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mnikisher · 04-24-2003, 11:20 AM

My sweet wife and I almost come to blows everytime she "guides" me as I attempt to align the hitch ball with the trailer. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to take the frustration out of this activity?

sander17 · 04-24-2003, 11:44 AM

Temporarily mount a tilted mirror above the connection. The bigger the better. The previous owner of our trailer purchased a convex mirror with a quick release mount to the propane tank bracket. I do not know if they are still available.

Pick · 04-24-2003, 11:45 AM

I can hook up 5 times faster by myself, having someone "help" me does no good at all, it just slows down the process. Learn how to use your mirrors!!

bdbluegrass · 04-24-2003, 11:52 AM

A FIFTH OF JACK DANIELS MIGHT HELP. OTHER THAN THAT I HAVE NO IDEA

GOOD LUCK
BILLY

thenewkid64 · 04-24-2003, 11:54 AM

Is it the left/right or when to stop that is the issue?

I have seen people place a section of PVC on the tounge of the trailer that has a "T" at the bottom to keep it stable. This is visible in the rearview mirror. Then they place one or two lines on the bck window ot the tow vehicle. When the lines line up or the ole is in the middle as viewed in the rear view mirror you are good. You could alos set a mark on the window tha corresponds to the top of the pipe on the trailer that would give you an indication on where to stop. The marks would be made while sitting under the reciver, but not connected. Height will change some unless you allways are connecting /disconnecting on a level surface.

One other thing we used was to have her point the direction the ball or back of the trailer (when parking) should go. It was up to me to figure out how to make it happen. Less confusion on my left or her right.....

JaceBeck · 04-24-2003, 12:02 PM

I generally do it myself, but on those occasions when I have to have my wife help, we use our GMRS/FRS two-way radios. Seems to work better for some reason and the surrounding campsites don't hear our shouting at each other as much.
Jace

dtbw · 04-24-2003, 12:19 PM

The first few times hitching the Hensley Arrow led us both to wonder if our relationship could survive the A/S. I quickly learned some fixed landmarks on the both the truck and the A/S. On our Sport Trac, at the very back edge of the factory bed cover, is an elevated cover for the lock and this is lateral, dead center of truck. My other landmark is the center brace behind our front "solar" rock guard as it is at the centerline of the A/S. Using the inside rear view mirror (since it is in the center of the truck, I minimize parallax issues and by started 10-15 ft from the A/S and aligning my landmarks, the exercise has become almost childs play. The Hensley does require that no last minute direction changes be made as the draw bar is long and has to insert quite a ways into the Hensley before we can latch it in place.

A really neat device that has also helped replaces your normal jack pad. This device is a called a tongue twister and what it allows is for you to easily move the trailer tongue left or right several inches if you are off just a bit

So between the power jack, the tongue twister, and learning my landmarks, I usually get the lateral alignment dead-on the first attempt and then by simply raising or lowering the tongue as needed, complete the hitch up by simply continuing to back up.

David
02 Bambi LS

Rickk48 · 04-24-2003, 12:51 PM

I find it much easier and quicker to do it myself. I align the trailer with the center of my rear window (high mount brake light in top center of window centered on Bambi front window frame). I use the rear view mirror when backing. Back up, stop get out and look, adjust, back some more. I maybe hop in and out 4-6 times in this process, but it only takes me maybe 25 minutes to completely hitch up and be ready to go. I do find if I feel time pressured, it is better to make the backing in small increments, hopping out to check more often.

Only time I will ask my wife to help is if we are trying to back into a tight space at night. Then she is only there to tell me if I am going to hit something.

femuse · 04-24-2003, 01:24 PM

After 12 years of doing that, here is what Mike has learned from me:
"You don't like the way I give direction....do it yourself"

He is better (he says) at giving directions, and I am much better at following directions. ("pull ahead 1 foot" does not mean "pull ahead 20 feet")

90% of the time, he directs & I drive. Works great that way.

About maneuvering the rig in general:

2 way radios help, and a good flashlight at night. I still have to teach him that in the dark, with a 60' rig, and pretty tight stop to get into, little movements with a finger is not the best way to signal. The fact that most of the time he confuses his left & his right adds to the challange.

mnikisher · 04-24-2003, 01:24 PM

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I have a SnugTop on my truck and was not smart enough to open the back window of my truck and the top so I could get a good view of the trailer. We do use 2-way radios, a suggestion I picked up on this forum a while back. I'm thinking that a mirror, mounted on the propane tank cover and tilted at the right angle, might help a lot. I usually end up off to the left or right about half the width of the ball, or I run just past it as her command to stop and my reaction time conspire to bury the trailer tongue in my rear bumper. Has anyone noticed that the more beautiful a woman is the more spatially challenged they are?

femuse · 04-24-2003, 01:31 PM

Thank you, I think, for the comment.

