignments themselves. Instead, they take the truck to a service shop. This means it can be seen as an inconvenience to take the vehicle out of service. But, he says, fleets that do so enjoy some significant benefits.
“The biggest advantages to front-end alignments for heavy-duty vehicles include improved fuel economy and reduced tread wear, thus extending the life of your tires,” Cummings says. “Depending on the severity, a misalignment could also present a safety issue, so it is an …Read the rest of this story
