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Old 04-17-2021, 12:17 AM   #1
Gubs
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Hitching up....blind!

I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem and sure someone has developed a simple method to remedy the situation.

I have a 2019 F-350 4x4 XLT short bed truck pulling a 2020 Montana 3121RL. Having a difficult time seeing the hitch and lining up the hitch pin to the jaws. Has anyone came up with a better idea than getting it close and then going back and looking several times to make sure the hitch jaws and the hitch pin are lined up correctly? I just cannot turn around and see it that good while sitting behind the wheel and backing up!! Guess I'm getting older plus my eye sight is not as good as it once was!!
 
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Old 04-17-2021, 03:51 AM   #2
RMcNeal
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I saw another camper who had put a 1" stripe on the pin box at the center of the pin and one on the top of the hitch with reflective tape of some sort. He can apparently see them in the rear view mirror. I can't see my hitch at all in the mirror and the "mirror" on the nose of the 5'er is useless for me.
Would something like that help you at all? I don't think I could hook up if I couldn't turn around and watch the pin go into the hitch when backing up.
When I first got my TT years ago, a friend gave me a set of magnetic base rods about 4 feet long. One set on the ball on the truck and the other on the top of hitch. I really didn't use them much, but it did make it easy to line up the rods in the mirror and back up until the one on the ball was pushed off.
Really neat idea. https://www.campingworld.com/magneti...ods-28563.html
Maybe something like that would help you see in the mirror? Shorter and modified for a fifth wheel hitch, of course.
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Old 04-17-2021, 03:59 AM   #3
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Ok. You got my curiosity up on this. Found a set of telescoping ones at Harbor Freight and only $10!
https://www.harborfreight.com/magnet...BoCp5oQAvD_BwE
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Old 04-17-2021, 05:28 AM   #4
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Being fairly tall and sit higher in the truck's seat I can see the hitch with the truck mirror but am contemplating painting a light colored stripe on the hitch and pin box for those off camber or angled sites where I tend to miss the first attempt (or several).


Those Harbor Freight telescoping gadgets would sure have helped in my TT days and probably would have prevented a well dented license plate
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Old 04-17-2021, 07:28 AM   #5
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In my old truck, no problem I could see the hitch. New truck bed box sits up higher. Bought these, https://www.harborfreight.com/magnet...kit-69778.html

They work great. I just line them up in the rear view mirror. I do use one of those long handled grabbers to take them off. I put one centered on the king pin and the other one the front part of the hitch plate.
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Old 04-17-2021, 07:35 AM   #6
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Buy a new truck that has a bed cam.
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Old 04-17-2021, 07:38 AM   #7
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I just line it up with the middle headrest in the back seat. I get out & check it when I’m about a foot away.
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Old 04-17-2021, 07:44 AM   #8
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Spotter.
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Old 04-17-2021, 07:46 AM   #9
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I do this a little different. Your rear view mirror and the small slider window are in the center of your truck. Look in the rear view mirror and place your camper hitch in the center of your rear view mirror. Your camper hitch will be lined up with the hitch in the bed of your truck. As you get close make sure the camper is the right height and back up until it hitches. So you don’t need to see the hitch.
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Old 04-17-2021, 08:58 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gubs View Post
I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem and sure someone has developed a simple method to remedy the situation.

I have a 2019 F-350 4x4 XLT short bed truck pulling a 2020 Montana 3121RL. Having a difficult time seeing the hitch and lining up the hitch pin to the jaws. Has anyone came up with a better idea than getting it close and then going back and looking several times to make sure the hitch jaws and the hitch pin are lined up correctly? I just cannot turn around and see it that good while sitting behind the wheel and backing up!! Guess I'm getting older plus my eye sight is not as good as it once was!!
I am in the same shape as you, Gubs! My neck and body don't turn like they did a few years ago and I can't pivot in the seat to look for the hitch in the bed. That used to work, but now I find it easier to just get out of the truck a couple of times to line up.
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Old 04-17-2021, 09:01 AM   #11
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I used a white paint pin to paint a stripe on the center of the hitch plate and the pin box plate. That makes it a lot easier to get within an inch or so of alignment. That is enough to let it self align for the pin to enter the hitch.

And I am tall enough to see the hitch out the back window.
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Old 04-17-2021, 09:02 AM   #12
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I am in charge of backing up our truck onto the hitch. My only job as far as driving goes. I have trouble seeing the hitch unless I lower the back seat. Once it is down, problem solved and visibility is fine. Did have a problem once with the roll-up tonneau cover, it had ice on it and didn't roll up as tightly. It took a while to figure out what changed to prevent me seeing. Unrolled it, scraped off the ice, rolled it up again and all was fine.
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Old 04-17-2021, 09:15 AM   #13
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I just use a small pillow to boost me up enough to see over our cat cages etc.
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Old 04-17-2021, 11:44 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gubs View Post
Has anyone came up with a better idea than getting it close and then going back and looking several times to make sure the hitch jaws and the hitch pin are lined up correctly?
Nope, not if you can't see it. Unless you have a good spotter. I'm still flexible enough (for now) to see mine, but I still get out and look.

