Trailer hitch alignment made easy ideas?

[Rotorpilot1969]

I was looking around the web for a trailer hitch camera or a non electronic hitch to receiver helper. I think. After reading camera reviews I'm leaning more to a non camera tool such as never miss or even the old tennis ball setup. If I were to use a camera system I'd want it simple wireless and removable, even one with a phone app would be best for me but seems the picture quality and connectivity is less than good on all the systems I've reviewed. What works best for you?

 

[frantically relaxing]

I'd still consider a camera- our 40' motorhome has a rear camera, mounted up high so it's not really intended to hook up a trailer with, but--- I have a little 5 or so inch Panasonic B/W TV, with the name at the bottom of the monitor, and when the tip of the tongue of my Chaparral trailer is dead center with the second "a" in "Panasonic", and the tongue tip JUST touches the bottom edge of the screen, the hitch and tongue are dead to rights every time.

I have one of the 'tennis ball' types of aligners, it works okay but it takes more time to arrange the parts than it takes just to get out and check once or twice. And it wouldn't work at all on a motorome...

 

[thumpar]

I want one of these.

 

[Rotorpilot1969]

I want one of these.

I like this but not practical for my needs and terrain. I was wondering about a brake. Lol glad to see it has one because my boat would roll down the hill

 

[minuteman62-64]

I'm backup challenged, but I find the HF "tennis ball on a wand" works pretty good for me - at under $10 as I recall.

 

[pevaguy]

I want one of these.

Are you wanting the gadget or the operator?

 

[qflyer]

I set an ipad in the truck, my iphone on top of the tailgate looking straight down at the hitch. Facetime the ipad to iphone, voila - instant backup camera. 20 seconds to set in place, works every time.

 

[Rotorpilot1969]

They have a app to turn your iPhone and iPad into a remote camera monitor. May work even better

 

[Pony]

I generally had never used anything, but just sort of got used to where I needed to be to get line up without needing any visual aids. Now that I have a larger boat that is more difficult to just move an inch or two by hand if I was a little off backing up....and the fact that I now am often hitching up on my own, I opted for the back up camera. In addition, I have a little kiddo on the way and have been wanting to add one for safety purposes anyway.

I have a double din Pioneer touchscreen on the dash which I have the camera connected to. It is actually surprisingly clear. It has taken a bit to get used to the different depth perception, but I am liking it more and more each time. The other benefit is that I can see how far the trailer is going into the water at the ramp.....as sometimes it is steep enough to lose sight of it through the back window.

 

[oldjeep]

Go to a parking lot and practice until you figure it out? A boat trailer is about the easiest type of trailer to line up - line up on the center of the bow (use your mirrors - don't peek over your shoulder).

 

[britisher]

I struggled backing up to begin with, then bought the tennis ball things that use extendable metal rods. I got mine from Harbor Freight for about $10.00 (pick up a 20% discount coupon from one of the mags and it's even less. Backing up to the trailer is now so easy peasy with the balls. Why spend a fortune on back up cameras and other gizmos when you can do the same for much less. KIS....Keep It Simple!! Boating is expensive enough.

 

[haulnazz15]

If you're going to get a rear-view camera, get one that is permanently installed. When I bought my truck, I didn't care that it had the rear view camera installed, but after using it for a few weeks, I won't buy another new car without it. I can put the hitch ball spot-on every time by myself, no matter which trailer I'm backing up to. In addition to towing, it gives a lot better visibility when backing in every day situations. It's no wonder the gov't is making them mandatory on all new cars.

 

[Vintage Beauty]

Gotta vote for the camera. Never had one before and backing our old truck up was a pain. The newer suburban has one built in and it works great. We only have a small screen in the rearview mirror, but it works just fine to see when you're in the right spot.

 

[agallant80]

I installed a camera in my Excursion in about 45 min. I paid about $50 for it on ebay.