FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment June 02, 2009, 03:15:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102872When scheduling an alignment on my '04 26.5 MB I asked for a six-wheel alignment, as recommended here and at the tire company I used. The alignment shop said there's no such thing, as the rear tires sit on the E-450 rear axle and there are no adjustments. Ford's RV tech agreed but said there's a procedure where an alignment "head" is attached to the outside rear tire and a laser beam assists in adjusting the front wheels. He said folks think, therefore, that they're getting a six-wheel alignment, but they're not.just thought you'd like to know.Paul NE 50
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #1 – June 02, 2009, 03:45:39 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102874I would call Henderson's in Grants Pass Oregon, and ask them about rear axle alignment on the E-450. I'll bet they will tell you that the rear axle CAN be aligned. Even though it is a solid rear axle, it still has to be perpendicular with the chassis.Dick
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #2 – June 02, 2009, 04:28:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102875When I had my rig at Hendersons for alignment I questioned why they were working on the rear axle. The tech explained it was part of the alignment process. He said they had a E450 chassis motorhome
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #3 – June 02, 2009, 04:35:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102876"Paul Wood" wrote: When scheduling an alignment on my '04 26.5 MB I asked for a six-wheel alignment, as recommended here and at the tire company I used. The alignment shop said there's no such thing, as the rear tires sit on the E-450 rear axle and there are no adjustments. Ford's RV tech agreed but said there's a procedure where an alignment "head" is attached to the outside rear tire and a laser beam assists in adjusting the front wheels. He said folks think, therefore, that they're getting a six-wheel alignment, but they're not. --- Paul, I hope this makes sense; my rig has had this type of alignment done at Henderson's twice, and I just called them to check my "recall" of the technique and equipment. The *term* used is a "six-wheel alignment", but the alignment that is done with the "head" attached to each outside rear dual and the laser beam to align the front wheels with the rear is actually a four-wheel alignment; since the duals are on the same axle, the inner dual becomes "irrelevant" to the alignment process. Some alignment shops apparently don't do this type of alignment; it does require specialized equipment (and a tech skilled in the use of the equipment) and it takes time. But, the laser alignment offers greater precision/more finely-tuned adjustments, so if you can find a good shop that offers it, I think it's a good service to have done! ;-)Joan
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #4 – June 02, 2009, 07:13:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102896QuotePaul, I hope this makes sense; my rig has had this type of alignment done at Henderson's twice, and I just called them to check my "recall" of the technique and equipment.The *term* used is a "six-wheel alignment", but the alignment that is done with the "head" attached to each outside rear dual and the laser beam to align the front wheels with the rear is actually a four-wheel alignment; since the duals are on the same axle, the inner dual becomes "irrelevant" to the alignment process. Some alignment shops apparently don't do this type of alignment; it does require specialized equipment (and a tech skilled in the use of the equipment) and it takes time. But, the laser alignment offers greater precision/more finely-tuned adjustments, so if you can find a good shop that offers it, I think it's a good service to have done! ;-)Joan OK. That's basically what the Ford tech said, except that there are no adjustments possible on the rear wheels/tires. And so the mystery continues. Sadly, Here in the northeast, I'm lucky to be able to find a shop that can do any type of alignment on an RV, much less a sophistocated one. :-)Paul
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #5 – June 03, 2009, 03:02:46 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102908"The tech explained it was part of the alignment process. He said they had a E450 chassis motorhome in for alignment several days before my service and the rear axle was out of rig by 3/4"!"John It would be interesting to know how they moved the rear axle 3/4" since there is no adjustment mechanism built into it. To be that far off, it would have to have a bent frame or a bent leaf spring. I can see checking the rear axle alignment to make sure there is no damage but I'm at a loss how they can adjust it without some major work.Larry
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #6 – June 03, 2009, 05:17:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102921Larry, Tech did say the vehicle had been damaged but did not go into specifics. Must have been one hell of a whack. Would have loved to see how it was repaired and how much it cost!John
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #7 – June 03, 2009, 05:57:16 pm Yahoo Message Number: 102925"Tech did say the vehicle had been damaged but did not go into specifics. Must have been one hell of a whack. Would have loved to see how it was repaired and how much it cost!"John It probably was done on frame straightening rack. Basically, the vehicle is blocked and then chained down to a set of huge I-beams. Very large hydraulic jacks are used to pull the frame back into alignment. I have watched while truck frames are straightened and the noises are downright scary. It sounds like the frame is being torn apart but that's how it's done.Larry
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #8 – June 13, 2009, 11:59:21 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103297Quote "I would call Henderson's in Grants Pass Oregon,...I'll bet they will tell you that the rear axle CAN> be aligned." TWIMC Not only CAN it be done, it WAS done, and by Henderson's. When I took my '04 30'IB to them for a four point weight check and an alignment they found that the 'U' bolts on the rear axle were not torqued to spec (must have happened during the frame extension on a 30') and the axle was askew by no small amount. They said that they would have to align the rear before they did the front or it all would be a waste of time.Been there, done that!Steve S. Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Re: FYI - Six -Wheel Alignment Reply #9 – June 14, 2009, 02:47:02 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103315Is their a shop
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