Today we are going to cover the installation of a breakaway kit. The function of a breakaway kit is in case the trailer unfortunately breaks away from the truck or the car. What will happen is the breakaway kit will pull a plunger, basically an electrical switch, that will send power via the battery to the brake axles so the trailer wont be free to run off into the ditch, and it will just slow down the trailer as soon as possible. That is the function of a breakaway switch. And now we will go ahead and install one. What we have here is basically a trailer frame, obviously not a whole trailer. But we are going to cover this as a generic install. No matter what brand you are using, they all install pretty much the same way. In this demonstration we will be using a part from Tow Ready, Part Number 20048. more
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Posted: 8/29/2008 3:08:24 AM
Today we are going to cover a frequently asked question. It really turns up a lot. And actually it is easier than you think. Basically, if you have a pickup and you got a tow package with it and you got one of these wire harnesses that plug underneath the dash and plugs into your brake controller, you might have five or sometimes even more wires coming off of it. And you notice that your brake controller only uses four. We have got one over here, we will show you, that has just the four wires and what do you do with the extra wires? The short answer is do not worry about it, because the brake controller has all that it needs from these four wires. more
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Posted: 8/29/2008 12:54:26 PM
Today we are going to do our install on a 2005 Dodge Durango with the tow package from the factory, and we are going to install Part Number 90185, the Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller. And we are also going to install the accompanying brake control harness for the Dodge tow package, and that is Part Number 3020P. To begin our install, we will start with the bracketry to hold our brake controller. And that is actually pretty easy. There is already an existing screw underneath the dash, and we are going to use that. We use a torx bit and we are going to go ahead and take that down. Then we run our bracket right back through it, and we are going to overlap so it will sandwich the plastic back up there like it was originally. more
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Posted: 8/28/2008 9:47:01 PM
Today we are going to cover a few notes on testing an electronic brake controller. What we are going to cover here is going to apply to virtually all brake controllers. Basically, if you run into a problem where you think your brake controller is not working, well, it could be a the brake controller or b it could be something in the truck itself, in the connector or c it actually could be problems in the trailer. What we are going to show you today is how to look for problems that will either rule out the brake controller or make sure that it is the brake controllers fault. Just like any electronic devices, they seem to have a limited lifespan some will work for years and some will not. But this way you can also verify that it is working good. more
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Posted: 8/29/2008 7:37:24 AM
Today were going to install the Prodigy brake controller from Tekonsha, Part Number 90185, on a 1999 Ford F250, the light-duty version. This will also apply to the same year Ford F150. Were going to start off with this one vehicle that only has a factory 4-pole package on it and does not have the 7-pole in the back. So were going to have to upgrade the 4-pole to make it a 7-pole and then we can install the brake controller up front. The first thing we do is install one of two brackets on the hitch itself so we have a place to mount our electrical connector, and basically were going to be using Part Number 18140 from Tow-Ready. And basically this is one that clamps in place right here. Basically its just a hose clamp that goes around the hitch and back through itself. And then you just tighten it down with a clamp set. You might want to hold the bracket in position while you tighten it down, too. Next were going to install a bracket by a hole in the connector right here. And this comes with the Part Number 37185, and thats a 4-pole to 7- and 4-pole adapter. more
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Posted: 8/29/2008 6:05:40 AM
Today we are going to show you part number 04928 from Swift Hitch, the trailer hitch aligner and portable wireless camera system. As you can see, it comes in 2 different pieces here. One camera goes in the back of your vehicle and the other camera is a hand held device that you carry in the cab of your truck while you back up to your trailer. We will show you a couple of nice feature about this camera system. First off, it has a 1 button operation here which basically turns it on, hold it down until the screen comes on. Then to turn it off, simply hold the button down again until it goes off. Also that is the same thing with the camera itself. It has a simple on and off button to operate it. Both of these devices have their own internal batteries. The kit does come complete with charger form so you can charge them both at the same time. The screen it self is 2 and a half inches wide and is a full color screen also. more
