Hitch Helper???

[Silvercamper]

Hello Everyone

Our fellow Streamer GLENCOMBE has chanced upon the Hitch Helper at this place: www.hell-ya.com. Looks pretty interesting but don't take our word for it, see for yourself.

You can also read his thoughts in the "Easy rider air Hitch post" right here.

Thank you Glen.

Sharon & Winston

[Buttercup]

Believe it or not, this type of technology has been around for quite some time. In the movie "The Long, Long, Trailer" shows on the cover of the video a similar thing which is basically under the tongue of the trailer. I remember seeing it when watching the movie a few weeks ago.

By the way, If you have not seen this movie, find it and rent it. it is quite funny (and sometimes not so funny).

[bjond]

I bought an Airstream with this contraption welded on it. It is a Watson. Attached are several pics of the dolly. To tow the trailer home I disassembled most of the dolly except spring tubes that are welded to the Airstream A frame. Once taken apart the tubes did not interfer with my reese hitch bars. I will probably restore the dolly and install it at rallys just to spark conversation. The tubes already provoke a "What in the world are those" reaction. I'm not sure why the original owner put this on the trailer. We got some pictures of the trailer and original owner's tow vehicle and he had a Ford pickup truck.

[lewster]

They still use a device like that today! I have seen several of the 30 foot+ car trailers that are usually found tagging along behind the Prevost bus conversions (you know, the $1million + kind), all painted nice to match the bus using a device just like this. I guess when you pull a trailer with an elevator in it (really!) holding 2 cars, 2 motorcycles and a golf cart, the tongue weight gets up there!

Ahhh, lifestyles of the rich and richer!

[Coastalview]

Wow, if you consider the tire height on this device, the tires are rolling 2,600 revolutions per mile. How many spares do you need to pack for a cross country road trip?
Jeff

[millionairstream]

And they've been around forever. People used to pull 30' trailers full of pots and pans and dishes and food, with 6 and 8 cyl engines that developed half the power a Tundra has- and in Buicks that could not be loaded down like an F350. Slimp wheels supported the weight that was too much for the car.

[SilverToy]

Very interesting posts here. LOVE the photos.

Curious about a few things though - do/can the wheels rotate all the way around ala the front shoppong cart wheels???

How it the tongue/ hitch connection affected with something like that installed?? Wouldn't there have to be another set-up to make that connection.

Do you get "the EXTRA AXLE charge" when you go accross a toll bridge or into a toll tunnel???

Are the tires of a quality that could be expected to have the same high level of engeneering that goes into the highway tires that also suppport that same TT?????

I mean, the device looks interesting, and the concept that it will reduce the tongue weight have some obvious benefits for a lot of reasons.

Any answers, thoughts or more random questions on this subject would be appreciated.

Axel

[Silvercamper]

Hello Friends

We have to see that famous movie: 'The Long Long Trailer' and maybe there will be extra charges at the tolls but has anyone out there tried one of these devices?

What are the advantages? or disadvantages? Someone out there has the answer or at least an opinion and we are dying to hear from you.

We are always on the look out for items that may have some useful application to city dwellers like us for whom the full size pick up is not an option at this time.

Sharon & Winston

[Silvercamper]

Fellow Streamers

Since no further response is to be had, we have gone ahead and ordered the 'HITCH HELPER'. Delivery is early next week and the July 4 th. weekend will be our first outing to nearby PA.

We have no pre conceived expectations but merely wished to try either the Hitch Helper or the Hitch Buddy. The former is the cheaper of the two and we'll just have to go without the air ride and extra brakes which the Hitch Buddy provides. How well does this contraption work and how does it compare to our current hitch?. These are the questions we seek to answer.

There is a 30 day refund policy on the HH and by the way the HA will be along for the ride just in case. We promise to have an update upon our return to New York. Wish us luck.

Sharon & Winston

[GlenCoombe]

I have to disavow any knowledge of the effectivness of the Hitch Helper and any connection to the company.
I can say that the owners are some of the nicest folks I've met. You can't beat their attitude.
They designed something to help the farm community and it's grown from there.
Follow the link http://www.hell-ya.com/index.html to their site and look at the FAQ's to answer your questions.
I'm looking forward to seeing your objective evaluation SilverCamper.

[Devoman]

This is really intresting.I can not wait to here the results.Does this take away some of the hitch weight from the tow vehicle?Seems like it would make less stress on the tow vehicle also making it easier to pull without as much down force pressing on your tires to the road.

