BAL tire leveler for a 17A?

[Sarah Henderson]

Hi all --

Curious to know if anyone has tried this product with a 17?

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...K6Y9EEQB&psc=1

Thanks,

Sarah

[Donna D.]

No, but I use two on my 5.0TA and I used one on my 16' Scamp. And I like them. Because as a single and solo traveler I park where I want and then level. Don't have to worry about driving on and off blocks or wedge levelers that I can't see very well in the rear view mirror. Works for me!

YEOW!!! Those are expensive through Amazon Canada. They're less than half that in the USA. Consider a road trip!

[Tony N]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

No, but I use two on my 5.0TA and I used one on my 16' Scamp. And I like them. Because as a single and solo traveler I park where I want and then level. Don't have to worry about driving on and off blocks or wedge levelers that I can't see very well in the rear view mirror. Works for me!

Donna, I know you've mentioned this use before, but didn't you have to modify the leveler for 15 inch tires? We use to have a Scamp that it worked well for but the Escape tires seem to bind. My memory is that you bent it outward a bit with a bottle jack. Is that correct? How much would you say you had to spread it and how difficult was it? Thanks for any insight. Tony

[Donna D.]

Tony, yes, with a bottle jack and literally just a tad. I mean that. Like maybe 1/4" for me. I find it I run the leveler ALL the way down where it's 'floppy' loose off the screw, it certainly comes out easier from the tire. Does this make sense?

[Keith3]

Thanks for the idea. We have one that we use on our Scamp and it sometimes binds on some surfaces. I bet a quarter inch of spread would make a huge difference. Brilliant.

[HABBERDABBER]

I used one on a 16' Casita I had. It worked well, and yes, I had to do the bottle jack expansion to get a proper fit. It's heavy, cumbersome, but effective. I made a foam carrying case out of floor tile foam (Harbor Freight), contact cement the joints and Gorilla tape the seams. That case kept things from getting messed up during travel.

I was tempted, as I saw one at a St. Vinney's thrift store for $5 or so. Looked unused. I passed on it.

[Dave & Penny Smith]

Sarah:

We used a BAL leveler with our TAB trailer for a number of years and found it very effective. Used a Sears cordless drill on both it and the stabilizers. We bought our 2015 17B in 2015 and tried to use the BAL with it. The greater weight of the Escape was too much for the cordless drill to lift the 17B using the BAL. We switched to an Anderson leveler and it works fine. It does however require some backing-pulling forward to level the trailer. I do miss the convenience the BAL offered with the TAB in that we could level the trailer side to side without any backing-pulling forward. The BAL also had a greater height range than the Anderson--we've only occasionally had a site which was so sloping side to side that we could not level with the Anderson. Never determined whether the limitation with the BAL was its capacity or the lack of torque of the cordless drill.

Dave

[JeffreyG]

I used a BAL leveler years ago on a popup trailer I had. My general take is: It works, but there isn't much point to it if you have at least two people travelling. The long an short of it is, two people can get a trailer level faster and easier just driving the low wheel up on some crescent type levelers.

Downsides:
It's much bigger and heavier to carry and store than a set of levelers.
It's more work to place and crank to position

Upside:
Makes more sense if you travel alone, where getting onto levelers and seeing if it is level takes more in-n-out of the car steps.

[Sarah Henderson]

Can someone please explain the bottle jack expansion you're referencing? You just need to force the opening a little wider? I keep seeing references to bottle jacks -- is this an essential piece of equipment I should invest in? Do you travel with yours?

I'm interested in this because I do travel alone quite often, and I am new to getting a trailer levelled. I like the idea of just finding my spot, then levelling up. I don't mind the extra bit of manual labour.

I saw one review on Amazon where the person was storing the jack around their spare tire, which seemed like a decent solution. Our trailer is so new to us that I haven't figured out storage stuff yet.

And yes, CAD prices are high compared with USD prices. Story of our lives! Fortunately, we live quite close to the border so I can have things shipped to a service there.

Thanks all!

[HABBERDABBER]

At least my used 2016 E19 came with a tool kit for a tire change, which included a bottle jack. I assume it was an Escape supplied accessory. And yes, with a 2"X 4" piece and a bottle jack, you can expand the BAL a bit wider to fit easier along & under the tire circumference.

Look in your rear hatch or other storage places for a black, plastic box. The jack & other tools are in it.

A cordless drill can be used with the stabilizers and BAL leveler, but it needs to be a high torque model. I tried 3 older drills I had when I modified my front jack for use with a drill, and they couldn't do it. A newer model 18V Milwaukee cordless does it, "no sweat".

Because of the high torque, you can hurt your wrist, so go slow and be aware. They're really powerful drills these days.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

At least my used 2016 E19 came with a tool kit for a tire change, which included a bottle jack. I assume it was an Escape supplied accessory. And yes, with a 2"X 4" piece and a bottle jack, you can expand the BAL a bit wider to fit easier along & under the tire circumference.

