Advantage VS disadvantages to the high lift axle?

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Dave: Was this you? Forget where I found this pic.

Yes that was us. Things were a little bit wet and muddy coming in on the forestry roads. That was the trip where the road in had some big potholes and washboards that were hard to see in the dark. When we arrived, we found that the oven door had popped open and one of the hinges came out, rotating the door, and bending the hinge. Also popped out all of the screws holding the oven in place. Fixed it up good as new when I got home, but it was a learning experience for how the trailer feels the rough roads a lot more than you do riding inside the truck. But we did have some great whitewater paddling on the upper Red Deer River!

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I saw that the drain valve on the fresh water tank was behind the railroad tie, but protruded far enough down that it could not have cleared the tie when I backed up. The tank itself just cleared the tie, and the outlet for the plumbing was in front of the tie, also too low to clear it.

Correction-- I looked at my trailer today: the fresh water tank's drain valve and plumbing outlet are next to each other, so they could not have been on either side of the railroad tie. Now I remember that the valve was behind the tie but the outlet was resting on it. That's why I moved the trailer as soon as I saw the situation. I was lucky that neither the valve nor the outlet were damaged.

[BC Rockcrawler]

[QUOTE=gbaglo;331920]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

I have the high lift, but in my case it accomplishes nothing because the weight distribution hitch is the first to hit any obstruction.

That is one of the reasons I use a Trunnion WDH. More ground clearance and the added benefit of integrated sway control.

[Little Richie]

I love it. I got it to increase the gap between my truck and my fifth wheel at the bed rails. It did that. A side benefit is that it gives me additional height under the front of the fifth wheel. I am 6 feet four and that 2 1/2I inches has saved my head many times.

[vintageracer]

My observation is a high lift axle kit (greater down angle on a torsion axle or spacers on a leaf spring axle) depends upon your axle placement on the trailer and therefore the amount of rear trailer overhang behind the axle.

Look at many motorhomes with sometimes you will see 4-6 feet plus of rear overhang behind the rear axle. DRAG DRAG DRAG the rear on any small incline. Travel trailers are typically much better with smaller overhangs.

Older trailers particularly with torsion axles will sag as the rubber in the torsion axle ages/deteriorates. I know they say the axle life on a torsion is 20 years however I have seen significant sag in torsion axles that are 10 years old. If your trailer is 10 years or older it's a good time to consider an axle replacement with completer new electric brakes or add brakes to your new axle if you do not have em. You will be surprised at how much lift your will git with just a new torsion axle replacement.

Personally I like a lifted trailer however it is completed. Rear ground clearance and the replacement of the axle by me is important as I always buy used and in most cases "Vintage" trailers that need a new axle anyway!

[Tam2004]

We got the higher lift to allow us to back down into our driveway. That worked. Our r-Pod couldn't make it without using multiple boards to raise it to get down. There does not seem to be any disadvantage that we have run into with having the high lift. I suppose sometimes the step is higher, but we like to make ourselves use every aspect we can of our bodies so we can function longer into life. So this is a nice thing for us. As seniors, we like to trick ourselves into staying mobile....

[Ronn]

I don't have the high lift axle and don't know if I'd get it if ordering today, BUT it would help if you do it yourself brake adjustment. We have never had an issue with clearances anywhere we have gone. We haven't been in off road conditions though.

I adjusted my brakes today and would have loved the extra clearance for that job. I do have the foam insulation, so I guess the insulation made clearance even tighter.

I used the Trailer-Aid Tandem Tire Changing Ramp and it is very tight getting underneath the trailer. I guess next time I will use a jack to give me a couple more inches of clearance.

[Gasdoc]

2019 21 foot Escape with high lift axle.
My wife is short and the extra trailer height does affect the step height. We did anticipate this in the showroom, so I had an extra (lower) handle installed by Escape. This is easy for her to reach. I also purchased a top quality metal step with folding legsfrom Amazon. It is a bit heavy, but very stable. I did not trust any of the plastic steps I looked at. These two things make it easy for her to get in and out of the trailer, regardless of the site contour and would have helped even with the standard axle height.
Moreover, I see no practical disadvantage to the high lift axle. It has helped a few times getting over pavement dips, rough ground and irregular campspots. Not needed often, but nice to have when it is needed.
I don't regret adding this feature.

[DMC]

We Needed the high lift option because of our parking situation at home. Needed the clearance. The extra hot does help when draining tanks.

[Meandering Minstrel]

We have the high-lift on our 21. It does not appear to me that we have any more drop on our gray tank drain. It's definitely slower than our last trailer was to drain.

[ExCivilian]

Originally Posted by Gasdoc

I also purchased a top quality metal step with folding legsfrom Amazon. It is a bit heavy, but very stable.

Would you mind linking this step?

[skyfree]

We boondock about 50% of the time. We bought the 2017 17B without a lift. Escape gave us a free electric jack for some reason, and on one trip we absolutely destroyed it on some 4wd roads. We tow with a Colorado ZR2 with plenty of clearance, and the standard height trailer was not a good match to that truck.

The problem is worse with an electric jack because they hang down farther when retracted. The replacement is a manual jack that fully retracts to be even with the frame rails. No WDH for what we do.

I put the lift kit on, and with the new jack I have much more peace of mind on rough roads. This was the only thing we missed when we ordered the trailer. I highly recommend it if you are going to be on some rough roads with your trailer. Every inch counts.

If I was only doing paved roads and campgrounds, I wouldn't bother. The stock height is just fine for that.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by ExCivilian

Would you mind linking this step?

Not Gasdoc but here is the step that we have
https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camp...iABEgKxOvD_BwE

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Not Gasdoc but here is the step that we have
https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camp...iABEgKxOvD_BwE

Fixed height are cheaper
https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camp...SXL-08C-G.html

[Jim Bennett]

I have backed my 5.0TA into our (used to be) very steep front drive, and never even came close to hitting. Escape trailers are designed with pretty darn good clearance for almost any dip or bump in any road out there, with the exception of going down very rough roads designed for four wheeling, or the rare approach to a driveway. I have a photo of the trailer in the old drive somewhere but can't find it now. This is one from when I was mounting my spare under showing the trailer level and you kinda get the idea. It was even a lot steeper at the front of the drive.



Like any option available, we can justify getting it easily, everyone does that, myself included. I keep seeing lots of these justifications, and I have experienced most of them and never had the need for a lifted frame yet.

Also remember, if you did not have it and for some reason found you did need it, it is not a tough thing to add, if not by you by any suspension shop.

[Gasdoc]

Originally Posted by ExCivilian

Would you mind linking this step?

The step I purchased from Amazon.ca was : "Safety Step" SKU: XL-08CG 8 inches high by 16 x 24 inches. It costs $134.95 American (I think). I had trouble finding the same model on Amazon.ca or .com but found it on the Safety Step web site. It comes in yellow or Granite color. There are many similar units - some are aluminum. This one is steel and weighs about 10pounds. I bought it for stability and platform size. Hope this helps.

[ExCivilian]

Thank you. It looks like all of those models are available at Home Depot.