Is it just me, or do I see a new activity at National: "Hitching up...blind! The driver is blind folded and the spotter gives directions; can't wait!
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Old 04-17-2021, 01:27 PM   #15
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My first obstacle I had to over come after a lifetime of travel trailer towing was how to hitch my first ever fifth wheel. I have a 4-fold bed cover over my long bed which does not allow me to see the hitch at all. Add to that the crew cab and It's impossible to see the hitch by simply turning around in the driver seat ... impossible in my truck with the cover.

At first I purchased a set of the magnetized balls on the telescoping stick. And actually, these worked great! But putting them on the fifth wheel hitch every time was a real pain. But after about 5 or 6 hitches using them, I began to get the idea of how this "hitching" actually works.

Now, I use the plastic mirror on the camper, and it actually comes in very handy.

At first, I put a white strip of tape down the center of the truck bed. Looking at the mirror, I could follow the white line . That was good until the tape came up, which did not last very long on my sprayed bed liner and actually hauling stuff in the bed.

With my previous travel trailer, I had put a small piece of black electrical tape in my rear view window, right in the center of the window, near the bottom. The truck at that time, had a shell. I put a piece of tape in the middle of the back window on the shell. On my trailer, I put a small piece of tape in the center of the end cap. When the 3 lined up in my rear view mirror, I knew I was OK. This worked great for over 15 years of travel trailer owner ship.

With the fifth wheel, I ended up putting a bubble level over the fifth wheel king pin. I also put a piece of white tape on the center of the fifth wheel hitch in the bed of the truck. I kept the tape in the back window of the truck.

Using the rear view mirror, using the mirror on the front of the camper, and using the center line of flip top cover on the bed of my camper, using the center of the bubble level, and using the center of the hitch head, I have 4 center points I can see all the time when back up. When all 4 are in a straight alignment, using my rear view mirror, I am in perfect alignment to hitch.

I stop the truck when the king pin almost touches the fifth wheel hitch in the bed of the truck and get out. I check for the height. Sometimes I have to raise or lower the trailer a bit. Once at the right height, I can simply go an extra 8 inches and "SNAP!"

Ever since I started using my 4 center point alignment method, I've not had any problems whatsoever. Now .... getting everything aligned in some tight campsites .... that's a different story!
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Old 04-17-2021, 02:03 PM   #16
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I've painted a white stripe on the hitch on the Monte, exactly down the middle. I've also got a small loop on the middle of the back seat that you connect a child's car seat to. I've put a clip clothes pin in the middle of that loop and when I'm hooking up I look in my rearview mirror and line up the clothes pin and the white stripe and bring the truck back to the hitch. After a few times you can actually judge when the hitch is at the right position and right height to run the pin into the truck hitch and since I have the locking rod I can hear the pin going into the hitch and locking in.
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Old 04-17-2021, 07:50 PM   #17
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I hitch up about the same every time. Make sure my mirrors are fully extended then back up perfectly straight and lined up with the fiver, keeping the exact same distance showing on each side of the truck compared to the front of the fiver. I'm not saying using a interior rear view mirror wouldn't work, I just never considered using it. Just before the king pin gets to my jaws I get out (or have the DW spotter do it) and check for correct height and alignment. Easypeasy.
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Old 04-17-2021, 08:51 PM   #18
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In our old truck, I could barely see the top plate of the hitch, but I couldn't see the cutout. Over time, I learned where to put the base plate on the 5er with regards to the hitch, and could hit it almost every time.

MM mentioned it above, but the new trucks with the cameras above the bed are really the bomb, and they spoil you in a hurry for sure. I new truck has one of those, and now knowing EXACTLY what is going on is much much easier.

In the end, though, it's really all about practice. The more you hitch, the better you get at, or you find little tricks to make it easier. Be patient, you'll get there...
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Old 04-18-2021, 07:16 AM   #19
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I have a Short Bed super cab and I can see my hitch in my rear view mirror. It would be difficult with a Crew Cab. If I had to get a crew cab I would have to have the camera in the high mount stop light. Wonder if you can add a camera like that.
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Old 04-18-2021, 07:21 AM   #20
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I have the same truck, same problem. Mine is an Super Cab, and when I roll up the tonneau cover I can’t see the hitch at all. I bought those magnetic wand things, and they help a lot. My wife acts as a spotter, too.
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