Swift Hitch

[DougM]

Other Uses

I have found a new Gadget..........
Swift Hitch
it is a small camera that is attached to ur rear bumper that alows u to see ur trailer hitch
Some thing new may be of use to some one

DougM

 

[pekabu]

Sweet, but a bit pricey for me. Maybe if I had to do it all the time.

 

[Ford960]

I can think of better things to spend that kind of money on as I rarely have any trouble hitching up in one or two tries. The crash video is indicative of the kind of idiots that they think are out there.

 

[DougM]

I can think of better things to spend that kind of money on as I rarely have any trouble hitching up in one or two tries. The crash video is indicative of the kind of idiots that they think are out there.

Ur just up set that u did not think of this first as that guy will most likely make a ton of money from this easy idea ???????/

If U dove truck and dropped lots of trailers all day long this would be nice.

So now if I could just get a LOAN from u (hehehe)\

DougM

 

[Mike120]

Hooking up a trailer is easy! What's hard, is remembering to make sure the tailgate is up before moving a gooseneck trailer........

 

[bones1]

Have seen these as cheap as $79.00 at Walmart online
VR3 Wireless Backup Camera w/Monitor - Wal-Mart

 

[patrick_g]

I have a convex mirror on an adaptor that lest me stick it on the tailgate and remove it without tools. I can turn around in the seat or use the rear view mirror and look at the convex mirror. It gives an overhead view of the hitch and the coupler too when you get close. The convex mirror lets you see stuff at wide angle so you see the hitch approching the coupler in time to make steering corrections.

I don't always hit it perfectly dead center the first pass, especially if there is lots of glare but you'd have to be asleep to not nail it dead on the second time.

Works great, no electrical connections, simple to mount and dismount, literally just a second or two. It is cheap. It is easy to adjust and the adjustment is not critical because of convex not flat mirror.

Downsides: severe glare with bad luck on sun angles can make it hard to use. I can take a small piece of white paper, lick it and sitck it to the top of the ball and the contrast is so improved that it makes seeing what you are doing way easier in less than optimum conditions.

I have thought that a magnetically attached flashlight would make hitching at night easier but never got around to it as I don't hitch it hardly ever at night.

Pat

 

[SpringHollow]

I happened to see one at the trailer place today. I must say it was pretty nice. Weatherproof, automatically switched to night vision when it got dark, ~300' range. It could be useful for lots of things besides just hitching such as monitoring the progress of a tank filling up with water, did the light go out when a breaker was switched off (although I would still test the circuit and I know there are tracers you can get), which dog is chewing on the shoes, etc. Still pricey but it was a nice setup.

 

[patrick_g]

I bought an entire CCTV setup, camera, power supply, and monitor for less than $40 in about 1998. It was B&W 5 inch monitor and wide angle camera. It will run direct off of 12 VDC so the power supply was not needed and the power for the camera goes to the camera over the same cable that brings the video to the monitor.

In order to make it into an electronic rear view mirror I opened the case of the CRT and reversed the wires on the yoke (horizontal scan thingy, coils of wire.) Then I had to mount it upside down as the picture was inverted. The end result is that when you look into the monitor you see a left-right reversed image just like a rear view mirror. It will work at night just fine from your backup lights.

I wanted it to put at the roof level of my pickup camper where it replaces the inside of the cab rear view mirror which is blocked by the camper. It will give a good view of followingt traffic and makes backing up in a parking lot safer. It monitors a tow behind the camper (dune buggy or boat.)

It has a wide enough viewing angle to see the hitch as well as follong traffic.

Pat

 

[Ford960]

Ur just up set that u did not think of this first as that guy will most likely make a ton of money from this easy idea ???????/

If U dove truck and dropped lots of trailers all day long this would be nice.

So now if I could just get a LOAN from u (hehehe)\

DougM

I just see this as a new fangled gadget that is supposed to take the place of gadgets that are already available for a lot less money. Also, the market is pretty slim, I would be looking at a product to build with a larger target market.

I guess that working at a boat dealership for years and hooking hundreds of boats a week with an F-250 kinda qualifies me to know something about trailers, hitches, trucks, and how to attatch one to the other.

My technique is to back in line with the trailer and then check the distance to the tongue. I note that distance on the ground at the drivers door and back that amount without look at the trailer. Then I lock down the truck and usually lower the trailer onto the ball.

And when I say "lock" the truck down I mean to apply the parking brake so that the truck doesn't roll instead of just putting it in park. I always get irritated when helping someone hook a trailer and get them directly over the ball only to have them place the truck in park and the truck rolls forward or back an inch or two. If I'm doing the cranking then I always tell them to hold the brake.

How can you tell that someone doesn't know crap about hooking up a trailer?
Just look at their license plate, usually it will be dented and scared. Mine is like the day I put it on my truck.

Again, I see that crash video as a real setup...after all who in their right mind would approach a trailer in reverse at such a high rate of speed. It's an over exagerated attempt to sell their over priced product.

As far as your loan...check's in the mail.