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.

 

[BrianW]

I have been looking for something just like this. I want a setup that is portable, mag mount and battery powered. My main use would be on the tractor. When I have my clamp on bucket forks installed I can't see the forks well. It makes it hard to gently slide them into or out of a pallet. I could put the camera in the bucket and look right out the forks. I definitely would use it for trailer hookup too. I also line up the trailer and note the distance. I then make a mark on the ground next to the door to show the point I should back up to. I never seem to get it on the first pass, especially if it is a heavy dual or triple axle trailer that I can't knudge a bit. On my Jeep Liberty, the trailer ball is under the rear mounted spare and if you don't get the height right you back into the spare tire. It would be nice if the video monitor has a reverse switch. I just want it to be cost less than $200.00!

 

[patrick_g]

Brian, There are some real cheap video cameras and monitors. I built my electronic rearview mirror for way under $100. I haven't used it for the pallet forks yet but that sounds likke a good idea as my forks are difficult to see as well and they are dedicated forks not attached to bucket but quick tached like the bucket does.

I don't use the camera set up for trailer hitching. I have a convex mirror that slips on the tailgate and lets me see the ball and the coupler. Worst case yo back up till you see your error and pull up a bit and back upo with a correction till you can see the ball and hitch and it is trivial to nail it on the second try. I can usually nail it perfectly aboiut 7-8 out of 10 times on the first shot. Sometimes glare interferes and I have to spit on a couple small pieces of white paper and stick them to the top of the ball and the hitch for better contrast/visibility. One day if I overcome terminal laziness I could spray a white dot on top of the bulldog hitch. Can't do that to the ball as it would wipe off.

Anyway, I can use the convex mirror through my rear view mirror or by looking back. Works like a charm. Your magnet idea would let you use it on any vehicle. I made mine custom for hanging on a tailgate.

Pat

 

[BrianW]

Pat,
Do you have an online source for cheap cameras and monitors? Ideally battery operated and wireless.

Brian

 

[patrick_g]

Pat,
Do you have an online source for cheap cameras and monitors? Ideally battery operated and wireless.

Brian

The electronic rear view system I built was wired and came with an AC power supply (wall charger kinda thingy.) The voltage was 15 volts but it ran just fine off the 12.6-14.2 whatever voltage of the vehicle battery. I did open the 5 inch CRT monitor and reverse the horizontal sweep connection to reverse the image to lok backwards like a rear view mirror. Then I inverted the actual monitor to make the picture right side up. If I had been smarter I would have just inverted the camera.

Google is my on-line source of just about everything. I don't do as much electronics prototyping and messing about as I used to but there are still lots of sources for components and sub assemblies to replace Radio Shack's migration away from support for the home experimenter toward a cell phone and radio control toy boutique.

I gave Google a shot and got X10 Home Security Camera, Small-Business Security Cameras which has a wireless color camera for $79 that works 100 ft. I also got RC model suppiies with wireless camers in the thousands of $. You should be able to find something in your price range and performance requirements within a few min of searching. You an use any little TV as the receiver. There are 2-3 inch TVs that fit in your shirt pocket. You can get a 5 inch LCD TV for under $100 and use it for other things besides a dedicated rear view mirror. That and a wireless camera for well under $100 and you are in business. If you have or can find a small TV cheaper, your system cost will be lower. If your tow vehicle has rear seat TV, use a mirror to view it from the driver's position and the mirror will do the left right reversal to realistically substitute for a mirror view.

Pat