Alignment question - RV's are different?

SweetSam

New member
Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here and very thankful for this forum. We just got a new -for -us RV on a Sprinter 3500 chassis. While in for EGR valve replacement (intermittent sudden loss of power - no fun :(), I asked about wheel alignment. The service advisor said that with the weight of RV, the "normal Sprinter specs don't work very well. This is the first I heard that! I found a orderable configuration on MB Sprinter that shows a GVWR of 11300 same as my rig. Wouldn't they have alignment settings for that van?

Thanks for your consideration and guidance.
 

Mike DZ

2016 View 24V (2015 3500)
Re: Alignment question

Hmm, I had my local MB dealer do an alignment on my View - although pricey, they didn't have a problem with it and it solved the tire wear problem... As long as the vehicle is loaded like you are going to use it, weight, per se, does not change the alignment process.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
Re: Alignment question

The sprinter front end is nothing special, align it light any medium duty truck. Toe and camber should be set using typical guidelines. Mercedes allowable tolerance for caber and to is probably a bit more than desirable.

sprinters with maxed out (or overweight) front ends are possible on some RV builds. This can cause the front end to sag lower than designed, resulting in undesirable geometry.
 

mikeme

2015 LTV IB: 2015 3500 V6
Re: Alignment question

MB publishes service procedures, and they specify what the alignment spec (camber) is based on the actual front end load. it varies depending on how much load is on the front axle

if the dealer does not want to do a proper alignment, perhaps he can recommend a qualified dealer capable of doing the job.
 

ernie1

New member
Re: Alignment question

Just had my 2017 Sprinter,2018 Class C motorhome front end aligned and was done according to Mercedes specs. It was a 4 wheel alignment and included two new camber bolts and cost $450+!!!! What a rip!
 

mikeme

2015 LTV IB: 2015 3500 V6
Re: Alignment question

That is pretty close to what I was quoted.

But I can also share a story.

I purchased a used 3500 with a motor home attached, 18,000 miles. the front tires were showing signs of early wear on the outside.

I had a local truck/tire place do an alignment and rotate the tires, this was a $129 job.

now the original tires have over 48,000 miles, and the fronts look like pretty even wear.

I was considering paying for a proper MB alignment, but it seems a bit on the costy side.

my plan is to put a new set of michelin defenders on, and closely watch how they wear with the current settings.
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Re: Alignment question

Just had my 2017 Sprinter,2018 Class C motorhome front end aligned and was done according to Mercedes specs. It was a 4 wheel alignment and included two new camber bolts and cost $450+!!!! What a rip!
Well before its concluded as a rip off!!
What was done?
What was the labor rate and the labor consumed to accomplish the alignment task ?
Already I can tell you that the basic alignment will be between $125 to $175
Add shim insertion and the labor will rise to about $250 to $275.
Add the eccentric bolt kit (trade price $32 x1,5 profit integer is $48 x 2 = $96 retail
So my desk top "guestimate" is already $371 plus tax.
Did they have to move the rear axle or tighten up the rear axle U bolts? On that task alone there will be at least 0,5 hours labor added say $75.
Indeed to get castor compliance means moving the front K frame. Now that will really jack up the final price!
Dennis
 
Re: Alignment question

This thread seems to be all over the map.

If the vehicle has been altered (like converting a cab chassis into a Class-C RV), then it will probably need an alignment, because the alignment geometry is effected by ride-height, and ride-height is effected by weight. So even if a cab chassis left the assembly line with perfect alignment, it will have needed an alignment after being altered.

If Mercedes-Benz publishes alignment specifications for various loads, or for various ride-heights, then use those numbers to have it aligned.

That said, if the tires are wearing evenly and it drives straight, I would not recommend paying for an alignment. An alignment is done to correct something, and if you have no symptoms to indicate that the alignment needs to be corrected, then why spend the money?

There is no "four wheel alignment" on a Sprinter. The three alignment angles are caster, camber and toe. There is no caster, camber, or toe adjustments to the rear of Sprinter. Sometimes when people say "four wheel alignment", what they are actually referring to is a front end alignment referenced off of the rear wheels.

And as far as the $450 part, many vehicles are built with no caster and/or camber adjustments, so that in theory, all vehicles go together quicker, cheaper, and within normal alignment specs. The only thing they have to do after bolting it together, is set the toe and ship it. If a vehicle is altered or crashed, and occasionally for vehicles that are not altered or crashed, the front end alignment requires adjustment to caster and/or camber. In these cases, there are often knock-outs, eccentrics, or other methods of adding those adjustments to the vehicle. And doing that work costs money.

Defects in front end alignment should be covered by the initial part of the vehicle warranty on unaltered vehicles. And on altered vehicles, the whoever altered it should be responsible for correcting the alignment before selling the vehicle.

I hope this has been helpful.

As far as the $450 comment
 
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lindenengineering

Well-known member
Re: Alignment question

I will comment
Generally using aftermarket parts invites the need for shims and component moves to gain alignment.

If the rear axle has come loose it will have wallowed out the spring bed perch or even sheered off the location tits on the spring leaf itself.
In these conditions although sometime not immediate nor apparent there will be a rear axle bias and it will need to be corrected .

