Anybody use Back Up Balls?

[yooperdave]

I have had lots of fun trying to hook up a heavy trailer by myself.

Has anyone used this product?

Receiver Hitch: About Backup Balls, Trailer Hitch Receiver, Single Person Trailer Loader

TIA

Yooper Dave

 

[tom4018]

I have never used them but seen Harbor Freight had them on sale for $9.99, lot cheaper than your link but not glow in the dark.

 

[john_bud]

No. Just learned to get out and determine the distance, then looked at the ground out the open door while backing up to get the distance correct. The ball deal would probably work, but the grief from buddies would make it intolerable!

jb

 

[Soundguy]

No BB's.. but I do have a speedi-hitch on my trucks so the wife can hitch the horse trailer up.. as long as yuo can back up withing 6" side to sid eof the ball, and withing about 8" or less ahea dof it.. the speedi hitch will let you hitch.. it will swivel/rotate R & L, and then extend out.. all with spring loaded pull-stop pins.. once you adjust it to hitch.. then just pull straight forward.. it will lock into straight alignment.. then back up,a nd it will lock retracted.. then go.

cut my wifes hitch time in quarter.. now she's down under 10 minutes

soudnguy

 

[dieselfuelonly]

Thats why I like the pintle hitch my trailer has, I can get relatively close to it, then hop out once and see which direction I need to turn in slightly if any at all, then just back up until I feel a little bump when the ring hits the backside of the hitch, then get out, lower the jack and lock the hitch and its ready to go .

 

[CurlyDave]

I have & use the HF backup balls.

They work pretty well, but they are more fragile than I thought, so I am on my second pair.

The other problem is that they have a round, flat magnet (think something the size of an overgrown silver dollar) on the bottom. This is no problem at all for the hitch ball, which always has a flat spot on top of it, but it is very hard to get the magnet to sit correctly on the rounded top of the trailer part of the hitch. I solved this by putting a large steel washer on the bottom of the round magnet. The magnetic force goes right through the steel washer, and the hole in it lets you place the magnet exactly on the rounded top of the trailer hitch.

 

[bigdad]

Yep.... really like them but like CurlyDave says, you have to be inventive to find a flat spot to "stick" them.

 

[capt_met]

i have a set and use it all the time. makes it much easier to hook up by yourself.

 

[tommu56]

I have something similar I got from Kmart and like using them but the biggest problem is mounting surfaces are an issue on some of my trailers.
It has tubes about 1" in diameter and the only fragile thing is the target has a plastic plate that swivels and says stop is mia.

tom

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I tow a thirty six foot fifth wheel trave trailer, a twenty five foot flat bed equipment trailer with a pintle hitch, and numerous regular trailers that belong to friends etc. Nine times out of ten I'll tell those jumping into guide me on to get out of my way.

The fifth wheel I've converted over to a gooseneck. Most of the time I'll stop the truck right under the ball the first try. Keep in mind the truck is a 5500 and there's a welder and tool box between the cab and the bed so I can't see squat.

What I use is my side mirrors and the computer. You know the computer, the one that sits on your shoulders. It's not unlike shooting a sling shot or swinging a twelve pound sledge hammer drinving in one by three stakes. You stare at the target and the computer will make the calculations and do the targeting. All you need is trust.

The pintle hitch is easiest of all. That's because when I disconnect I have it about a quarter of an inch lower than the ball, it's a two and five sixteenths ball type pintle coupler. When I pull up and away there's a little bump. But what's kewel is when I back into it I feel the contact and then I feel the bump as the pintle riing drops inside the coupler. Again, I prefer to drop in straight back. But when I can't I turn to the computer and concentrate on the targeting for the computer. It's surprises people who see me back in but me and computer have this thing, we trust each other. Again, think of using a sling shot or shooting a long bow or swinging a large hammer at a small target. You concentrate on the target and trust the computer on your shoulders to do it's thing.