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Posted: 8/26/2008 6:10:24 AM
Today we are going to show you part number V91150 from Valley. This is their 3 bike towing 2 armed rack for 2 inch trailer hitch receivers. It is a real nice and easy to use bicycle rack. You can attach it to your ball mount that goes directly to your hitch receiver. Also, you can use the provided stinger, which is the part that replaces the ball mount and goes into the hitch, and you can use your bicycle straight from there. What is also really nice about this bicycle rack is that it actually folds flat, almost completely flat, when you are not using it. You simply take these arms and just fold them over on top of themselves. Then fold this flat so you have a nice narrow form which you can easily store in the corner of a garage some where. We will go ahead and install our bicycle rack. It is actually pretty easy. As we have shown right here this is the actual stinger that comes with this bicycle rack in case you are not using a ball mount. This could easily be a ball mount if you already have one existing. What you do to install this is take this cap off and go ahead and slide this onto the stinger. Then push down on this handle right here, you have to use a pretty good amount of force and it locks into place. Then you put your safety pin in and re install your cap. more
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Posted: 8/26/2008 4:34:06 PM
Today we are going to be installing hitch part number 87717 on a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan. We are underneath the vehicle now and I am going to go ahead and point out the attaching points that we are going to use for the hitch. As you can see there are 2 existing bolts in the bottom of the frame as well as a center hole here as well. The hitch is going to utilize this bolt here, as well as this hole here. On 2001 and newer models, we have a hole that is going to be existing here as well that the hitch is going to utilize. On this particular model, they do not have the hole already in the frame so we are going to have to go ahead and drill that out. So the first step is going to be to go ahead and take out this bolt on both sides of the frame. And then I will run it back in. It basically cleans the threads out themselves. more
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Posted: 8/29/2008 3:57:32 PM
Alright, today we are going to install part number 75471 from Draw-Tite and we will be installing this on a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. This also applies to hidden hitch number 87414. It is a relatively easy hitch to install. It attaches at 2 points right here, at these 2 threaded holes inside the frame. They are going to be identical on both sides of the vehicle. So first thing we will want to do, even though this is a new vehicle, is take some time out to run the bolts in and out just to make sure that you do not have any dust or road grime in there. more
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Posted: 8/28/2008 11:31:46 AM
Today we are going to install part number 118307 on our 2005 Kia Sorrento. Installing the part is pretty simple. There is actually a port for a towing package on the passenger side frame rail, right here, and all you have to do basically is pull off the cap and push this little button in and the cap comes out. The T1 connector connector actually just plugs right back in there. At this point you just route the T1 how ever you want, tie off the converter box in a safe location. Then just run your wires out to your hitch. It looks like a good spot actually is right above the spare tire rack here. So what we will do is just put it to the top of it right here. Make sure you have plenty of room with your spare tire. Then we will run our zip tie across the top of it and through the wires. The next thing we can do is run our wire to the other side and we will just bundle it up and just go ahead and zip tie it to the top of the hitch here. That would be safe and out of the way. Get yourself so extra long zip ties and just run it across with one on each side. At this point you can mount your 4 pole connector to a bracket that will mount to your factory bracket on the hitch. Then you just simply zip tie it in place or add a different type of connector for here. That concludes our install of part number 118307 from Tow Ready, the T1 connector. more
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Posted: 8/28/2008 4:51:06 PM
Today we are going to be showing you part number A30703FB this is the folding 3 bike carrier for 1 and a 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches from SportRack. SportRack has constructed a very solid, yet very versatile bike carrier. The rubber knob cradles protect your equipment from scratches and, when not in use on your vehicle, it folds completely out of the way. When you get home it totally collapses, taking up the least mount of storage space then any other bike rack we sell. The weight capacity is 132 pounds and accepts bikes with frames up to 2 and a 1/4 inches in diameter. This bike also includes a locking knob on the very last arm, which ensures security for bikes when you travel on down the road. It also comes with a set of keys to lock it. Before we show you how to convert the shank we are going to show you how this folds up for the maximum amount of storage capabilities in your garage. You loosen this pin here and it just folds up to a very convenient folding position like so. Then you just replace the pin. more
