Alignment question on 2022 RAM 3500 Dually w/ Factory Airbags

[Physicsman]

My alignment has been a little borked for maybe a year now. I have to steer a couple degrees to the left. I am getting an alignment done. I just replaced the ball joints and the front tires had their outside tread pretty well shaved off. I've driven down a lot of rough roads/highways close to GVWR. Im trying to figure out why my alignment is bad because something had to shift/bend/break for it to change.

So. I noticed a couple things I don't understand.

First, these two bolts holding the airbags to the frame. The driver side has a gap to the frame and the passenger side is pressed up against the frame. Is that normal tolerance?


Second, the driver side leaf spring bracket has a weld attaching it to the springs and the passenger side does not (it's painted so I assume it was never welded). What's up with that? Is the truck setup so you only adjust rear alignment on the passenger side?

 

[Billet Bee]

Ours is a 2020 3500 drw with 44,000 miles, we've ate up two sets of steer tires and will be putting a new third set on in a week, it just eats up the outside edge. Weve had alignments done both times as soon as we replaced the steer tires, both times at cdjr dealerships, who of coarse are only allowed to set them to oem specs, but they never wear any better. Well on this third set we've found a private shop that will set the alignment based on "thuren specifications". Allot of ram 3500 drw drivers had set theres to thuren specs and had great success, i figure wth do we have to lose, I'm sick of chewing through tires after 20,000 miles. If that don't work then ill try centramatics because all the hot shot drivers use those with success for great front tire wear.
As far as Your question on aligning the rear wheels where The air bags are at, The couple shops I've talked to said you don't align the rear wheels on a drw, i don't know how accurate that is but haven't heard any different yet, maybe someone can chime in

 

[tjfdesmo]

Thuren specs are a must. Ram runs way too much toe-in for a straight axle setup.

If your rear axle is not centered in the truck you are "dog tracking". Find a shop that does big truck alignment if your current shop won't do it. I use a shop in Phoenix that does trucks and big motorcoaches.

 

[2003F350]

I don't think that's weld on your springs - you wouldn't want to weld spring steel unless absolutely necessary. That looks more like a rubber isolator, which is there to take up any 'gaps' that might exist between the bracket and the spring. Try poking it with a flat-blade screwdriver to see if it flexes.

You don't align the rear axle on ANY solid rear axle truck, USUALLY. Everything SHOULD be fixed, and the perch on the axle tube has a locator that fits into a socket on the spring pack. If everything was machined properly at the factory, the rear axle should be pretty close to dead-nuts with the truck. If you're 'dog tracking' then something happened, either at assembly, delivery, or somewhere. Usually it only happens on a solid-rear-axle vehicle after some kind of damage or an accident.