Trailer Hitch Caddie

[corn18]

Originally Posted by waterjosh

I have a pullrite superglide and so it's stupid heavy. Also I have a 4 year old and worry about him somehow having it fall off onto him.

This thread is not about 5er hitches.

[TravelSolo]

Originally Posted by waterjosh

I have a pullrite superglide and so it's stupid heavy. Also I have a 4 year old and worry about him somehow having it fall off onto him.

But we are not talking about 5'er plates here

[waterjosh]

Originally Posted by TravelSolo

But we are not talking about 5'er plates here

I guess I was mistaken on the thread, I have a 5'er so thats what I was referring to

[fisher99]

Yes, a dolly as WATERJOSH uses will handle the storage needs nicely. And no, leaving the hitched attached to the trailer wouldn't work for me. Plus, I think it would make backing the truck precisely enough to re-insert the hitch into the receiver a bit of a pain.

[carybosse]

I would think that the overhead lift would be difficult to install and use, but if that works for you, have at it. I am used to needing a significant structure to support one of those. And I would be worried someone would pull the building down trying to lift the entire truck rear end at some point.

I would probably build some sort of cradle to mount to my roll around jack. If need be, I could also build a cradle to off load the hitch from my jack to free the jack for other purposes.

[fisher99]

Should actually be pretty easy to mount the hoist. Just have to decide whether I want it on a movable track or just fixed position. In either case I can distribute the load over multiple rafters. And since I'm looking at a 200 lb hoist (400 with a pulley) it would likely kill the hoist before pulling down the building...

I had thought about using my floor jack but the hitch won't balance safely on it and building a secure cradle for stabilization is probably beyond my limited talents. Plus I'm really stoked about being able to use a lift for loading the generator, compressor, etc. Don't know why I didin't think of this a long time ago!

[GypsyR]

How about one of these? https://www.harborfreight.com/mechan...seat-3338.html

A fancier adjustable height would be nice but I think overkill. As long as you are in the ballpark on height you can stab and pull the hitch pretty well anyway. The main thing is the stool would bear the weight while you work. If the stool is too short you can easily raise the seat by stacking selected pieces of boards.
I have one of these stools and have stacked some fairly heavy stuff on it from time to time.

[Ldubs]

Kind of a rough idea, but I was thinking maybe a basic kid's wagon. Would need to add some kind of "landing pad" so the hitch would slide between the wagon bed and the receiver without any lifting. Seems this could be accomplished with some scrap 2x lumber and/or plywood. Pull the wagon up under the hitch. Slide the hitch off. Leave it in the wagon until it needs to be installed again.

[GypsyR]

The stool above would lend itself nicely to such a wooden cradle I would think. If it's not too tall. Four screws and the seat comes off, leaving a flat area easy to design around.
I do like the wagon idea though.

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

The stool above would lend itself nicely to such a wooden cradle I would think. If it's not too tall. Four screws and the seat comes off, leaving a flat area easy to design around.
I do like the wagon idea though.

I assume that with the seat off, you have a big opening where the seat was. If you need a taller cradle, you mount to the top of the metal frame. A shorter cradle, to the bottom of the cradle.

I think any of these designs will need some height adjustment. Depending on the load in the bed, how much the springs have been stressed, even the air pressure, height could vary somewhat. My driveway is sloped, where I was parked on the driveway could change the height requirement.

I am back to the roll around jack idea. I am not there yet, but I may one day have to make something to handle this. I am properly intrigued.

[fisher99]

These are all good ideas, and all workable to some extent. Ideally the caddie would have hydraulic adjustment for obvious reasons pointed out by CARYBOSSE. With a fixed height caddie you would still have to manhandle it to some degree. The transmission jack from Harbor Freight is the closest "off the shelf" device that I have found. Not only does it adjust for height but it also has adjustments for left/right angle, so could potentially be used even on slanted surfaces. It also has "ears" to center the hitch and a chain to secure it. If I was going to buy a caddie today, this would probably be it: https://www.harborfreight.com/800-lb...a=MXxOfDB8WXww

However, I am still enamored by the idea of an electric hoist mounted on a sliding rail in my garage, as it solves other problems as well (loading generator and air compressor in the truck). Unfortunately the problem that has caused me to investigate these options (threw my back out several days ago and am mostly flat on my back for a while) is keeping me from actually implementing a solution. Oh well, gives me more time to think and research the best solution for me. But I love the ideas that are being posted! keep them coming!

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by fisher99

These are all good ideas, and all workable to some extent. Ideally the caddie would have hydraulic adjustment for obvious reasons pointed out by CARYBOSSE. With a fixed height caddie you would still have to manhandle it to some degree. The transmission jack from Harbor Freight is the closest "off the shelf" device that I have found. Not only does it adjust for height but it also has adjustments for left/right angle, so could potentially be used even on slanted surfaces. It also has "ears" to center the hitch and a chain to secure it. If I was going to buy a caddie today, this would probably be it: https://www.harborfreight.com/800-lb...a=MXxOfDB8WXww

However, I am still enamored by the idea of an electric hoist mounted on a sliding rail in my garage, as it solves other problems as well (loading generator and air compressor in the truck). Unfortunately the problem that has caused me to investigate these options (threw my back out several days ago and am mostly flat on my back for a while) is keeping me from actually implementing a solution. Oh well, gives me more time to think and research the best solution for me. But I love the ideas that are being posted! keep them coming!

The transmission jack just seems huge to me - 30" long and 17" wide, and almost 80 pounds in weight.

The hoist sounds good, but I wonder about how you maneuver it. I am used to mounting them on an I-Beam, etc.

Have you considered, or has it been suggested, to try a porta-crane, sometimes called an engine lift? With a couple of web straps it might offer a lot of flexibility without having to hand anything from the ceiling.

https://www.walmart.com/browse/auto-...020250_8816081

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-...BoC-bEQAvD_BwE

I would think one rated at 500 pounds or half a ton would be great. Most seem to be rated at 1 or 2 tons.

These could also load items in the bed of truck like a compressor.

[fisher99]

Yes, the transmission jack is bigger than I would like. And I had also considered an engine lift but even the foldable versions of those are also big and my garage has very limited storage space. Either of these two options would do what I need done but both have the same "storage space size" challenge.

I have also considered having a friend of mine build me a caddie on coasters with a hydraulic or scissors lift mechanism. The big advantage would be that he could make it just the right size to hold the hitch and it would also be used to store the hitch when not on the truck. He built his own Hydraulic motorcycle jack and it looks and works just like one you'd buy in the store. He is very good at this stuff. Maybe I can convince him that there's a business opportunity for his retirement years here...

The electric hoist would either be fixed mount or on a trolly attached to a ceiling mounted rail. Fixed mount is simpler but you have to move the truck to whatever your are lifting. The rail/trolly would allow whatever you are lifting to move to the truck (only in a straight line, of course).

[carybosse]

Sounds like you have looked at the options. I just didn't remember the Porta crane mentioned and figured this was a good thread to throw it out.