Truck Wanders/Darts While Driving

My truck wanders/darts to either side while driving, so it requires constantly steering correction. This happens at any speed, though it's obviously more pronounced at higher speeds (a 10+ mph wind essentially makes it undrivable). It's okay to drive around town and short highway trips to work on most days.

Here's what caused the issue:
Back in 2021, I towed the truck from AZ to NY on a U-Haul trailer. It's a double cab, so the rear tires were only about 1" onto the rear of the trailer. So I strapped the hell out of it to prevent it from moving and possibly falling off the back. That included cinching down the frame and tow hooks up front. So the suspension was well compressed. I was later advised never to compress the suspension while transporting a vehicle, but it was a little too late for me.

The truck was tight and tracked straight as an arrow prior to this. This issue was there as soon as I backed it off the trailer. Also, I bought the truck brand new in 2010, so this certainly isn't some sort of "normal" condition like some people commonly suggest on here.

What I've replaced:
Upper Control Arms
Lower Control Arms
Tie Rod Ends
Both Front Axles (and needle bearing)
Anti-Roll Bar (also tried driving without it)
Coilovers
I just put on the second new set of tires since this happened, so let's rule them out.
It was aligned after each set of tires went on and after suspension work.

I brought it to a dealer back in 2021, but they said they couldn't find anything obvious. Everything feels tight underneath, so I've been stumped. My next move is to replace the steering rack, but thought I'd first try seeking some advice on here.

Sooooo... Any advice that doesn't include blowing it up in the desert??

 

Op, I would like to see a current alignment sheet if you have one. If not, this would be a good idea to get one anyway.

Take some pics of the alignment cam tbs too so we can see if they have moved.

You listed the replacement of a number of parts including the control arms. Were these OEM Toyota. If not it would not be the first time that some aftermarket parts may have gone bad in short order, just sayin.

I would also take a close look at the tires to see if they are telling us something.

 

I too would like to see the alignment numbers.
Caster for sure.

 

I generally use only Toyota parts on each of my cars (including oil and filters). The only exception on the Tacoma are the front coilovers and rear shocks/leaf springs. Coilovers/shocks are ADS and rear springs are Alcan. Those were installed back in mid-2018 and have performed perfectly. Those bumped the height about 1.5" or so.

I don't think I have alignment paperwork. My Tacoma and Camry were both recently stolen (and obviously recovered) and pretty much everything was gone from the glovebox. But I'll take a look tomorrow.

Again, the tires have about 500 miles on them, so they look good.

 

This could be a concern.

 

Not enough caster.

post your alignment numbers

 

Lift reduces caster, creates wandering.

Also I'd want to check steering rack bushings for play, on top of verifying the new ball joints real quick.

 

worried about this too, not sure of the process on measuring to make sure u didn’t tweak the frame, probably a collision repair center type of job. Was the frame ever replaced under recall and if not are there any rust concerns?

I previously owned a Hummer H3 on 35” mud tires, it walked a lot but everything was tight & true or recently replaced. The more aggressive tire you have will be more susceptible to wandering or following the crown of the road.

 

Guys,

Here's the numbers for the alignment I had completed today.

Also, I understand tires, lift, etc. can/will alter how a vehicle handles, but the truck drove straight as an arrow prior to towing it across the country.
The aftermarket suspension components were installed three years prior to this issue, so any relation is unlikely.
I've been using the same size tires since removing the original tires back in 2012. I used one set of Duratracs (I don't recommend), three or four sets of KO2's, and currently a fresh set of KO3's. This issue started at the end of a set of KO2's, shortly thereafter I put on the Duratracs, and the KO3's went on in October. The symptoms haven't changed, so I'm highly confident this isn't tire-related.

I have an understanding of how the camber, toe, and castor affect handling, but don't know near enough to estimate the effects based on the numbers shops provide. However, the truck has never pulled left or right. It still doesn't pull left or right... It just decides to dart one way or the other now and then.

I live in Arizona, so rust/rot isn't an issue. I had it in New York for the one winter, so there's a negligible amount of surface rust in places (the amount where a couple swipes of a wire brush will take it off). I grew up in Massachusetts, so I know all about rust. I sold my 98 Tacoma back to Toyota when they did that buyback program back in 2008.