Equally if the rear axle spring leaf has been previously replaced in isolation there too mighty be a rear axle bias due to manufacturing spring tolerances, so again this will need to be corrected to bring it into alignment.
Lastly if the vehicle has been in an undisclosed collision the rear axle toe in is formed during manufacture & might be affected and so too the frame at the anchors and shackle brackets.
All these factors form part of the alignment procedure on any vehicle.
Dennis .
 

ernie1

New member
Re: Alignment question

Just to clarify my earlier post. I was quoted $500 over the phone by a Mercedes service advisor for a front end alignment. My question to him was how come so much? He said it was a 4 wheel alignment and it takes "all day" to perform. Since the rv manufacturer was covering the cost, I went ahead and committed to having it done along with an ECU recall from Mercedes. After about 4 hoursI received a call saying my vehicle repairs were done. The alignment was only $450 and the two camber bolts were only about $45.
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Re: Alignment question

I suppose I ought to mention a rare but ever present risk of buying a new RV style Sprinter from a dealer ,( or any vehicle for that matter) which was built as a chassis cab before being shipped from the plant to a body builder.
The methods of shipping vary of course, but flat bed stacking is commonplace and the units once arrived at the bodybuilder location are often forked, strapped & lifted off, then stored (weathered???) before moving into the build facility.

This unloading activity often is where damage starts.
Apart from the possible rough handling and damage done to the rig, vulnerable parts like the prop shaft often take the brunt of the fork truck unloading, let alone badly set lifting straps & chains etc.

The opportunity to inspect any damage is minimal & dismissed due to build activities and since vehicle movement is limited from body builder to dealer showroom the PDI activity now acts as a vital part in the hand over to a new customer and catch defects .
By its very nature the PDI can be cursory at best; few places re-check the alignment of the final product nor extensively test drive the rig using the mantra that anything drastic will show up at the 1st service interval.
For these reasons alone plus the dynamics of having a RV body placed on the frame almost always dictates an alignment check.
Of course the same old hoary problem exists as it always has done!
If you find damage or an issue where work needs to be done to correct an inherent problem who is covering the warranty?
Remember as a general statement tyre wear and alignment are not warrantable items, corrections is at the cost discretion of the dealer.

All too often on my past experiences it was traced back to bad material handling between plant & body builder or careless PDI activities. In so many cases the rig should never have been handed over to the customer in the first place!
Remember sales and service are two distinct activities and I will leave you to guess who get the casting vote on delivery dates & customer hand over.
Dennis
 

Jimoc

New member
Perhaps slightly off topic. I have a 2016, 2500 with 22,000 miles on it which i converted myself into a RV and have just recently replaced the stock tires with A/T tires from a large tire dealer. When picking up the van from the tire shop I was informed that they were unable to do the alignment and the reason I was given was that Mercedes has not released the code for them the preform the job. I have checked around other tire shops and recieved confirmation on that. I have put 1K on the new tires and the vehicle is driving and tracking smoothly. I have a pending appointment with. MB dealership to preform an alignment next week before starting on a 5 month cross country trip. The questions I have are is it worth getting the alignment done at this time considering the costs with it currently driving without any obvious issues and how is it possible that MB hasn’t released to codes for independent dealers to use?
 

Mike DZ

2016 View 24V (2015 3500)
Perhaps slightly off topic. I have a 2016, 2500 with 22,000 miles on it which i converted myself into a RV and have just recently replaced the stock tires with A/T tires from a large tire dealer. When picking up the van from the tire shop I was informed that they were unable to do the alignment and the reason I was given was that Mercedes has not released the code for them the preform the job. I have checked around other tire shops and recieved confirmation on that. I have put 1K on the new tires and the vehicle is driving and tracking smoothly. I have a pending appointment with. MB dealership to preform an alignment next week before starting on a 5 month cross country trip. The questions I have are is it worth getting the alignment done at this time considering the costs with it currently driving without any obvious issues and how is it possible that MB hasn’t released to codes for independent dealers to use?
Releasing "code" for alignment - I am not an alignment tech, but this sounds hokey to me. Alignment on the sprinter and all other vehicles I know of is a mechanical exercise. There are published specs (readily available) but the word code implies some sort of electronic device.

As far as the question "is it worth getting the alignment done"? Bad alignment wears tires faster and can create unstable steer conditions. However, if you had added extra weight with the old tires and they did not wear badly and your steering remain normal, then you might still be within specs. You don't mention how much weight you added or if you changed the center of gravity much - but you might be alright if the changes weren't significant.
 
D

Deleted member 50714

Guest
The code he refers to must be alignment machine software spec revision mentioned in CVTec Tech Topics.

Read more here for only $60.00, 24 hours. Read fast.

https://www.cvtekinfo.com/CVTek/
 
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Jimoc

New member
Correct, the code I was referring to was, as I was told, needed to program the alignment software which is specific to each vehicle. As far as weight added during the build the fully loaded brought the gross weight to 7800 lbs which is around 300 lbs below the maximum allowable and is constituent with what we’ve have for the 20k miles we put on the previous stock tires. And those tires showed no excessive wear inside or out. I’m beginning to think an alignment at this time may not be necessary but on the other hand we’re on the road until May and perhaps it would be prudent to have MB do the alignment. Thanks for the input.
 

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