# Truck Owners A Tip For Easy Hookup



## fishingmarlin (Nov 27, 2005)

First I went ahead and got my truck hooked up to the TT. I then dropped my tailgate and took a piece of 1x2 about 15" long. Set the 1x2 on the tailgate over the hitch and butted it against the crank shaft. Made a mark on the 1x2 where the tailgate ends so now all I have to do is set it on the tailgate right over the ball, line up the mark with the end of the tailgate, and back up until it touchs the crankshaft.

Just a cheap and easy way to get hooked up to the TT. Going to take some pictures that will explain a little better.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I understand and like it..Can t wait to try that one.

Great idea

John


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Good Idea









Don


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

I like the idea with the 1x2







.  I always drop the gate and line up the crank with the screws in the bedliner on the tail gate but have to get out to check distance before I bump the receiver.

Bill.


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## fishingmarlin (Nov 27, 2005)

2500Ram, that is exactly what I was doing until this weekend. When I realized that I could just use a piece of wood to tell me I had backed up enough.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Great idea, fishingmarlin!









God, I love this forum!

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## gregjoyal (Jan 25, 2005)

fishingmarlin said:


> First I went ahead and got my truck hooked up to the TT. I then dropped my tailgate and took a piece of 1x2 about 15" long. Set the 1x2 on the tailgate over the hitch and butted it against the crank shaft. Made a mark on the 1x2 where the tailgate ends so now all I have to do is set it on the tailgate right over the ball, line up the mark with the end of the tailgate, and back up until it touchs the crankshaft.
> 
> Just a cheap and easy way to get hooked up to the TT. Going to take some pictures that will explain a little better.
> [snapback]78827[/snapback]​


I am slightly confused. Can you lower your tailgate all the way when the trailer is hooked up to your truck without hitting the tongue jack?

I think you should make a video of yourself setting it up and and then backing up.









Greg


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

gregjoyal said:


> I am slightly confused.Â Can you lower your tailgate all the way when the trailer is hooked up to your truck without hitting the tongue jack?
> 
> I think you should make a video of yourself setting it up and and then backing up.
> 
> ...










Now I'm confused with what your asking, I can have my tailgate down and about 6" to spare before it hits the jack but it will hit the receiver before it hits the jack so yes you can have the tailgate down, hook yours up and then lower the tailgate to be sure.

Bill.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Unless I am wrong....He hooked up, lowered tailgate, made a board to length to place stategically in the center. Now all he has to do is lower the tailgate, place board in location and slowly back up aligning the board with the tongue jack. He is now centered and right above the ball.

John


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

tdvffjohn said:


> Unless I am wrong....He hooked up, lowered tailgate, made a board to length to place stategically in the center. Now all he has to do is lower the tailgate, place board in location and slowly back up aligning the board with the tongue jack. He is now centered and right above the ball.
> 
> John
> [snapback]78869[/snapback]​


Correct, but your only over the ball if your strait with the trailer, if your backing at say a 20* angle your way off.

Bill.


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Good god man!
Don't you guys have wives?
I just can't see wasting a piece of wood like that when I already have a perfectly good wife that is gonna tell me how to do it anyways!


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

2500Ram said:


> tdvffjohn said:
> 
> 
> > Unless I am wrong....He hooked up, lowered tailgate, made a board to length to place stategically in the center. Now all he has to do is lower the tailgate, place board in location and slowly back up aligning the board with the tongue jack. He is now centered and right above the ball.
> ...


Most times I hook up straight aligning with my mirrors. I usually am also alone.
Good use of a piece of wood even if its only usefull most of the time.

Picky, picky,picky







You are correct tho.









John


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

I just fancy getting in and out of the truck sixteen times until I get close.

It gives me my excercise before a trip









Steve

(another reason I still have a manual jack)


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

I am going to try this with the Suburban, I pull the 3rd seat down and I can line up pretty good, but I am wearing out the running boards getting in and out to check the distance. My Suburban has the rear liftgate and even with the electric jack it clears....just by a 1/4" or so but it clears.

Gary


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

Got to try that....

Happy Outbacking!

Tim action


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## maverick (Mar 26, 2005)

Gotta love the comment about having a good wife to help with the back-up, learned early on not to use children under the age of 8! It can be an expensive mistake!

Maverick


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Katrina said:


> Good god man!
> Don't you guys have wives?
> I just can't see wasting a piece of wood like that when I already have a perfectly good wife that is gonna tell me how to do it anyways!
> [snapback]78874[/snapback]​


That is what I use







So far no damage









Thor


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## Moosegut (Sep 24, 2005)

Katrina said:


> Good god man!
> Don't you guys have wives?
> I just can't see wasting a piece of wood like that when I already have a perfectly good wife that is gonna tell me how to do it anyways!
> [snapback]78874[/snapback]​


She's gonna hit you with that piece of wood.
















I have two bright yellow, magnetic rods I bought for my old TT. They work great but the tongue of the Outback is different than my old TT and the one rod has a tendancy to fall off. I'll have to see if my Tonneau cover is higher than the jack head because I like that idea.

Scott


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## fishingmarlin (Nov 27, 2005)

This tip came from the fact that I had been using the wife and it saves time to let her do other things than give me directions.

