Truck owners depend on our pickups for everything. They’re versatile and durable. But, of course, they’re also highly complex machines. Maintaining a good truck functioning as designed requires a diligent maintenance routine. Pickups need periodic wheel alignments as part of regular truck maintenance. Routine alignments are especially important for trucks used for off-roading, construction, and farm work.

Here’s some general information about wheel alignment for pickup trucks to help you increase your knowledge about your truck and what it needs to keep functioning ideally for years to come.

Do Trucks Need 4-Wheel Alignment?

If you have a 4WD truck, there are more alignments than 2WD trucks have. A 4WD truck requires rear wheel alignment as well as the usual front-end alignment. The rear wheels must be aligned for 4X4 trucks with adjustable rear suspension that must be aligned in coordination with the front wheels for the truck to be driven straight.

How Do You Know When Your Truck Needs an Alignment?

Trucks and cars of all kinds exhibit the same typical signs as the wheels are out of alignment:

  • Vehicle is pulling to the left or right
  • Steering wheel must be held to the left or right to drive straight
  • Steering wheel vibrates when the vehicle is moving
  • Tires squeal when turning corners
  • Extreme and uneven tread wear on some or all tires

How Is Wheel Alignment Done on Pickup Trucks?

The procedure for aligning wheels on a pickup truck involves the rear wheel suspension assembly and individual components. The angles that must be aligned on the 4X4 truck include:

  1. Camber: The suspension angle of the tire
  2. Caster: the pivot points of the steering wheel
  3. Toe: (toe-in or toe-out angle) the angle of the front edge of the tire
  4. Thrust angle: the angle of thrust shows that the rear and front axles are parallel

How Often Should A Truck Get An Alignment?

Many recreational and work trucks with four-wheel drive are subjected to much more heavy-duty use for a vast range of extreme tasks than lightly used 2-wheel drive trucks. Under such comparatively extreme punishment, a truck needs more frequent attention to maintain proper wheel alignment. Keep in mind:

  • Without sufficient attention to this particular truck maintenance need, expensive truck tires on 4-wheel drive trucks must be prematurely replaced.
  • Even new tires can be ruined in a very short time if wheels are bumped out of alignment.
  • Excessively worn tires can quickly become a safety hazard due to dangerously thin tread.

You should have your personal or commercial truck wheel alignment at least every 6 months or 10,000 miles, and each time, they are bumped out of alignment during driving.

How Much Does It Cost To Align A 4wd Truck?

The cost of realigning wheels on your truck depends on whether two or all four wheels must be aligned, the type of truck, and possibly other factors. For a cost estimate, contact Ace Auto and provide your vehicle’s make and model. In any case, ignoring the need for wheel alignment can cost much more than the price of timely alignment. Some Costly damage due to failure to maintain properly aligned wheels can include:

  • Steering system problems
  • Prematurely worn-out tires
  • Significant fuel economy loss
  • Safety hazard from unaligned wheels

Truck Wheel Alignment Near Me – Ace Auto, West Jordan Utah

Ace offers wheel alignment services for 2WD and 4WD trucks as well as for all car models. Our auto repair professionals utilize state-of-the-art computerized machine-generated analysis of wheel alignment needs and brand specifications for the model. Take advantage of our excellent discount offers on wheel alignment for trucks!

Call Ace Auto Repair at (801) 803-6016 for a free truck wheel alignment cost quote or to schedule wheel alignment for your pickup truck or other truck maintenance or repairs.

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