Does anyone have a foolproof method of knowing when your towball is correctly positioned under the hitch when hitching up alone. Assuming of course that like me you don't have a mover. Any good tips?
Solo hitching up
- Thread starter cobbers
- Start date
http://www.towsure.com/product/460-Removable_Bumper_Protector
This is quite good but you need to aim at it and approach carefully
I used to place a sweeping broom against the towhitch and aim for it as well as using the above aid
This is quite good but you need to aim at it and approach carefully
I used to place a sweeping broom against the towhitch and aim for it as well as using the above aid
hi i use a road cone with long red white pole put pole in top off road cone put pole in front off alko hitch when tow ball hits polestop this gives you about a inch or two use handbrake to controll caravan onto tow ball of car i find old broom handle painted red white is good you can see over your shoulder to see pole
We cheat and use the mover. It has a soft start on it that makes it a doddle to take the caravan to the car with virtually no risk of damage.
Get a spare tow ball cover and fit it with some sort of "mast" such that you can see the top from the driving seat when the cover is placed on the towball. Fit a similar "mast" to the hitch of the caravan as close to the ball socket as you can, perhaps with spring clips or clothes pegs onto the stabiliser handle. Paint masts dayglo or white. Then you will see both through the rear window when reversing and it is very easy to line them up. Suggest a bumper protector as well.
Pre-mover, I made these using the antenna of an old indoor TV as the masts - they slide down inside each other, so easy to store.
I believe there is a commercial version on the market with red LEDs at the mast tips, but this is not really necessary.
Make sure your hitch is sufficiently high before your start the manoeuver.
Pre-mover, I made these using the antenna of an old indoor TV as the masts - they slide down inside each other, so easy to store.
I believe there is a commercial version on the market with red LEDs at the mast tips, but this is not really necessary.
Make sure your hitch is sufficiently high before your start the manoeuver.
Cobbers,
Unfortunately there is no foolproof way ( that I am aware of )of reversing solo to hitch, only different approaches. Personally I do it very slowly getting out of the car a few times to see where I am.
Unfortunately there is no foolproof way ( that I am aware of )of reversing solo to hitch, only different approaches. Personally I do it very slowly getting out of the car a few times to see where I am.
Hello cobbers,
You dont say what car you have, but many cars these days have a folding rear seat, and with some models you if open the boot and drop the seat, you can actually see out through the back.
Now it will depend on which model of car, but with some the boot opens down to the bumper line, so in both my cars (Saab 93 and Renault Espace)I can see the top of the ball.
With some cars (Mainly estates) you fix a mirror on the tailgate that allow you to see the hitch. Perhaps a similar thing could be done fitting a mirror to the caravan Jockey wheel on an extension pole to give a view of the hitch from inside the car.
There's an idea for a manufacturer!
You dont say what car you have, but many cars these days have a folding rear seat, and with some models you if open the boot and drop the seat, you can actually see out through the back.
Now it will depend on which model of car, but with some the boot opens down to the bumper line, so in both my cars (Saab 93 and Renault Espace)I can see the top of the ball.
With some cars (Mainly estates) you fix a mirror on the tailgate that allow you to see the hitch. Perhaps a similar thing could be done fitting a mirror to the caravan Jockey wheel on an extension pole to give a view of the hitch from inside the car.
There's an idea for a manufacturer!
I'm afraid the nips have beat us to it there John. Mitsibushi have it on the grey import shoguns and Toyota have it in the estima. Pretty ugly things I must say.
I have used three pieces of insulation tape placed strategically on the front panel of the caravan. Having placed the car in line with the caravan and over the hitch, I then placed the tapes on the panel to coincide with my view point in the door mirrors thus placing the tow ball dead center side to side. Then the third piece of tape is placed in the center of the front panel viewed from the interior mirror. By placing the tapes like this you should be within 25mm of hook up most times.
Regards.
Steve L.
I have used three pieces of insulation tape placed strategically on the front panel of the caravan. Having placed the car in line with the caravan and over the hitch, I then placed the tapes on the panel to coincide with my view point in the door mirrors thus placing the tow ball dead center side to side. Then the third piece of tape is placed in the center of the front panel viewed from the interior mirror. By placing the tapes like this you should be within 25mm of hook up most times.
Regards.
Steve L.
Hello Steve,
Yes I know the has been done on a number of imported vehicles, - Ugly yes, but probably effective. I find it strange that they are fitted to Japanese vehicles yet somewhere I read that trailers were barely known in Japan!.
The idea I was suggesting was fitting one as a temporary measure to post that attaches to the jockey wheel stem or to some other part of the A frame. - perhaps inside the gas bottle locker lid. This cold be wedged open either with a gas strut or a pole of some sort whilst you position the car. If the mirror was slightly convex, having a wider angle of view it would be less sensitive to its actual position.
arnge that eh hs is
Yes I know the has been done on a number of imported vehicles, - Ugly yes, but probably effective. I find it strange that they are fitted to Japanese vehicles yet somewhere I read that trailers were barely known in Japan!.
The idea I was suggesting was fitting one as a temporary measure to post that attaches to the jockey wheel stem or to some other part of the A frame. - perhaps inside the gas bottle locker lid. This cold be wedged open either with a gas strut or a pole of some sort whilst you position the car. If the mirror was slightly convex, having a wider angle of view it would be less sensitive to its actual position.
arnge that eh hs is
The rear view camera on the X trail is amazing for hitching up
You can see the towball and its dead easy
Big boys toys!!
You can see the towball and its dead easy
Big boys toys!!
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