Hopkins Electronic Smart Level

I found one of the Hopkins Electronic Smart Levels during our travels. I was intrigued as to whether it would work. It does, and it does so quite well.

The smart level comes with adhesive strips on the bracket and also with screws. I did not want to use the screws so I used the adhesive to attach it to the side of the R-Pod at the front driver's side corner. I was not happy with my original choice of locations so I removed the bracket which destroyed the adhesive strips. I used 3M Scotch Extremely Strong Mounting Tape (black) in place of the original adhesive strip as it was about the same thickness and is made for outdoor use. The Smart Level has a small bubble level to aid in installing. First the trailer is leveled. Then the Smart Level is attached using the small level to ensure it is level. That is it.

The level itself can be detached from the bracket to store inside when it is not being used. It is simple to slide on the bracket when needed and because it is visible, can be used by the driver to level the trailer from side-to-side. Once that is done, the level is swiveled and then used to level front-to-back. Then can be slid back off the bracket and taken inside. The bracket stays attached.

Operation is to push the button until the unit turns on. It will flash LED lights and settle on one side or the other and indicate whether and how much the low side needs to be raised. If it is level, the center green LED column lights. It can be calibrated so that the LED lights indicate 1-1/2" (default) or 1" (optional) per LED light. That helps if one is using different height blocks for leveling to know how many to use.

My one quibble is that when mounted with the adhesive, the weight of the level causes it to sit slightly off when it is swiveled out for the side-to-side measurement. I added a shim to the back to fill the space below the bracket when installed and to support the level so that it would not shift on the bracket when swiveled out. It did not take much. I think this is something that Hopkins should address, but it is not something that should prevent one from considering this level, just something that one should be aware of. If the bracket were not used and it were attached directly, it would not have this issue, but then it would also be subject to the weather and the road conditions. A shim was a better choice.

Use of this device eliminates the guesswork of how much to level and the running back and forth to the door to use a torpedo level to check whether it is level or not. It is relatively affordable. It is available from several sources including Amazon, eTrailer, and Walmart. This last one is where I found mine and is the most reasonable in price ($19.88). The others are several dollars more.