When I first viewed the HitchGrip
I, like many others thought, “Wish I had thought of that!” Lifting larger hitches can be difficult. HitchGrip helps in solving the problem but…the
darn things are still heavy! I wanted to
use it with my spring arms attached to the hitch…and that is how I used
HitchGrip. I own an Equalizer sway
control hitch system and leave the spring arms (20lbs each) attached to the
hitch when I remove it from my tow vehicle. I reversed the HitchGrip handle (pointing the
handle towards the trailer) and I placed the hitch on the ground on a small
block of wood. Now my tow vehicle is
free of all that hitch weight and I can go exploring with my tow vehicle.
HitchGrip didn’t mention using it with the spring arms attached. It certainly makes it heavier (90 lbs in my
case)… but HitchGrip worked just fine. With
my Equalizer system I was able to reverse the handle direction (handle toward
my trailer) of the Hitchgrip and the balance worked properly. I was able to both remove and replace the
entire hitch system with the spring arms attached. The hitch system I use weighs 50 lbs without
the spring arms and 90 lbs with the spring arms.
Using proper lifting technique is
needed to avoid hurting your back. Only lift what you are capable of lifting,
don’t hurt yourself. I bent my knees and
kept my arms straight and lift with my legs.
I found that spreading the spring arms (about 10-15 degrees) was enough
to stabilize the entire hitch and kept it from falling over on its side. I
placed a leg on each side of the hitch spring arms which kept my legs and feet
out of the way. If you’re removing and replacing your hitch system alone it is
very useful. Using the tool didn’t turn
90 lbs into 20 lbs, but the HitchGrip simply gave me a good handle to use. I don’t know if the balance would work on all
hitch systems with the spring arms attached.
You can always use it to lift only the hitch and replace the spring arms
(this may be the best use for some of you) once the hitch is attached to your
tow vehicle. I found the tool useful and would recommend it. My only down side is… I don’t like orange!
George Bogosian, camper trailering for 20 years.
Pittsfield, NH
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