Quick How To: Installing BAL Hide-A-Spare - R-pod Owners Forum

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GlueGuy

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Topic: Quick How To: Installing BAL Hide-A-Spare
Posted: 14 Jun 2018 at 12:01pm

I started poking around and found that the 28215 & 28216 are being discontinued (or are in the process of being discontinued). The new versions are the 28217 (in place of the 28215), and 28218 (in place of the 28216).

The difference is how low the tire ends up being mounted. The 28217 can mount the tire "snug" up against the belly of the R-pod. The 28218 will drop it down quite a bit more. It seems from what others have stated that the 28215/28217 needs to be adjusted somewhat to accommodate the width of the tire. I think the 28216/28218 will end up with the tire a "lot" lower (several inches it seems).

This link shows the differences with a couple of pictures.

bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Subzilla

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Posted: 14 Jun 2018 at 12:41pm

Just be careful of putting too low under the trailer at the rear end....I could see some scraping occurring if going through a steep driveway. Maybe the 28217 puts it in a good spot...not too tight but not too low. Their "identifier" sheet has the dimensions. Might want to do some measuring.

Mark
Concord, NC
2017 RP 179 "Podzilla"
2011 Silverado 1500 4X4

GlueGuy

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Posted: 14 Jun 2018 at 3:52pm

Originally posted by Subzilla

Just be careful of putting too low under the trailer at the rear end....I could see some scraping occurring if going through a steep driveway. Maybe the 28217 puts it in a good spot...not too tight but not too low. Their "identifier" sheet has the dimensions. Might want to do some measuring.

I talked to a tech at BAL, and the main difference between the 28215 and 28217 is that the 28217 is designed to fit into the channel in an I-beam style frame. Either will work, but the 28217 will come "out" whatever dimension they allowed for the I-beam. Both have roughly the same drop.

Based on measurements I took, the R-pod frame is 4" tall, to allow you to tuck the tire up by that amount. Our HRE spare tire is roughly 9" wide, so it will have to hang down by about 5" plus the thickness of the Hide-a-spare. As-built the 28215/28217 provides 6.75" of space to the top of the mountain bracket. That means the top of the bracket is going to be mounted down ~~ 2.25" on the frame to allow enough space for the spare.

The 28216/28218 provides an additional 6.75" of space for the tire (total of 13.5" of space for the spare). Certainly enough space, but about 4.5" more than we would need.

bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Presitla99 View Drop Down

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Posted: 14 Jun 2018 at 6:03pm

Thanks to all for the detailed info and responses. I am humbled by your efforts. The 28215 is my choice but hard to find.

Subzilla

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Posted: 15 Jun 2018 at 6:47am

GlueGuy, I hope you have less frustration than I did installing it. I'm certainly not trying to rain on anyone's parade here.......I thought I had done the same forethought as I'm usually pretty meticulous with such projects. Not sure where I went wrong. After precise measuring (or so I thought), I installed the mounting brackets where I thought they should be. Threw the tire in place and could not even come close to getting the tire carrier in proper place. I had to move BOTH mounting brackets down as low as I could get them PLUS reduce tire pressure to less than 10 pounds to give it some flex and I still had to slightly force the carrier in place.

If the top of your bracket goes 2.25" down, I wonder where that puts the mounting holes. Mine were at the bottom of the frame. Not sure why mine was such a challenge. Please report back when you install yours and let us know how it goes. I will go home and do some measurements this weekend and try to remember to post them to compare with your numbers. Have a good day!

Mark

Mark
Concord, NC
2017 RP 179 "Podzilla"
2011 Silverado 1500 4X4

GlueGuy

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Posted: 15 Jun 2018 at 9:27am

Subzilla, how wide is your spare tire? I have to admit I just eyeballed it a bit (with a tape measure), as it's still attached to the standard rear-mount. If your tire is closer to 10", then it would start getting real close as to whether it would work or not.

bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

AZ Pete

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Posted: 15 Jun 2018 at 2:12pm

when I installed mine (Hood River edition R180). My measurements showed that the road side bracket would benefit from an extension. So I had a piece of 1/8" plate stitched to it, and the curb side mount as well. I also wanted to mount the road side mount on the outside of the frame, to make it easier to drill and bolt. So I made a small bracket to relocate the gas "T" 2 inches inside the frame.

GlueGuy

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Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 8:44pm

I finally got a round tuit, and ordered a Hide-a-Spare. Started to plan this thing out, and my first dilemma is curb side or street side?

Curb side can be an issue because, well, curbs. If you're parked next to a curb, you're not going to be able to drop the extension.

Street side can be an issue because, well, streets. I'd hate to have to pull the spare out into the street. People might be going by with trucks and trailers!

I bet if I put it up for a vote, we'd get a 50/50 split on which side to put the darn thing.

I did notice that the Bal videos show it on the street side.

bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

StephenH

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Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 9:21pm

Curb side for safety's sake! If you are on the shoulder, you can pull it out safely on the curb side. Not so on the street side unless you have a very wide shoulder. If you look at the BAL video, it is mounted next to the steps. That confirms that it is the curb side.

StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
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GlueGuy

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Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 11:24am

Originally posted by StephenH

Curb side for safety's sake! If you are on the shoulder, you can pull it out safely on the curb side. Not so on the street side unless you have a very wide shoulder. If you look at the BAL video, it is mounted next to the steps. That confirms that it is the curb side.

Looking at this last night, there is only one place where this thing will work toward the back of the R-pod. I'm not certain that it would work on the curb side, as there doesn't appear to be enough room between the steps and the rear stabilizer. We have a HRE, and the tire is kind of large.

bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost