I have a 14K Equalizer Hitch with the square bars. In the past I have left it attached to truck hitch with a hitch pin lock Now that my new to me truck sits higher, the tailgate, when lowered, hits hitch ball when hitch is installed.I would like to know of a simple, effective, safe, AND secure way of storing my hitch while camped.I know there are products that require drilling into trailer frame to create a storage pod , but I'm not yet sure I want to drill into my frame for this modWhat do all of you do? I'd love to see pics of your set up showing how you accomplished the above requests. Whether it be homemade, purchased, etc....let's see what ya got!Thanks!

Baja Man wrote:I have a 14K Equalizer Hitch with the square bars. In the past I have left it attached to truck hitch with a hitch pin lock Now that my new to me truck sits higher, the tailgate, when lowered, hits hitch ball when hitch is installed.What do all of you do?I'd suspect that if the hitch ball interferes with your tailgate you probably have a somewhat unusual situation as most of us just leave the head mounted in the receiver. I certainly do as moving that head any more than necessary is the last thing I want to do - the spring bars live in the front pass through storage compartment.

I have the same hitch and leave the bars on the "L" brackets on the A-frame. The hitch sits on a 4x4 board that the tongue jack foot sits on and a safety chain is padlocked around the ball. I have sometimes placed the bars in the truck bed with has a lockable cover. In 20 years of RVing I've never lost anything hitch related. This may not be the most secure but has worked for me.

My hitch and bars go in the street side storage compartment. I never leave it in the truck. Actually I just brushed past it the other day in between disconnecting and moving the Excursion. Got grease on my shorts. They make brackets that bolt to the Aframe and you can slide the hitch in. But it’s still in the weather. Put it away and be done with it.

I put an aluminum tool box across the tongue to hold my boards and chocks. When those items come out, the hitch bars go in. The ball mount comes out of the truck and the ball is inserted into the coupler and locked. I made a carrying tool to handle the heavy ball mount with one hand. This way the shank can be rotated out of the way, the ball stays cleaner and I ain't knocking my legs into a greasy ball. Being locked in the coupler adds a degree of security to both the part and the trailer, and is safe from a kid opening the latch and the heavy part falling. The other hitch parts, along with other things, are safely stored away inside a dry and locked toolbox.

Black garbage bag over greasy parts and all go into the street side storage when the blocks and chocks come out.

Hitch and Bars Storage While Camping? | Good Sam Community

afidel
Explorer II
Jul 20, 2018
Hitch stays on the truck (only take it off for salt season when not traveling to Florida), bars go into the pass through. The trailer is insured for full replacement value so no ball lock or other annoying nonsense needed. As far as grease, I use Vaseline, won't stain clothes or most other things.
RichieW13
Explorer
Jul 19, 2018
dave54 wrote:
By the time I remove the BBQ, patio mat, and all the other stuff from the pass through to set up camp, there is plenty of room for my hitch and bars. I am not worried about theft as much as just getting them out of the weather.

I kept ending up with grease on all the other things I keep in that compartment.

So, I built a small wooden box with an open end that I can stick the bars in, so they don't get grease on anything. I only wish I would have done this sooner.
dave54
Nomad
Jul 18, 2018
By the time I remove the BBQ, patio mat, and all the other stuff from the pass through to set up camp, there is plenty of room for my hitch and bars. I am not worried about theft as much as just getting them out of the weather.
Baja_Man
Explorer
Jul 18, 2018
Great suggestions!

Since I already have a Genny rack at A frame and plan on 2 6V batts, there isn't much room for hitch holder mounted in the A frame area.

So, while camped, it will have to go in front storage compartment or in back of truck bed under my topper.

Most simple, practical, and secure would be in front storage compartment.

Otherwise I would need to make a box of some sort to house and secure the hitch and bars in my truck bed....strong enough box to handle driving around towns, quick sharp turns, bumpy gravel roads, and the unexpected.
Acdii
Explorer
Jul 17, 2018
I found an EZ Store hitch mount,

EZStore

My Blue Ox fits perfect in it, gets locked with the hitch pin, and the bars get locked by their chains to the carriage, and the carriage gets locked to the frame with a thick security cable.
campigloo
Explorer
Jul 16, 2018
Mine go on the ground.
rbpru
Explorer II
Jul 16, 2018
Bars go in the TT lockable storage bin. The hitch goes in the truck bed or stays attached, depending on how lazy I am.
Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Jul 16, 2018
Fordlover wrote:
Wow, I must be playing russian roulette, or I just tend to stay in friendlier campsites.

When camping, the bars get rested across the top of the A-frame, hitch stays in the truck reciever. I do throw the L pins in the pass thru, mostly so my kids wouldn't pick them up and misplace them. When at home, hitch is stored in the pass thru, bars are stored in my shed.

I only paid 200 for my 12K Equal-I-zer used, so maybe that's why I play fast and loose?

I must stay at the same places you do. :B

I throw mine across the A frame and call it good. Saw my dad do it for over 40+ years and I've done it for over 35+ now. Never a problem. But that won't help the OP because mine are not secured.
Fordlover
Explorer
Jul 16, 2018
Wow, I must be playing russian roulette, or I just tend to stay in friendlier campsites.

When camping, the bars get rested across the top of the A-frame, hitch stays in the truck reciever. I do throw the L pins in the pass thru, mostly so my kids wouldn't pick them up and misplace them. When at home, hitch is stored in the pass thru, bars are stored in my shed.

I only paid 200 for my 12K Equal-I-zer used, so maybe that's why I play fast and loose?
Blazing_Zippers
Explorer II
Jul 16, 2018
Our Equalizer gets locked back into the trailer hitch. The bars rest back in the truck bed on a rag.
Like the OP, our ORV sits high enough that the tailgate rests on the hitch and I had to make a padded board to separate the two.
I do like the idea of placing the hitch on a board arrangement and locking it with the safety chains (getting older or hitches are getting heavier).

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Hitch and Bars Storage While Camping?

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