Ever try to get an alignment done on your big truck?

[FlyingChief]

I never thought of that!

We are about 3,000 miles into an 8,500 mile trip that started at our SoCal desert home and we are now in the Clearwater, FL area. We will be heading north to New England, Canada, and eventually back home around Labor Day. When we arrived here in Florida, I noticed what I thought was some unusual wear on the right front tire of our 2013 Ram 3500 Crew Cab Long Bed Dually. I also noticed that it seemed to be pulling to the right. No problem....given the quality of some of the roads we traveled (especially I-10 in Louisiana), I figured that I would get the alignment checked. That started a looong search for an alignment shop that could handle the Ram. Since I couldn't even get the local dealer to return a phone call, I started calling and visiting local independent and chain shops. None of them had an alignment rack that would work. One guy had just bought a new machine and asked me to bring it by so he could try it out and see. The problem wasn't width (as I would have thought). Instead the problem was length (wheelbase). When the front was positioned correctly, the rear wheels were so close to the posts that it wouldn't work.

The good news is that I eventually found a solution - Goodyear Commercial & Tire Centers. These are a type of Goodyear shop that deal with truck fleets and large commercial accounts. I found one here in Clearwater, FL that had an opening and was willing to work me right in. They did the alignment (it was significantly out), we swapped the new spare for the worn tire on the right front, and I was out of there in a little less than an hour and a half. Good, friendly service at a reasonable price by folks who knew what they were doing. While there aren't as many of these Commercial shops around as the normal consumer retail Goodyear stores, if you can find one, it is a place that can handle our big trucks without a problem.

I have to confess I hadn't really thought about the challenges of getting an alignment on the truck. I know it's big/long, but I didn't realize that it would be so hard to get it done other than at a dealership.

Anyway.....just wanted to share my experience and give a shout out to the folks at the Clearwater store. They were a pleasure to do business with and I noticed a dramatic improvement in handling of the Ram right away.

[chris199]

I have issues just getting tires replaced, brakes checked....anything requiring the truck be off the ground. Most tire places can't lift our trucks and have to jack each corner separately. Just a hassle and the process takes longer.

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[chuckster57]

Yeah having a crew cab, long bed and Dual rear wheels makes some repairs a bother. When I did all my ball joints in 2009, I measured with a tape and said "close enough to get it to the alignment shop" knowing my choice of shop would be very limited. Well here it is 2016 and the truck is still tracking straight, no uneven wear and I haven't made it to the shop yet

Looking at replacing all 7 tires this summer, may break down and get an alignment too...

[TLB]

Yes you have to take your time picking a shop to lift those trucks.
We just did repairs to a chevy dually that fell off another shops hoist.
Both rocker panels, right box panel and right fender were damaged when it happened.

[theeyres]

I have a Chevy 2500 long bed extended cab and no shops here in Green Valley, AZ can even handle that! It does seem to take a decent sized town to have shops that handle these things.