Look in your rear hatch or other storage places for a black, plastic box. The jack & other tools are in it.

A cordless drill can be used with the stabilizers and BAL leveler, but it needs to be a high torque model. I tried 3 older drills I had when I modified my front jack for use with a drill, and they couldn't do it. A newer model 18V Milwaukee cordless does it, "no sweat". Because of the high torque, you can hurt your wrist, so go slow and be aware. They're really powerful drills these days

My 2014 E19 didn't come with a jack, nor did my E21. No sweat for dual axles because you just have to pull one wheel up on blocks and the other wheel can be removed. For single axle trailers though it would be handy to have. The one in the photo might be a little more than is needed. They come with various ton ratings. A 2 ton is more than adequate.

I get the impression that using the jack on the BAL leveler is a one shot deal. If you don't acquire a hydraulic bottle jack you could try using your car jack. Failing that, ask a friend, those jacks are pretty common.

I never use a single handed drill in a high torque situation. I've had some pretty good wacks doing that. Double handed or impact drill. But I hate impact drills used in a campground.

Ron

[Sarah Henderson]

I'll check around to see if there's a jack included, but I don't think so. Looks like I can pick one up at Canadian Tire for a reasonable price. I don't like the scissor jack we have in the truck. I wouldn't use a drill to crank up the BAL -- I'm pretty strong and very patient, so I don't mind cranking away by hand. Our hitch jack and stabilizers are all manual.

[Keith3]

When we installed BAL stabilizers on our Scamp it was clearly stated in the packaging that using a drill would void the warranty. Not sure if that is just for the model we used or across the line. I like using the hand tool, gives me a feel of comparative tightness.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Keith3

When we installed BAL stabilizers on our Scamp it was clearly stated in the packaging that using a drill would void the warranty. Not sure if that is just for the model we used or across the line. I like using the hand tool, gives me a feel of comparative tightness.

The BAL levelers aren't installed like the BAL stabilizers. I prefer using hand tools too. To begin with they're typically NOT noisy! And I truly believe it's a use it or lose it thing. I want all parts of my body to keep working as long as possible.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

At least my used 2016 E19 came with a tool kit for a tire change, which included a bottle jack. I assume it was an Escape supplied accessory.

Never heard of this before. My guess is it was furnished by the prior owner.

[sunrisetrucker]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

YEOW!!! Those are expensive through Amazon Canada. They're less than half that in the USA. Consider a road trip!

This is something we have to constantly put up with here in Canada. It's frustrating because the difference in the US and Canadian dollar does not justify the huge difference in price.

[DGLP]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

My 2014 E19 didn't come with a jack, nor did my E21. No sweat for dual axles because you just have to pull one wheel up on blocks and the other wheel can be removed. For single axle trailers though it would be handy to have. The one in the photo might be a little more than is needed. They come with various ton ratings. A 2 ton is more than adequate.

I get the impression that using the jack on the BAL leveler is a one shot deal. If you don't acquire a hydraulic bottle jack you could try using your car jack. Failing that, ask a friend, those jacks are pretty common.

I never use a single handed drill in a high torque situation. I've had some pretty good wacks doing that. Double handed or impact drill. But I hate impact drills used in a campground.

Ron

ETI did not supply a bottle jack with our 2021 21 NE. I purchased a 2-ton bottle jack to carry in the car for the Escape and a large 20-ton bottle jack with a broader base to keep in the garage at home.

[DGLP]

Originally Posted by Sarah Henderson

I'll check around to see if there's a jack included, but I don't think so. Looks like I can pick one up at Canadian Tire for a reasonable price. I don't like the scissor jack we have in the truck. I wouldn't use a drill to crank up the BAL -- I'm pretty strong and very patient, so I don't mind cranking away by hand. Our hitch jack and stabilizers are all manual.

'

You may wish to check out Princess Auto too. They have a 2-ton jack with a broader base than the CDN Tire jack, for $19.99 (versus $20.99):

https://www.princessauto.com/en/2-to...t/PA0009055773

As I mentioned in a previous post, using a jack stand together with a bottle jack is a good safety measure if you're removing a wheel/changing a tire, particularly if you're at home and have a place to store both. This model was on sale for $20.00 CDN until today:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/2-to...t/PA0008760696

[Sarah Henderson]

Originally Posted by DGLP

'

You may wish to check out Princess Auto too. They have a 2-ton jack with a broader base than the CDN Tire jack, for $19.99 (versus $20.99):

Noice! Thank you!

[lonewolfjb]

Originally Posted by Sarah Henderson

Hi all --

Curious to know if anyone has tried this product with a 17?

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...K6Y9EEQB&psc=1

Thanks,

Sarah

I used one on our old Aliner Expedition pop up camper and they work great on a single axel trailer. You just need to keep threads clean by keeping dust and grit off them.