Handling the trailer hitch head

[wayfun]

I have an Equalizer trailer hitch and I find that it is a pain to get it in an out of the outside storage bin and get it mounted to the receiver. It's heavy and awkward to lift without getting greasy. So I came up with a solution that works for me. I took a milk crate that you can pick up at Walmart and cut a relief in it for the square shank. I then placed a piece of plywood in the bottom with a 2x4 block screwed to it to hold the head in position. With the head placed in the crate I can pick it up by the crate handles. And, since the shank extends beyond the crate I can carry it to the receiver and place the first few inches into the hitch without handling the dirty head. When removing it I reverse the process. For me, this makes it much easier to handle and I thought others might find it useful too. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/09/15/amu9yjup.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/09/15/a8unu3y7.jpg

Dennis

[chuckster57]

That is very nice!

[trueweb]

Good tip! Thanks!

[Travlntj]

I like that !

[GaryWT]

Looks good. Mine is currently on the ground as when we got home yesterday I pulled it out and just dropped it trying not to get to dirty. Will have to look into that.

[GMcKenzie]

I just took a short length of rope, put it through a short piece of garden hose and tied it to the top hole of my shank. I just grab the garden hose and carry it that way.

Sorry, no pictures :)

[Richard6959]

Garden hoses, milk crates any other creative ideas? I like it, and will have to buy me a milk crate!
(tx)

[wayfun]

I just took a short length of rope, put it through a short piece of garden hose and tied it to the top hole of my shank. I just grab the garden hose and carry it that way.



Sorry, no pictures :)


I like that idea too.

[Fishhawk]

I keep an old pair of work gloves in the bin where the hitch is stored

When hitching or unhitching, I just slip on the gloves, do my thing and
Put the gloves back into the bin for next time

In my case, the milk crate would make it harder to remove my Equalizer hitch
From the storage bin
plus it would take up too much space


Just depends on each person's situation



QUOTE=Richard6959;144166]Garden hoses, milk crates any other creative ideas? I like it, and will have to buy me a milk crate!
(tx)[/QUOTE]

[BigBlue]

I like the idea for storing it. For moving the hitch head around I bought the Hitch Grip. Its a little pricey, but makes lifting the hitch a lot easier.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/hitchgrip/75569

[Murphsmom]

Neat ideas. And for the arms, which seem to be the things that give us the greasy hand problems, we use an old pair of cotton socks. The heel fits the curve perfectly and the greasy ends are inside the sock. Cheap fix, too, as there always seems to be another pair with a hole in the toe!

[BirchyBoy]

I keep an old pair of work gloves in the bin where the hitch is stored

When hitching or unhitching, I just slip on the gloves, do my thing and
Put the gloves back into the bin for next time

In my case, the milk crate would make it harder to remove my Equalizer hitch
From the storage bin
plus it would take up too much space


Just depends on each person's situation



QUOTE=Richard6959;144166]Garden hoses, milk crates any other creative ideas? I like it, and will have to buy me a milk crate!
(tx)[/QUOTE]

Same here. I always wear a pair of heavy leather gloves, and I wipe the grease off when I remove the hitch. The hitch sits on my garage floor, out of the way.

[Tbos]

Way fun Dennis), that is a great inexpensive idea for handling our clumsy hitches.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Never worried about the grease when I had my Eq-u-lizer(SP?),
I used Dawn to lube it and the bars the first rain storm would
pretty much clean it off. I used one of the lock pins to keep it
attached to the truck and only took it off when I sold the TT I'd
used it with. Yep, I did bark my shins on it, maybe twice, I was
then trained to make a slightly wider arc around that part of the
truck's back end.

hankaye

[webslave]

When I had a bumper pull, I struggled with just finding a good place to grab the hitch head that was balanced enough to carry it. Space being a premium, I came up with:

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_144898_0_da14a3cd390031c18e685af8cd813b01.jpg

The shank stays clean enough to handle and the chain/utility handle takes the weight of the hitch centrally so it is easy to balance. The chains on each side use the same clevis pins that hold the bars in (also keeps track of the pins) and when I took my "handle" off, the chain pieces let it collapse into any small area.