BAL X-Chock Review: Who It Is For, and Who Should Skip It

This is part of our leveling and chocks guide, and it exists because the X-chock is the most commonly bought-for-the-wrong-reason product in the category.

What it actually does

The X-chock is a scissor mechanism that sits in the gap between the two tires of a tandem axle. A ratchet expands it, and it pushes the tires apart. That does two things at once: it takes the slack out of the suspension and the axle bushings, and it stops the two wheels moving relative to each other.

The result is the thing people are actually chasing when they search for wheel chocks. A trailer with X-chocks fitted moves noticeably less when you walk around inside it. It does not go completely rigid — nothing makes a trailer rigid, because it is a box on leaf springs — but the vague, unsettling sway is largely gone.

What it does not do is stop the trailer rolling. That is a wedge chock's job, and BAL are clear that the X-chock is not a substitute. Use both. The difference is set out in full in X-chocks versus wheel chocks.

The check to do before you order

Walk to the side of your trailer and count the wheels. One wheel per side means a single axle, and this product will not fit. Two wheels per side means a tandem axle, and it will.

The second check is the gap. On some rigs the tires sit close enough together that seating the chock the first time is a genuine fight, and on a few it is very tight indeed. This is not a fault, but it is worth knowing before you are crouched in gravel at dusk wondering whether you bought the wrong thing.

Living with it

Fitted, it is a thirty-second job per side once you have done it twice. You need the ratchet or a wrench, and the single most common complaint is that the tool goes missing. Keep it taped to the chock or in the same compartment, permanently.

It lives outside, in weather, in road spray, for years. The steel is galvanized and it does hold up, but the ratchet mechanism benefits from a spray of lubricant once a season along with everything else you do at the start of the year.

Best for Tandem-axle rigs that rock

BAL X-Chock Tire Locking Chock

The standard answer to a trailer that rocks when you walk across it, and only useful if you have two axles per side.

Specification

◆Fits between tandem-axle tires

Specification

◆Ratchet-driven expansion

Specification

◆One per side is the normal setup

Check price on Amazon#ad we may earn a commission

What it does well

• +It pushes the two tires apart instead of blocking them, which is what actually stops the side-to-side rock
• +The ratchet means you tighten by feel and it stays tight
• +Survives being left outside for years

The real tradeoff

• –Useless on a single-axle trailer. There is no second tire to push against
• –Needs a wrench or the matching ratchet, which is one more thing to keep track of
• –Tight tire gaps on some rigs make it a fight to seat the first time

How it measures up

These are judgments from published specifications and what we see at the lodge, not laboratory results. How we choose.

Beginner fit

Good — Simple once shown, mildly fiddly the first time.

Stability once set

Strong — This is the one thing it does, and it does it.

Speed to level

Good — Thirty seconds a side with the ratchet.

Value

Good — Buy one per side, not one per trailer.

What a complete setup looks like

Chocks for rolling, X-chocks for rocking, pads under the jacks. Three cheap things that between them cover the whole problem.

Best for Tandem-axle rigs that rock

BAL X-Chock Tire Locking Chock

The standard answer to a trailer that rocks when you walk across it, and only useful if you have two axles per side.

Check price on Amazon#ad we may earn a commission

Best for The non-negotiable basics

Camco Heavy-Duty Wheel Chocks (pair)

The chock that stops the trailer rolling. Not the one that stops it rocking, which is a different product, and you need both.

Check price on Amazon#ad we may earn a commission

Best for A second set for the tongue jack

Valterra Stabilizer Jack Pads

Functionally interchangeable with any other jack pad. Buy whichever is in stock, but do buy a spare for the tongue jack.

Check price on Amazon#ad we may earn a commission