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Posted: 8/28/2008 10:57:57 AM
Today we are going to show you part number 830850. This the 20 by 60 folding cargo carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches from SportRack. The features of this are that it is powder coated to resist corrosion, it is 20 by 60 expanded steel mesh floor and the shank is angled up for better ground clearance. The side rails help keep cargo in place to provide tie down points and the carrier folds up when not in use. It fits 2 by 2 trailer hitch receivers. It has a weight capacity of 500 pounds. From outside the rail to outside the rail is 21 and 1/4 by 61 and 1/4. The side rails measure 6 inches high and it is a 3 piece bolt together unit. Also the cargo carrier shank has a built in anti rattle device used to reduce the vibration and noise of the carrier inside the trailer hitch. This is ideal for transporting anything from sports equipment to lawn gear. Anything you can think of to put in here that you do not want inside of your vehicle. more
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Posted: 8/28/2008 11:21:15 AM
Today we are going to be installing part number 24579 from Draw Tite. We are going to install this on a 1993 Geo Prism. The hitch installs in these 3 points on the side of the frame. And on this vehicle we actually have a threaded fittings. Some varieties of this vehicle will not have threads at all. In fact, we would have to drill a hole into the frame to install hardware. In this case we do not have to do that because the 3 holes here are threaded. Also when you install the hitch we will have to make a notch in the sheet metal here to put it in place. We can do that with a simple set of sheers. It will not be too hard to install. Basically you will do the same thing on both sides. The firsts steps involve is to go ahead and take down these bumper straps off the trunk pan here. We will just go ahead and take those off. We just need to pull those out of our way for now. Next what we will do is hold up the hitch and find out where exactly on the sheet metal we need to cut. more
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Posted: 8/26/2008 8:01:42 AM
Today we are going to be showing you part number A30403 the folding 3 bike carrier for 1 inch and 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches. This is called the Sport Rack Escape 3. The features of this includes that it carriers up to 3 bikes, it works with many alternative and larger tubed frame bikes and it has a dual arm design which offers great bike support and 3 attachment points for each bike. Also it has a anti sway cradle which attaches to the upright or angled bar of the bike frame to help keep bikes from swaying front to back as you are driving down the road. The soft cradles slide front to back and rotate to help accommodate many types of bikes. The carrier is also powder coated to resist corrosion. The bike rack tilts down to allow access to the rear of your vehicle. The top support arms also collapse for travel without bikes or for storage. The bike rack includes a threaded anti rattle hitch pin that prevents the bike rack from swaying back and forth. more
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Posted: 8/26/2008 1:06:44 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH914. This is the folding 4 bike carrier for inch and a 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches, the Thule Roadway. It is easy to use and it carries up to 4 bikes, as mentioned before. The roadway by Thule has a dual arm design that accommodates a wider variety of bikes. It has soft cradles that keep the bikes tightly secured to the carrier. There is also an anti sway strap to keep bikes from rocking back and forth while you travel. You may conveniently use this bike rack with either a 1 inch and a 1/4 or a 2 inch receiver. It has 2 quick release levers which allow it to tilt towards you to gain better access to the rear of the vehicle. It also has a quick release lever at the top of the bike rack so that the arms fold down for better storage capabilities. It has a built in anti rattle device that reduces the vibration and noise of the rack and hitch while you are traveling down the road. more
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Posted: 8/21/2008 5:58:49 AM
Today we are going to be showing you part number 6502, this is the 20x48 folding cargo carrier for 2 inch trailer hitch receivers, from Tow Ready. This cargo carrier will tilt up for easy storage. The carrier also has license plate relocation holes if the carrier obscures your license plate. For extra safety the cargo carrier includes reflector tape. This cargo carrier has 500 pounds of cargo capacity. It tilts up for easy installation and storage. It has a mesh floor for easy clean up and it has 3 inch high side rails to retain cargo. There are attachment holes for load securing devices such as bungee cords or straps of some sort. And it has an angled design for maximum ground clearance. It also has a powder coat finish that resists corrosion. We will show you some of the connection points. You can see them here and there are some on the front. If you have bungee cords you can also use the mesh flooring of the cargo carrier. Now moving around to the front, the license plate mounts are here and here and also on the other side of the cargo carrier if need be. We are going to go ahead and show you the folding feature, which is the main feature of this cargo carrier. more
