Camber

Introduction 

This article will give an overview of one of the primary alignment angles used in heavy duty commercial truck alignments: Camber

Definition

Camber is defined as the inward or outward tilt of the top of the wheel when viewed head on. Camber is measured in degrees and positive camber means that the top of the wheel tilts away from the truck while negative camber tilts toward the truck. When the wheel is perfectly aligned it has zero camber.

Camber will cause premature wear on the tire's shoulder. Excessive positive camber will result in wear on the outer shoulder of the tire while excessive negative camber will result in wear on the inner shoulder of the tire.

Pull Factor

A difference in front camber of greater than 0.5° between one side and the other may cause the truck to pull. The truck will pull in the direction of which tire (left or right) has the highest positive camber. Rear camber is not known to cause pull but should typically be set to 0±0.5°.

Correction

Incorrect camber can be corrected with shims or by bending the axle however the latter is typically not recommended by manufacturers.