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Old 08-28-2019, 05:52 AM   #1
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Alignment today

Getting an alignment done on our Greyhawk 30X and will post the results once they are complete. Interested to see how far out everything is if at all.... at least I will know for sure and have a peace of mind that it is good to go
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Old 08-28-2019, 08:00 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by gwbillett View Post
Getting an alignment done on our Greyhawk 30X and will post the results once they are complete. Interested to see how far out everything is if at all.... at least I will know for sure and have a peace of mind that it is good to go
Hope you are aware of the 5 Degree Caster history. The caster spec is from +1.5 degrees up to +7 degrees. Any caster setting is IN SPEC but it will not stop the highway wander until it is greater then +5 degrees.

E350/E450 Handling Problems are caused by too little + CASTER
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Old 08-28-2019, 08:48 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Harvard View Post
Hope you are aware of the 5 Degree Caster history. The caster spec is from +1.5 degrees up to +7 degrees. Any caster setting is IN SPEC but it will not stop the highway wander until it is greater then +5 degrees.

E350/E450 Handling Problems are caused by too little + CASTER
I know you beat this subject to death, but one BIG piece of the puzzle is the rig itself. Specifically, the length of the rig and the forces on the nose. So you can't make a blanket statement that the setting should be +5 degrees for everyone.

Here it is in your words, directly from that link you posted:

If the final RV build is 1 degree nose down the runtime caster is going to be about +3.5 degrees.
If the final RV build is nose level the runtime caster is going to be about +4.5 degrees.
If the final RV build is 1 degree nose up the runtime caster is going to be about +5.5 degrees.

Thus, some have a problem, some do not....


I think it would be important to point that out in future posts... just sayin'...
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Old 08-28-2019, 09:50 AM   #4
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What I meant to say is:

It does not matter what caster the OP has it is going to be declared to be "in spec". Then you are going to get the "tweak the toe and its good to go" alignment.

All the while, if you have only +3.5 degrees of caster, even though it is "in spec", the wandering problem is not going to be addressed in that shop.
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Old 08-28-2019, 01:17 PM   #5
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So everything was pretty good other than the toe was way out. The guy was super nice and understood the caster and understood all my concerns. I feel pretty happy with the after and will post a picture of the results
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Old 08-28-2019, 01:28 PM   #6
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If I am reading this correctly, they reduced his caster. The recurring theme continues, it remains difficult to find a shop that will give us the complete alignment needed for the rig.
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Old 08-28-2019, 01:33 PM   #7
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IMO:

This is the latest methodology of giving the famous "tweak the toe and its good to go" alignment service.

As far as the caster and camber before and after all the tech does is flex the suspension to insure the before and after look different making it appear they have been adjusted. This smoke and mirrors works because the alignment equipment spits out two decimal digits of resolution.

OP, if you find the unit tiresome to drive it is because of too little +caster.
IMO, for best results, your caster should be over +6.0 degrees.

POPULAR MECHANICS MAY 1973:
START QUOTE:
If too little caster exists, the car will wander and weave,
thus necessitating constant corrections in steering.
END QUOTE:
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Old 08-28-2019, 02:44 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by drmike961 View Post
If I am reading this correctly, they reduced his caster. The recurring theme continues, it remains difficult to find a shop that will give us the complete alignment needed for the rig.
It looks like it went down a little but I can tell you it tracked great afterwards and I had less back and forth in the steering. I had added about a 1/3 of fresh water and had a few things in the the back. I think each rig is a little different and at the end of the day I’m happy with it and I now know that the tires aren’t gonna wear wrong and have to be replaced sooner than they should
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Old 08-28-2019, 02:51 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harvard View Post
IMO:

This is the latest methodology of giving the famous "tweak the toe and its good to go" alignment service.

As far as the caster and camber before and after all the tech does is flex the suspension to insure the before and after look different making it appear they have been adjusted. This smoke and mirrors works because the alignment equipment spits out two decimal digits of resolution.

OP, if you find the unit tiresome to drive it is because of too little +caster.
IMO, for best results, your caster should be over +6.0 degrees.

POPULAR MECHANICS MAY 1973:
START QUOTE:
If too little caster exists, the car will wander and weave,
thus necessitating constant corrections in steering.
END QUOTE:
I don’t think this is the case at all personally.... they guy came out and talked to me before hand and during and afterwards and I explained the caster issue and what I have read. This was a large shop that does a lot of this style chassis and other larger trucks.

This is not my profession so at some point I have to take what he says and his opinion since the guy does this for a living.

The rig drove straight down the road and there was a lot less back and forth. I also changed the sway bar which is a huge improvement for these units to start with. I think each rig is going to be different
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Old 08-29-2019, 08:48 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by gwbillett View Post
So everything was pretty good other than the toe was way out. The guy was super nice and understood the caster and understood all my concerns. I feel pretty happy with the after and will post a picture of the results
What is interesting is you actually have thrust angle in your rig. That means the axle is actually slightly twisted with the right side forward and the left side rearward. It is out of spec. You can see this with the toe out on the left and toe in on the right.

In large amounts you can see this as "dog tracking" on trucks. It also will cause asymmetric handling left to right. It will also cause a vehicle to start requiring steering correction at higher speeds as you will have some small amounts of rear steer.
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