I always compliment Mike on how cute he is.

I haven't checked if anybody said that:

signal with your hands, one above the other, to show the distance left.

dtbw · 04-24-2003, 01:36 PM

Order a tongue twister (www.hensleymfg.com) and then you can just move the trailer tongue left or right the needed amount without having to pull up, move over, backup again, etc. I think I paid about $35 for the device. Well worth the investment.

david
02 Bambi LS

wayner1239 · 04-24-2003, 01:59 PM

Does the tongue twister work with any hitch or with just the Hensley Arrow? If it works with any hitch my wife may lose her job security.
Wayne

dtbw · 04-24-2003, 02:02 PM

It works with ANY hitch. It has a cup that the trailer tongue jack post slids into as you raise the trailer tongue. The cup is attacted to a slide with a jack screw running along the bottom. To move the tongue, the jack screw is rotated (with the the included ratchet) left or right. If you look on the Hensley website they have pics that make it all very clear.

david
02 Bambi LS

overlander64 · 04-24-2003, 02:18 PM

As a Free Wheeler, this is familiar territory. I have never had assistance in hitching other than from the first dealer I worked with and it quite frankly is easier as a do-it-yourself activity for me. Some tricks that I have learned included:

1. When I towed with a pickup that had a topper, the center latching mechanism for the topper when unlatched provided an exact vertical line with the ball mount behind the bumper - - a piece of bright colored masking tape centered on the front window of the Airstream the two are aligned in the rear view mirror of the truck and backing very carefully until in close range - - get out to check. Usually took about two trips back to get it perfectly centered over the top of the ball.

2. When I towed with my '65 Dodge, it had a center mounted trunk ornament that was visible in the rear view mirror and when it was in alignment with the top of the jack post it was a simple matter of backing about six inches for a near perfectly aligned hitch-up.

3. With my current Suburban, the rear wiper motor is nearly centered so I can use it with the tape trick from #1 to align with ease.

4. By far the easiest method is the "Hitch Align" mirror. I have three different varieties dating back to 1980. One mounts magnetically to the top of the hitch post and is a large oval convex mirror that points down toward the ball mount and can be viewed through the rear view mirror of the tow vehicle. The second one is also magnetically mounted and attaches to the "A" frame behind the jack post - - it is adjustable for both height and angle, and has a large square flat mirror. The last is one that is designed to permanently mount to the jack post via a clamping device - - it is my least favorite as it can be disconcerting when traveling down the road and lights start reflecting through the mirror.

It seems like the hitch align mirrors fall into and out of popularity. All three of mine were purchased from Camping World using the mail order catalog - - the only one that is on the web site hooks over the tail gate of the pickup. Using a combination of landmark devices on the trailer and vehicle in combination with the hitch align mirror, I find that hitching is nearly trouble free. These mirrors can often be found at the WBCCI International Rally Flea Market for a very reasonable cost.

Kevin

casarodante · 04-24-2003, 03:31 PM

I can also do it faster than with my wife guiding me. However it is nice to have her there to start lowering the tongue on the ball when it is aligned.

To help my alignment, I have have a small American flag sticker mounted on both the tow vehicle and the A/S dead center. I just have to look in my rearview mirror and make sure they are lined up. My Excursion has a backup sensor and eventually you learn how rapid a beep is close enough.

FYI

Silvertwinkie · 04-24-2003, 03:33 PM

I just aim the center of the car to the center of the trailer and stop about a foot or so beforhand. Make adjustments and then finish the job. It takes me about 3-5 minutes to complete.

Eric

startrekker2001 · 04-24-2003, 03:50 PM

I hook up my webcam to my laptop and set the camera on the rear of my Excursion with the dutch doors open. The laptop sits next to me on the center console. I watch the backing process on the computer. Works every time.

Rickk48 · 04-24-2003, 04:08 PM

Eric said:

Quote:

It takes me about 3-5 minutes to complete.

Man you are quick. Of course my 25 minutes is from the time I sign in at the storage place to the time I sign out, which includes full hitching, starting refrigerator, pull and store wheel chocks, check all lights and brakes in working order, etc. Now, since I am also installing battery, it no doubt will take me a few more minutes.

dtbw

Must say, I kinda like the looks of the toungue twister. Do you leave it attached to the jack post as the foot at all times?

femuse · 04-24-2003, 05:14 PM

I just realize you guys have it really easy: are you talking about looking through the back window?????

That's a push over.

With our cargo van (18' long), no way to see the trailer hitch, Mike was able to hitch it up alone, by counting the number of rivets still showing by the front window. I too, could back up to it pretty close (but too lazy to get in & out to retry)

What in the world do you need a "tongue twister" if you have a back window????

and mirrors, and little flags on a pole,......

Just practice a little bit, you'll learn. Of course we do that several times a week, over 4 months a year. But we too had to start somewhere.