I can't find anything loose underneath, but I did end up reading something where a guy couldn't find anything loose, but fixed a steering issue by replacing his steering shaft. Sounds like that may be the next logical thing to try? Or just take it in to have the steering rack replaced as well?

 

The caster is entirely too low.

should be closer to 4*

 

No, toyota spec is usually 2-2.5 degrees on the trucks, its low, but not wildly low. Ideally 2 degrees of caster would be better. Lifted trucks need upper control arms to get above 2 degrees.

I'd ask them to max caster and let the camber climb if you want better highway driving feel. Otherwise you'll need aftermarket upper arms.

 

Those are factory numbers.

These trucks get real floaty and wander when they’re lifted and the caster is low, just like the OP posted.

~4* of caster will “tighten” up the steering and you’ll lose that floaty feeling.

Setting the cross caster properly will also elevate some wandering caused by the crown of the road.

 

Yes but its impossible to get 4 degrees of caster factory arms.

I did a truck today that maxed out at 2.6, also the higher the caster, the more the camber climbs.

We rarely set to 4, even techs with SPC arms have reverted and settled with 3-3.5

 

Right.

That’s why it’s recommended to use aftermarket adjustable UCAs.

The OP’s problem is the stock UCAs and lift.

The truck is going to continue to wander like it is until the caster issue is corrected.

Either add more positive camber in hopes you can get a little more caster out if the alignment cams.

Or install adjustable UCAs and fine tune the alignment.

Or lower the truck back down to stock height so it can be properly aligned.

 

Guys,

I don't doubt that increasing the caster could improve things (as mentioned, I'm not knowledgeable enough to equate the numbers to handling), but I'm told that's the best he could get. And while higher caster numbers may very well help handling, the current numbers appear to be really close to some historical numbers. The new camber numbers are lower, but I suspect that's due to all the new parts (though I don't have the numbers from 2020 until now to prove it). And with those settings, the truck handled great.
The only "change" between great and awful was loading, towing, and unloading from the trailer. Absolutely nothing on the truck was modified in any way, shape, or form during that trip. And this wasn't a gradual "I feel something getting worse" sort of thing... It was an immediate change. And it hasn't gotten any worse or better since. I did notice it handles ever so slightly better with the tires aired down to 20ish psi (no, I don't regularly drive at that pressure).
I've been convinced something was bent during the trip, but obviously not enough to notice by eye.

Here are a few historical alignment numbers for which I still have paperwork:
***I doubt it matters, but the picture of the alignment screen has the wrong tire size. The truck's had LT265/75R16 tires since July/August of 2012.

Left Front Right Front
2025 (today)
Camber: 0.0 0.3
Caster: 1.4 1.6
Toe: 0.05 0.03
2020
Camber: 0.5 0.4
Caster: 1.4 1.3
Toe: 0.05 0.04
2018 (one month later than first 2018 alignment - I believe I had this one done after I retorqued everything after putting the suspension in)
Camber: 0.9 0.8
Caster: 1.4 1.4
Toe: 0.04 0.03
2018
Camber: 0.7 0.6
Caster: 1.5 1.3
Toe: 0.05 0.04

2014 (with stock suspension and LT265/75R16 tires - done by Toyota)
Camber: -0.2 0.0
Caster: 1.9 2.3
Toe: -0.02 -0.01

 

Put it on a frame jig and start there if you think everything else is fine

‍♂️

 

Agreed, as I mentioned earlier also.

If you already know almost exactly when the problem started and thing the trailering event may be a factor, just get it checked out. I doubt you’d have mentioned it if u didn’t thing it was relevant.

I know there’s some fear lurking at the possibility of finding out it’s tweaked, and then of course “what now?” If it has been…

 

Have someone experienced check for play on the inner tie rods of the steering rack.

 

I'll do this in a month or so.

I'm going in for back surgery on Thursday, so it'll be a while before I'm able to get around. Thank you.

 

This is a long shot but you mentioned replacing tie rods, make sure they are mounted the right way, on top of the spindle, I chased darting and bump steer for a month till I realized someone installed the tie rods on the bottom of the spindles, lol