Alignment and heavy camper on the rear AKA heavily loaded.

[Imjustdave]

Just finished up a 3k mile tirp and the front tires are a bit worn on the outer edge on the passenger side and inner side on the drivers front tires. 2500 miles worth at 75 psi and then lowered to 60-65 for the rest of the trip
I was hauling a Artic Fox 1140 camper in the bed so truck is loaded up don't have scale info handy.

I do know before the trip my passenger side was cupping as I had a air leak that took a few trips to get resolved so there were a few too many miles driven on low PSI in tire. It would leak down then stop at about 45 so hard to notice.

My question is how would weight in the back of the truck impact an alignment? With a truck camper your gravity is fairly centered over the rear axle but it also could be a little behind causing the truck front end to lighten up a little as you drive down the road. I know with my flatbed trailer behind and a SUV on top and WD bars the front end feels way way different than just the truck.

I did jack the front end up nothing seems to be worn. ball joints seemed solid, steering links ETC ok. 2008 upgrade on steering.

I will take it in for an alignment but wondering if I should target factory specs or try some other #'s or something else to look at before I head in.

-David
2006 3500 DRW, LB, QC
6speed, spin free kit, R4Tech, Amp steps, liner... lots of little things

 

[Darkbloodmon]

Thuren Alignment specs are the go to. Unweighting the front end would be my initial line of thought on the impact that weight would have.

Towing for AAA with my Hino Flat bed; its standard practice to get every vehicle as close to the headache rack as possible, even more so if its a full size truck, suv, or Luxury sedan (S580s are heavy...), unweighting the front can be hard on the alignment when payload is counterbalancing the engine. I forget what my wheel base is on the Hino but my bed is more than 21ft iirc.

 

[AH64ID]

Thuren Alignment specs are the go to. Unweighting the front end would be my initial line of thought on the impact that weight would have.

Only true on the 08+ style steering, the older style steering can’t use Thuren specs.

With the 03-07 OEM steering weight plays a bigger role in toe, but I never saw uneven wear.

I would suspect ball joints over steering geometry.

 

[075.9Cummins]

David, you mentioned some concern about the amount of weight on the rear of your truck related to steering as well as tire wear. I’ve nothing to add to the tire wear issue.

I’ve hauled an Arctic Fox 990 truck camper a number of years and for the past five a 1150 which is basically the same length and weight as your 1140 TC. When I’ve been traveling a number of days I can readily tell it's time to empty the black tank when my steering gets a “light” feel and is not quite as responsive. Our black tanks are at the rear of the camper and can be 340# when full as the weight of the freshwater tank at the bulkhead moves to the rear. The grey tank is also located toward the rear. If you’re using something like a 125# superhitch and 80# supertruss you’re now talking an extra 200-540# at the tip end of your truck bed before you add the trailer tongue weight and any gear stored on the ladder or the roof. Aside from the loss of steering control and stopping distance if overweighted behind your rear axle you may notice people at night flashing their lights at you because the angle of your headlights would tilt up into their eyes if you’re severely overloaded on the rear end.

When loading my TC I try to keep everything heavy, (canned goods-tools) forward of the TC center of gravity. I also carry my spare tire on the front bumper to move the weight forward and to make it easier to access if needed. When towing a trailer, I park at a level spot and look along the side of the rig to make sure truck, TC and trailer are each level and parallel to the ground. Northwood places a center of gravity sticker on the sidewall of the TCs based on their weight at time of build. Ideally when loaded that sticker should be just forward of the center line of the rear axle.


Also, 45psi in your tires is OK only if you are going at very slow speeds say over washboard roads, sand, rough unpaved areas. At highway speed it can quickly destroy a tire and cause a blowout from the tire quickly overheating due to excessive resistance against the pavement. If you were at speed for any length of time at 45psi then you may want to consider having the tires dismounted and checked. I air down frequently when off good roads, keep the speed at 10mph or less and air up when I need to go faster.


Just my 2cents.

 

[Imjustdave]

David, you mentioned some concern about the amount of weight on the rear of your truck related to steering as well as tire wear. I’ve nothing to add to the tire wear issue.

I’ve hauled an Arctic Fox 990 truck camper a number of years and for the past five a 1150 which is basically the same length and weight as your 1140 TC. When I’ve been traveling a number of days I can readily tell it's time to empty the black tank when my steering gets a “light” feel and is not quite as responsive. Our black tanks are at the rear of the camper and can be 340# when full as the weight of the freshwater tank at the bulkhead moves to the rear. The grey tank is also located toward the rear. If you’re using something like a 125# superhitch and 80# supertruss you’re now talking an extra 200-540# at the tip end of your truck bed before you add the trailer tongue weight and any gear stored on the ladder or the roof. Aside from the loss of steering control and stopping distance if overweighted behind your rear axle you may notice people at night flashing their lights at you because the angle of your headlights would tilt up into their eyes if you’re severely overloaded on the rear end.

When loading my TC I try to keep everything heavy, (canned goods-tools) forward of the TC center of gravity. I also carry my spare tire on the front bumper to move the weight forward and to make it easier to access if needed. When towing a trailer, I park at a level spot and look along the side of the rig to make sure truck, TC and trailer are each level and parallel to the ground. Northwood places a center of gravity sticker on the sidewall of the TCs based on their weight at time of build. Ideally when loaded that sticker should be just forward of the center line of the rear axle.


Also, 45psi in your tires is OK only if you are going at very slow speeds say over washboard roads, sand, rough unpaved areas. At highway speed it can quickly destroy a tire and cause a blowout from the tire quickly overheating due to excessive resistance against the pavement. If you were at speed for any length of time at 45psi then you may want to consider having the tires dismounted and checked. I air down frequently when off good roads, keep the speed at 10mph or less and air up when I need to go faster.


Just my 2cents.

All good points and things to think about appreciate it. Yeah I didn't intentionally drive on 45 on the 1 front tire it just happend and I noticed the signs got it fix and thought I was good.. 500 miles latter still leaking air another trip to the tire shop, they seem to have a fix now on that tire.

goes to the shop for alingment tomorrow see what they come back with.