Dually Tires

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

Until I got this truck, I always rotated tires at oil change intervals...quick math told me I could purchase a new set of tires by the 50k mile mark if they lasted...so I stopped after the first six tire rotation.

I have seen some folks here with different steer tires...I don't think I could handle that, I would probably go postal from seeing mismatched brands. I am glad I don't drive a big rig...

Cale

IMO it's usually a good decision to keep all tires on an axle of the same brand, size and design if at all possible. It is industry practice to ensure that all tires on an axle TV or TT have same inflation.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

I was talking about just leaving the backs as they are....never moving them.

Only swapping the front tires from wheel to wheel.

This set of tires, I did a six tire rotation. The fronts had bad worn outsides, they were moved to the inside rear with the hopes of flattening out. They never did. I feel I could have gotten 50k miles from the rear if I would have left well enough alone and just replaced the fronts when they had worn.

Cale

Bad outside shoulder wear is an indication of a probable mis-alignment of the front end.

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Bad outside shoulder wear is an indication of a probable mis-alignment of the front end.

Yes, while I tend to agree, I was told at my last alignment check that everything was within factory specs. It was explained to me that the camber is set such that the tires wear even when under heavy loads. However, there is only a few hundred pound difference on the front axle between loaded and unloaded...

The factory only gives so much adjustment and can be shimmed for a bit more, I may look into that this time. Not only is this my tow vehicle, it is also my daily driver.

Cale

[wahoonc]

Cale,

I will have to see if I can find the article. There is a shop somewhere that specializes in trucks and motor homes. On the Ford chassis in particular they advocate pushing the one adjustment very close to the outside edge of the Ford spec, apparently the Ford spec is pretty broad, they also show an offset between the right and left sides.

Here is a pdf that I copied from the article that has to do with my specific E-450 chassis. Might be worth looking into.

Aaron

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Cale,

I will have to see if I can find the article. There is a shop somewhere that specializes in trucks and motor homes. On the Ford chassis in particular they advocate pushing the one adjustment very close to the outside edge of the Ford spec, apparently the Ford spec is pretty broad, they also show an offset between the right and left sides.

Here is a pdf that I copied from the article that has to do with my specific E-450 chassis. Might be worth looking into.

Aaron

Thanks! I believe the adjustment you are referring to is the caster adjustment. I have been doing a lot of research on the Ford forums and it seems that the general consensus to to set caster near max positive, which would prevent the "dreaded death wobble". I have never experienced this, I thought folks who experienced this are the ones that no longer have stock suspension.

I am trying to be very deliberate in my choice of shops for alignments. I had a bad experience with my Duramax a few years ago...it was "aligned", but ended up with a messed up suspension in the end. A lot of these shops have inexperienced kids working in them. They can handle small cars those dopey suspensions, but these heavy duty suspensions are quite intricate when considering the Family of Systems environment they work in.

Cale

[wahoonc]

I believe it was the caster... I am still on my first cup of coffee

Need to find a shop that specializes in trucks. My motor home is going to need an alignment, I am probably going to take it to a Ford heavy truck service center. Not too many shops can handle the 223" wheel base. Not to mention the 32'+ O/A length. We have two Ford heavy truck shops in my area, one used to be my dealer of choice but they got on "The List" a while back for a couple of bonehead moves on my bride's F-150. The other one is about 55 miles away and I don't know anything about them.

I like my tractors... set the toe and let'em go.

Aaron

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

Yes, while I tend to agree, I was told at my last alignment check that everything was within factory specs. It was explained to me that the camber is set such that the tires wear even when under heavy loads. However, there is only a few hundred pound difference on the front axle between loaded and unloaded...

The factory only gives so much adjustment and can be shimmed for a bit more, I may look into that this time. Not only is this my tow vehicle, it is also my daily driver.

Cale

Your front tire wear is saying that for your total use you have too much positive camber or too much toe in or bit of both.

Factory specs are a compromise based on estimated use. You now have data (tire wear) that suggests what you need to consider.
I bet if you ask your alignment shop what outside shoulder wear on both fronts indicates they will not tell you everything is OK.

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Your front tire wear is saying that for your total use you have too much positive camber or too much toe in or bit of both.

Factory specs are a compromise based on estimated use. You now have data (tire wear) that suggests what you need to consider.
I bet if you ask your alignment shop what outside shoulder wear on both fronts indicates they will not tell you everything is OK.

Great, thanks for the info! As it stands now, I have about 50/50 between laden/unladen driving. I will take pics of the worn fronts and work with a shop to get it dialed in. I think the dealer does checks to see if in the wide range, while the Mr Tires & NTB's of the world crank on stuff not really knowing what they are adjusting for.

I have literally driven to 90% of the tire stores in a 50 mile radius "interviewing" them. I want to have the warm/fuzzy they know what they are doing.


Cale

[RVNevada]

Cale, There is a shop out there, that will get it right, For a few years, I worked on Big city vehicles, and we got them working right.....I also have, the Biggest Lance camper that I use in the winter, and it has more weight on the front tires, and my tires have over 30K and they are wearing perfect....Good Luck

[lcv800]

Just my humble opinion but I would go strictly to a front end/suspension shop. After watching my buddy for 40 years, it's as much art as science to get it right. I don't want an eighteen year old who changes oil and installs batteries working on my front end.
Rusty

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by lcv800

Just my humble opinion but I would go strictly to a front end/suspension shop. After watching my buddy for 40 years, it's as much art as science to get it right. I don't want an eighteen year old who changes oil and installs batteries working on my front end.
Rusty

Therein lies the problem... getting a shop that has experienced people. Many, many moons ago I was ASE certified, turns out it wasn't what I wanted for a career so I moved on. Very few places utilize them anymore it seems. Also the more you move into heavier equipment the fewer there are. As things have become more automated the guys (and gals) that have a "feel" for this kind of work have kind of disappeared, in a large part because these shops don't want to pay decent wages if they can hire someone, show them the basics and call it good.

If you find a good shop with good people, stick with them! My PSD guy retired a few years back, I stopped taking my PSD to that dealership, because none of the rest of them had his experience level and I am not paying $150 an hour for someone to learn how on my vehicle.

Aaron

[Nate42379]

I have 27k on BF GOODRICH 235/80R17 ALL TERRAINS.. load range E... wearing well and even will probably go back with them when time comes... only about 1500 miles with the 5er but had a 30' Bumper pull toyhauler before that.


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