Sloppy steering question

Took a trip home this weekend, 2.5 hours out, 2.5 hours back. Here's what I got out of it...

Nothing about this problem is consistent. At times the steering felt fine. Other times I was getting a minor pulse and pull to the right. Other times I was getting a heavy wobbling and vibration in the wheel, I'm talking really bad. The pull to the right was usually there to varying degrees.

Going on two months now without the problem solved. I'm going to lose my mind with this thing eventually.

 

I had a development today. Took it to a frame place that I got a good recommendation for. I was told they really know what they're doing with alignments and put a little more pride into their work than other places.

They were right.

Had my appointment today after waiting two weeks. I got to stand there and talk to the guy the whole time, real nice guy. He never touched a computer. He did the whole alignment the old fashion way. He said the camber was way out. He also never looked up any Toyota alignment specifications, just did it the way he always does.

Big difference. He said the places that use computer alignments frequently mess around until the computer gives them a green light, then they call it good, lock it up, and say it's done.

So, both a tire place with great reviews and a Toyota dealership failed miserably at a simple alignment... I gave the guy about a $9 tip, my charge rounded up to the next ten. I figured I threw away enough money at other places with no results, I didn't mind giving out a little more to the one guy who finally got something accomplished.

Now, the steering still feels loose to me. But the squirrelly feeling is pretty much gone. The pull to the right is gone. It tracks better. He did point out to me though that the tires could be affecting the feel slightly. He spun both front wheels, and you could see the tread moving back and forth sideways just slightly as it spins.

But overall, I'm very happy with today's progress.