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Posted: 8/21/2008 3:58:10 PM
Today we are going to be installing a T1 wiring harness, part number 118362, on a 2003 Nissan Frontier. Looking up underneath the vehicle now. And you can see, we are looking back towards the bumper right on the rear side of the spare tire here. If you take a look at the passenger side, the harness is going to be right here. What we will want to do is go ahead and disconnect that and pull these 2 pieces apart. As you can see there is kind of a pin in there that we need to push in then you can pull these 2 pieces apart, like so. Now that we have the wire disconnected here we can go ahead and put our T-harness in line. As you can see there are 2 ends on it as well. You just plug the coinciding ends together. Okay, we are going to go ahead and mount the ground now. And we want to actually mount that directly to the frame so that we make sure that we have a good grounding point. more
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Posted: 8/21/2008 3:44:08 PM
Today we are going to show you part number 59110 from Rola the tilting enclosed cargo carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches. What this is, is an enclosed cargo carrier working with a 2 inch receiver hitch. It also doubles as a regular cargo carrier. Plus the fact that as a regular cargo carrier, it can fold up and out of the way when you are not using it. We will go ahead and show you how it works. We will go ahead and show you the cargo box itself. It is real nice. As you can see, it is all plastic construction and is also weather tight construction on the door hinge itself. We will go ahead and open it and show you how it works. It has these suitcase type latches that hold everything down and they are lockable. Once you open it up you can see you have plenty of space inside. Also if you get anything inside or just want to wash it out, or what not, there is a plug in here to drain it. This cargo carrier can hold 13 and a 1/2 cubit feet of cargo inside of it. more
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Posted: 8/20/2008 8:22:08 AM
Today we are going to show you part number S64720 from Swagman. This is the Swagman upright roof rack. This will fit a variety of different types of roof racks that are on the market. We have one installed on a Thule roof rack and we will show you how it works. The bicycle rack will attach to the roof rack, like so, with basically a U bolt and a clamp and a couple of tension knobs. Then also on the front of the rack, with the pivot point it also clamps into place around the roof rack. It has 2 knobs on top and there is a set of 4 upfront here. Next we will show you the clamp that actually does the work on the bike itself. This clamp right here has nice rubber padding on both sides of the knob. And basically you just use this knob to screw them together and that clamps into place on your bicycle. And also, there is a built in lock here. So when you tighten it down to leave your bike on the roof rack you can simply lock it and then the handle free wheels so it will not go anywhere and you can not take it off. more
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Posted: 8/20/2008 1:14:11 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH912 this is the folding tube bike carrier for 1 inch and 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches. This is the Thule Roadway. The Thule Roadway carrier, for up to 2 bikes, has the quick and easy hitch switch that allows you to just flip the switch to fold the bike carrier down and away from the rear of the vehicle. The switch also makes it super convenient to fold the arms down when not in use. The dual arm construction with rotating cradles lets you carry a wider variety of bikes without the use of an adapter. An anti sway strap and built in anti rattle device keeps movement to a minimum while traveling. Also keep in mind that this can be upgraded with a no sway cage accessory which is part number TH955 which works exclusively with T3 cradles and prevents bikes from rocking back and forth on the carrier. more
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Posted: 8/20/2008 8:06:19 AM
What this does for you is it allows an alternative frame bike with a real steep cross tube to be carried on a normal bicycle rack. We will go ahead and show you how this installs, it is pretty easy one half wraps around the seat post and the other half will wrap around the stem up front by the handlebars. We will go ahead and pop it on to show you how it works. We will go ahead and install the bike with the adapter on a typical bicycle rack and see what we get. We got the adapter bar in place, we know how it looks, so now lets see what it looks like without the adapter. As you can see it is a rather large difference. As you can see this is a simple device but actually will help out with balancing your bikes out on your bicycle rack and it will save a lot of headache trying to figure out how to stack them on top of a rack. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 9:58:59 AM