[STREAMTEAM]

Thanks for the tip on the movie Buttercup. We both said "Oh Ya" Desi and Luci, but neither of us could remember. Checked out your link about the movie and decided we've never seen it! We will look for it..
Silvercamper, good luck with the Hitch Helper, will be looking forward to hearing how it works for you.

[Silvercamper]

Hi All

The HA is down and the HH is connected. We are off to PA for the week end..So far so good. We will be sure to report upon our return.

Sharon & Winston

[scottanlily]

Helo everyone'

those devices are called a sling dolly ,thats the correct name.
they provided extra support for the tow vehical .In the long long trailer ,
those trailers had home type refrigerators ,couches tables ,bunk beds
etc,Those cars could never handle the enormouse tongue weight ,The sling dolly provided the extra support needed ,airfloat trailers used sling dollys alot
due to their design .That trailer in the movie was a NEW MOON brand.
If you watch the part where desi and lucy were at the trailer show you
can see just (as home) the interiors actually were.Jbond's airstream
must have been towed with an older sedan of some type to utilize two
dual tire sling dolly's .definatley did not have anything other than the ball
hitch ,probably worked pretty good though .Imagine 4 more little tires to worry about.

Scott

[Silvercamper]

Hello Everyone

We are back and what an experience it has been. Please bear in mind that we have no technical knowledge to speak of and our only experiences have been with the Reese and the Hensley HA both of which we still own.

We chose the dually version for reasons of security...two wheels are better than one.....and this arrived in three sections which were relatively simple to put together. Uniting the Airstream and ball was the next step, and this was easier than either of us could remember.... and as practiced many times during the long week-end, This step can be achieved from any angle. The ball height was adjusted so that the AS always remained level and without weight distribution or any sort of anti-sway device, we set out for central PA.

Going down the road, the stability was immediately noticeable and over the next 400 miles or so the only time an eighteen wheeler was in evidence was when this driver looked in the rear view mirror or when it came alongside and the sound of the engine could be heard. Two extra wheels in the vicinity of the ball seem to have a positive effect on sway.

The towing experience was controlled and without stress and this resulted in a less tired driver with a noticeable absence of shoulder or neck pains. Although we tried to maintain a constant 55-60 MPH, there were times when we looked up and the speedometer was hovering around 70 on the flats. Stopping with the HH was also controlled and predictable even though this device has no brakes of its own.

We always seem to get to a campground after dark and this outing was no exception. Backing into a dark site surrounded by numerous campers around campfires the HH was predictable and the AS went exactly where it was supposed to go. Unlike many recent occasions, no one felt the need to assist us into the site, and that felt good.

The HH did not provide us with any super powers when it came to climbing the hills of PA. This was achieved at the same pace as the other hitches in our experience. Although towing was stable and sway was non existant, there was an up and down movement at the ball/wheels when uneven roadway was encountered. We learned to slow down at the bridges along the highway.

Completely unexpected was the attention that the HH can attract from fellow campers. We have met and spoken to more people on this week-end trip than any other outing to date. The Hitch-Helper has been a great conversation starter.

Finally the simplicity of this HH results in very low maintenance. At every stop it takes a few glances to observe that all pins are in place and connections are secure. And at the end of this trip this device was removed from the AS, reduced to its former three parts and stored. That's all for now Folks and thank you for visiting.

Sharon & Winston

[scottanlily]

Hello silvercamper,

great experience you had .It makes since that you had good results with the unit .That tensioning of the arms and shoulders ,ready for the trucks to
go buy or maybe sway UGH. I agree on the dual wheel setup .That device
is a version of the sling dolly of the past ,your benefits now ,were the benefits then .It works ,as that dolly holds up the trailer tongue rather
than tying the frames together with the WD hitch .I would imagine that
the trailer rides smoother on those tires with some suspension to it.
The only issue would be the tires to think about and more wheel bearings.

[scf31]

After towing for a while you said you checked the set-up ,pins and such, Did you feel the tires and hubs for heat ?


So far I am very impressed

[GlenCoombe]

A point and shoot laser thermometer would be great for checking tires and bearing all around.

[scottanlily]

I myself have the proffesional grade raytech laser thermometer ,all should buy
one a gret tool invaluble to easily test temperature of tire ,wheel bearing ,the hubs and much under the hood ,a great investment and peacs of mind !

Scott

[Silvercamper]

We never thought to check tires but on our next outing we surely will. Maybe we'll get one of those point and shoot lasers. Thank you guys.

So many tools ...... so little time.

Sharon & Winston