Trucks are used to carry heavy loads, and tyres and wheels take the brunt of everyday transportation. That is why routine tyre and wheel alignment service is usually recommended.
If you're a truck owner operator, you should never ignore taking your vehicle to the auto service shop for routine truck wheel alignment service. Here's why.
1. Keep yourself and other road users safe
One of your top priorities as a truck owner/operator should be to ensure the vehicle you are using for transportation is always in good working condition. This is because any undetected problems can lead to an accident, and people might get hurt in the process.
Over time, truck wheels may get thrown out of alignment because of the extremes of daily travel, including hitting potholes, kerbs and speed bumps. If your wheels are misaligned, they may make it difficult to drive safely. The vehicle may pull itself to one side of the road or swerve precariously, thus putting you and other road users in harm's way.
Routine wheel alignment will ensure any issues affecting the proper alignment of your truck wheels are identified and rectified before it's too late. To stay safe on the road, truck drivers need control over their wheels, thus why alignment service is necessary.
2. Save money at the fuel station
If your truck has been requiring a fuel refill more often than usual, you could be snubbing wheel alignment service. When contact between your truck tyres and the road surface isn't optimised because the wheels are misaligned, your vehicle will experience drag, which will cause your engine to run harder than it should to achieve the desired performance. This will result in increased fuel consumption.
Regularly taking your truck to the auto service centre for wheel alignment will minimise drag caused by deformation of the wheels, thus eliminating the need to spend extra on fuel.
3. Get the most from your tyres
The tyres-and-wheels setup is what allows your truck to move. If your truck wheels are not properly aligned, your tyres will suffer. Misaligned wheels increase wear of tyres because the tyres will not be able to maintain optimal contact with the road surface. The tyres will experience increased rolling resistance due to increased friction between the tyres and the road surface.
Keeping your truck wheels correctly aligned at all times is essential to minimising the rolling friction that accelerates wear of tyres. High quality tyres are expensive to purchase, so don't let yours wear faster than they should by overlooking wheel alignment service.
Now that you know why regular truck wheel alignment is important, make sure you don't skip it. Always ensure your truck wheels are aligned at a certified auto service centre.