Trailer hookup aid . .
Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 4:52 pmDo you want to hitch your trailer to your pickup without a helper? My tow vehicle is a pickup with a cedar strip cap. I had a "glass" shop make a 10" x 12" x 1/8" plastic mirror by silvering one side. Then placed felt Velcro strips on the back corners to match the "hook" Velcro strips placed on the inside of the back window. Next, cut a stick just the right length (trial and error) that would hold the window open at just the right angle so that the hitch ball could be seen from the driver's position through his centerline rear-view mirror.
The field-of-view is fairly limited. You can only see beyond the hitch ball by about 10". Just enough for the final stage for a precise positioning of trailer tongue to the hitch ball.
The "gross" alignment is made easy by applying vertical "pin stripes" (on the centerline) to the driver’s inside rear-view mirror and to the inside of the back window. Then, when backing up, the two vertical pin stripes are aligned with the trailer/boat. If you place a tall vertical stick just at the tongue's hitch socket, then you can back up to the hitch (i.e., the stick) from any angle. The mirror provides a "vernier" like final adjustment. A helper is useful for the initial “gross” approach (no tall vertical stick needed), but the hitching mirror is much better than a helper for the final approach. Believe me, it works like a charm.
Pete McCrary
Tattoo's skipper and builder
- Mirror is stowed (in the pickup) in a cardboard folder along with its Positioning Stick.
- Mirror folder.jpg (83.39 KiB) Viewed 2604 times
The field-of-view is fairly limited. You can only see beyond the hitch ball by about 10". Just enough for the final stage for a precise positioning of trailer tongue to the hitch ball.
- Ready for hookup. You can barely see the mirror on the inside of the back window.
- Mounted.jpg (93.04 KiB) Viewed 2615 times
- Taken from the driver's position looking at his inside rear-view mirror. The lighting is poor, but you can barely see the hitch ball. The trailer tongue socket would appear to come up from the bottom. Not much space is there which means that the angle of the back window has to be increased (e.g., window raised slightly).
- Driver's View.jpg (91.67 KiB) Viewed 2615 times
The "gross" alignment is made easy by applying vertical "pin stripes" (on the centerline) to the driver’s inside rear-view mirror and to the inside of the back window. Then, when backing up, the two vertical pin stripes are aligned with the trailer/boat. If you place a tall vertical stick just at the tongue's hitch socket, then you can back up to the hitch (i.e., the stick) from any angle. The mirror provides a "vernier" like final adjustment. A helper is useful for the initial “gross” approach (no tall vertical stick needed), but the hitching mirror is much better than a helper for the final approach. Believe me, it works like a charm.
Pete McCrary
Tattoo's skipper and builder