The last time I backed up I went from







this much to bumping the trailer jack which in reality was 2 inches away and not 2 feet like the wife was showing. Not only that she is yet to figure out that if she cannot see me in the side mirrors I can't see her either.

My wife has a lot of talents however backing, directions, and parallel parking are not on that list.

This is not a bash on the wife or wives, I have watched 2 guys back a huge ladder truck into the fire station before. Everything was good side to side but nobody noticed the ladder was not ALL the down on the truck. Not only that the truck was now the main support for the building so the building had to be shored up before the truck could be removed. So not all people are good at this my wife being the leader for them.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Katrina said:


> Good god man!
> Don't you guys have wives?
> I just can't see wasting a piece of wood like that when I already have a perfectly good wife that is gonna tell me how to do it anyways!
> [snapback]78874[/snapback]​


Your marriage is stronger then mine or actually I never want to test it. I use my teen aged son for this or I do the tail gate shuffle. Back up, get out and look, adjust some and get out and look, a little more and get out and look!!! Even if by myself it only take a couple of minutes.

One of the big reason most mechanical aides are more trouble then they are worth for me is that my parking spot at home is on a hill beside the house. When I back up there are compound angles that seem to be different every time I back up to it.


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

I don't beleive you guys......my wife is great at helping me back up....and pull forward....and go around curves......she is the greatest woman to ever walk the face of this or any other planet.....

Is she gone yet?????????

My wife is really pretty good at backing me into tight spaces, but I am going to be going on some camping trips this year with out her so this might help alittle when she is not there.

Gary


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

Love the wife but her initial software didn't come with "backup instruction" logic.

I tried to get the latest release but I think support has been discontinued and it's way too complicated for me to figure out how to modify it myself.

I know there are newer versions out there but this one has done so much for me that I just don't have any desire for a replacement.

Like CamperAndy, this leaves me with the teen aged son or tail gate shuffle options.

Bill


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

I use the Force!


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## gregjoyal (Jan 25, 2005)

2500Ram said:


> Now I'm confused with what your asking, I can have my tailgate down and about 6" to spare before it hits the jack but it will hit the receiver before it hits the jack so yes you can have the tailgate down, hook yours up and then lower the tailgate to be sure.
> 
> Bill.


I didn't mean to confuse you! I can't lower my tailgate when the trailer is hooked up (it leans on the top of tongue jack). So I can't have the tailgate lowered and then back up the TV to hook up the TT!


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

maverick said:


> Gotta love the comment about having a good wife to help with the back-up, learned early on not to use children under the age of 8! It can be an expensive mistake!
> 
> Maverick
> [snapback]78958[/snapback]​


Naa! my 7 year old is way better than DW. She admits that.


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

bill_pfaff said:


> Love the wife but her initial software didn't come with "backup instruction" logic.
> 
> I tried to get the latest release but I think support has been discontinued and it's way too complicated for me to figure out how to modify it myself.
> 
> ...


Just remember buried deep in the latest Windows OS version there is still DOS.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Love my wife to death...but for the life of me I can't understand why it's sooooo hard to point in the direction the ball needs to go? And would it kill her to hold both hand out and close them together to indicate just how far away I am from the trailer? Ugh..


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## fishingmarlin (Nov 27, 2005)

I read at one time in a book about the differences between men and woman that woman don't deal with spacial perceptions and manauvers as well as men. On the flipside woman on average are better at muli-tasking than men. It also said that a man can look at something visually and determine how he needs to get there visually and woman want to put into words like I have to go 2ft before I need to pull up and to the left 5 inches.

As men we also hold our wives to some pretty hard standards on how you are supposed to back someone. For example my wife hates for me to try and teach her how to fish. A buddy of mine said his wife told him the same thing. My response was you teach my wife and I will teach yours how to fish. For some reason we just have more patience when dealing with other people than the ones we are close to.


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## KRKarnes (Jul 9, 2005)

I've tried using the wife a couple of times.







Found it was faster and less frustrating to just get in and out of TV the 2 or 3 times needed.


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## snsgraham (May 18, 2004)

Yep, same at our house. DW is an admitted trailer-backer-upper-flunky! We have a new acronym, TBUF!!

Really, backing me up to the TT is one of her least favorite things about camping.

Scott


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## zoomzoom8 (Nov 8, 2005)

This is what I have.......works very well for me....my DW never seems to be around when I need her help with this....

http://www.hitchingguides.com/index.htm#order%20info


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

This is so enlightening. I thought I was the only one with this problem. Oregon Camper sums it up for me -- point in the direction and show distance between 2 hands. She says stop, you got it so I jump out of the truck to hook up and find I'm still a couple of feet off. My 10 year old son does a great job for me and frees up the DW for other stuff.


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## Sexy Momma (Apr 18, 2005)

You guys should realize that we wives do such things for sheer entertainment.
















Now, the next time you hear all the girls laughing around the campfire, you'll know what they're laughing about.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I thought the DW was laughing with me..........









John


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Sexy Momma said:


> You guys should realize that we wives do such things for sheer entertainment.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Just for that, Capri... No help at the rally!

*HA!*

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Sorry Doug, but I think if she is offering a cold beer, your tune will change quick


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

tdvffjohn said:


> Sorry Doug, but I think if she is offering a cold beer, your tune will change quick
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I know... I am so weak!


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