Its been suggested the tracking on my RM might be out (though this was from being eyeballed) so for peace of mind i'm going to get this checked later this week. Can anyone tell me if this should be towing in or out and by how much or parallel.

Steering set up is not my area of knowledge so I thought id ask as I can't find anything in the manual or the Haynes enthusiasts.

My bus number (if any): RMF2771 (Beatrix)

Loads of Routemsters have really poor tracking set ups and this is usually why some feel so poor and what causes wear on bearings, track rods and all the suspension.

Tracking and toe set up correctly will be really noticeable as the bus will handle very well, as long as all the components are not worn.

It's not often done very well and it was not a job that was done with care in many garages during my LT time.

But now with laser technology it can be done really well to high accuracy.

There are a few things that need to be checked before doing this.

1 Balanced wheels. Ideally all the wheels should be balanced including the rear ones. The wheels must be in good condition and not out of true.

2. Tyre pressures. These should all be correct for each tyre front and rear.

3 Tyre wear. Crucial that the front tyres are evenly worn.

4. All bearings, track rod ends, bushes and joints are in good serviceable condition.

The data for the toe in is not to hand but it also varies on tyre type and size.

The tracking measurements are the alignment between the front wheels. The datum is based on the distances from the wheel rims on both sides but also aligned with the rear wheels. So the bus goes straight and does not 'crab'

It also means the front wheels do not 'fight' each other when driving in a straight line and making slight let or right movements. It also reduces vibration.

The Digital Laser set up does not need published data as it takes the readings to correctly align the vehicle from all four corners. The steering wheel can also be set correctly this way quite easily and quickly.

The toe in is the vertical angle the wheels sit at to allow correct road adhesion of the tyre.
This is set a different way but does need published settings.


Quite a few bus garages now have new digital/laser alignment equipment and it's quite possible they may be able to do an alignment on a bus as an external job. Similarly a Haulage company may be able to do the same at a major depot for a small charge.
But the correct data for the toe in would be very useful as I don't have it.

Hello Jack Norie.

LT's Bus Engineering's instruction to all garages (all codes):-

Front wheels are to be adjusted to obtain a setting of parallel running, or 1/32" inch toe in only.

Not to be confused with camber angle.


Note:- I have the template pattern to manufacture LT Tool Pt No 352-28000 (turning circle gauge) a metal plate with angled edges, which is attached independently to the underside of the N/S and O/S lower wishbone arms,so as to check in turn and adjust if necessary the setting of the axle (or Boat) steering stops on RM's vehicles only.

My bus number (if any): Ex LT Bus Engineering

We used Lasalign.com 01788 860594 to do the coaches - Sprinters up to Tri axles - mobile operators specialising in commercial vehicle wheel alignment - our regular guy was brilliant for reducing unnecessary tyre wear, but you obviously need a flat surface like a pit for the vehicle to sit on to be accurate and as Jack says you'd need to check first that they have the correct data to input in to their equipment etc.

My bus number (if any): RML2747

Laser alignment is likely to come up with some very interesting things to ponder since it aligns the front and rear axles with the chassis. It will pick up the likelyhood that the rear axle is not parrallel to the front one and that neither is at a right angle to the chassis. Expect it to reveal problems with the B frame.

It would be interesting to see how it deals with our RML which has at some time suffered quite a hefty blow to the nearside, so much that the middle of the body bows in by about an inch!

My bus number (if any): RML2532

As I mentioned in the bit I wrote before - Seems like an age ago now,

The new apparatus can reveal some abnormalities like twisted and out of line frames.

But it can also calculate the corrections required as long as the anomalies are not severe.
It used to be serious maths and a number of datum points to solve. I remember being shown this at at Aldenham with an RT chassis and then with an RM front and back frame clamped together but do also remember becoming a bit lost with the explanations for correction and how to identify issues. It seemed easy with everything clean & exposed. Not so in a half lit pit and a road dirty underside.

Strangely, when LT started RM withdrawals, many near perfect examples went for scrap while many basket cases and examples with history of accident damage issues were retained.
They went by type i.e. Simms equipped and Leyland but that soon went out the window and it became somewhat random.

I always felt that they should have weeded out the problem buses and those with accident history and known to crab and be heavy on component wear and driver complaints and rebuild RMLs that suffered from some of those issues from the surplus of decent RMs, Something well within Aldenhams capabilities. But by then the morale had gone and it was all doom and gloom until it was too late and ALD had gone.

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