Truck wandering

Just bought 2010 double cab pre runner , has 62000 miles. The truck is in showroom condition.
Question: is it normal for the truck to wander with hard wind or the grooves in the roadway?
I love everything else about the truck.
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Yes.. esp hard wind. Tracking groovees has a bit to do with tire type and air pressure.

Alignment good?

 

Try driving with a spoiler in the wind... No fun

 

Yea I've got it too, I slapped on some new shoes (bfg ko2) and an alignment. Improved but didn't go away completely...

 

After I put on some Michelin M/S2s I noticed I get a little wiggle shimmy on certain stretches of highway where the concrete is grooved. I assume it has to do with the tread lining up with the grooves in the pavement.

 

FWIW, once I got my new springs in the rear and I installed new shocks and springs in the front (and new rear shocks) my 2009 with 75K miles got better on the highway. I don't think I realized the slow degradation in handling (sort of mild drift on the highway) over years. The new suspension components made a big difference but as the other contributors noted, in not so strong wind, you feel it. Maybe the truck's height off the road? At any rate, if the shocks have never been changed, I would do it. Lots of recommendations and suggestions, any will likely be an improvement over worn parts.

 

Oh yeah, I also got Goodyear Assurance rubber (in stock size) that made a ride improvement.

 

Thanks for the info, the way I tried to explain the problem didn't make a lot of sense I should have said it happens in a moderate wind and on pavement with a high volume of traffic like the Interstate Hwy. With light wind and newer pavement, I can turn lose of the steering wheel and it goes straight as an arrow. It has a set of Michelin LTX MS2 tires with 8000 miles on them. It was a one owner with no accidents and I've talked to him several times about the Tacoma and He said He thought it was because the rack & pinion steering is so precise it causes it to wander a bit.

 

Make sure they didn't overinflate the tires, some tire shops are bad about doing that. I think they should be around 30-32psi.

 

Wondering can be lose steering components. My wife's new 2012 drives solid in wind and grooves.

Bring it for alignment. They will inspect your steering components. They may find something loose.

Ask to get .05-.10 toe in. This helps track straight.

 

Really bad ruts are hard to fight.

Hard cross wind is hard to fight.

Lousy tires can be a problem.

Over inflation can make twitchy.

Alignment with toe out can make really twitchy.

Alignment with low castor can make slow re centering of the wheel.

Alignment with positive camber can create instability.

These are not truck related, just vehicle related.

Start by making sure the tires are the right pressures.

62k mile is low, so the suspension 'should' be ok. So lets assume for the moment it is. Up next is a solid alignment. A good tech will find if there are any components damaged/worn enough to prevent a great alignment being achieved or staying in position.

 

Find a alignment shop that will dial in a little extra toe-in.

I had this done to both the two new Tacoma and the used Tacoma I bought and it greatly improved the straight line stability.

Trade-off is a little more tire wear.

 

For regular sized tires, set the tire pressures to manufacturer spec - 29 front / 32 rear. I have mine set at 30 front / 33 rear.

For me, if just one corner is off by more than 2 to 3 psi, the truck will start wandering at highway speed and need constant steering correction.

 

I thought all trucks have a small amount of wondering

 

Most of the smart ones wonder about their owner. Especially if they wander around.

 

Low caster in your alignment sounds like the most likely cause. At stock height, your caster should be around 2 degrees. As you lift, that number should go up - which requires adjustable UCAs. On 2wd, you can lift with spindles and keep good alignment with stock UCAs.

Wider wheels and tires will exacerbate the wandering, so trucks such equipped will run up to 4 degrees of caster. On my skinny 33s, I like mine around 2.5 degrees.

 

I agree with Pigpen 100%. Even on a stock height suspension, I would say 2 degrees caster would be minimum. Between 2.5* and 2.75* even better. One other thought: Left and Right caster equal and I run camber L & R at 0 degrees. Total toe should be just barely toe-in (between .02 and .05) and the steering wheel level on a smooth, flat & straight road when there's no crosswind. And have the tech measure your thrust angle. Although it is realistically non-adjustable, if + to - .25, it is proof of a straight frame & alignment angles set right. Your challenge is to find an alignment tech who (1) knows how to set caster & camber on a Tacoma/Tundra and (2) who cares enough about his workmanship to actually do it right---and, quite frankly, it just ain't that hard to do.