This is a part that upgrades your Boone docking station to take Yakima and Thule racks, and virtually any other rack that uses a threaded fitting instead of a hitch pin. What this pin does is replace the original pin on the Boone docking station. Basically you just unclip these clips, pop off the one side and re-install with the new clips. This way you can install your threaded side out of your bicycle rack onto your pin. We will replace the bottom one and show you how it works. We need to remove one of the c-clips and hold one edge of it, take a screwdriver and flip it up a bit. Once you get it started, get to the middle and put your screwdriver underneath it and slide it up with your finger so it does not fly off. Now re-assemble your dock block insert your new pin and make sure it is in correct orientation with the threads on your bicycle rack. You have to make sure because the threads are on the outside edge or else it will not fit on. Once you have it right, you can put your c-clip back on. We will now install the bicycle rack with the threaded fitting. Just to give the point of view, we will just point out that the threads are on this side of the shank. To show you how it works, look down there and see it is open and the pin goes through. One other thing about this is that one half you can use for your bicycle rack while the other half is open for any two inch accessories. There you have it for part # BH83747, the Boone dock cross pin for Thule and Yakima bicycle racks. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 10:02:11 AM
This is a device that holds ball mounts, bicycle racks, and cargo carriers on your wall for easy storage. These are the parts we have here, it does need a little bit of assembly, so we will show you how it goes together. As you can see we already put the covers on the end of the tubes, they just pop on and you tap them into place no big deal. You do have to take note of what side these bars go on the main support bar, there are angles you have to match up to. It goes in like that and when you know what the general layout is then we can install the hardware. Now you get some common hand tools and tighten them down. In this case a 1/2 inch wrench and 1/2 inch socket. Once you have it assembled, you will notice that the angle is towards the wall. This will be the wall mount right here, it gets lag-bolted into place and this part just sits on the floor and bears the weight. You have to have this angle so it puts the weight straight down. You see we have this leaning against the wall here, it stands out away from the wall so it takes all the support weight. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 10:08:15 AM
This is a device that holds your accessories in place, whether it be a cargo carrier, a simple ball mount or one of your bicycle racks. Also as a note this is not a free standing device, this part does need to be bolted against the wall to keep it in place. Your accessories mount on pretty much like a regular hitch pin. Slide your accessory on, and put your hitch pin back in for security. As you can see we have one ball mount stored in place and ready to go. Now you will notice the pin on the other side, we can install another device like a ball mount, in this case we will use a bike rack. There you have it, you can store two devices at the same time. As you can see we installed a couple of two inch accessories, also available are different pins or docking stations that you can install for a different type of bicycle racks for a 1-1/4 hitch or racks that use a threaded insert, there are provisions for those too. That is for the Boone dock two inch storage stand, part # BH91411. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 10:08:59 AM
This part adds additional capacity to your Boone docking station and allows you to carry more than just 2 inch accessories. They install just the same as your original Boone dock blocks. First you install your c-clip on one side. You slide the pin through and fasten the other side with a c-clip. There you have it. This accessory will hold any 1-1/4 bike rack, ball mount, or cargo carrier. This is part number BH91200, the Boone Dock 1-1/4 inch dock block kit. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 10:10:35 AM
Today we are going to be showing you part number TH958. This is the folding 2 bike carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches, the Thule Parkway. This carrier has a dual arm design for extra stability during your trip. The soft rubber cradles that are made to protect your bike frame while keeping it secure. This is perfect for weekly trips to the park or annual family vacations. The Thule Parkway is an excellent addition to your vehicle for more travel with your bikes. We will go ahead and show off these features starting off with putting the bike rack into the hitch and showing you how the anti rattle device works. Lift the bike rack into the hitch and line up the holes on the side. The anti rattle device simply screws in. That is going nowhere. Next we will show you the tilt feature. You simply pull the pin towards the bottom near the shank and you let the bike rack fall towards you which gives you more clearance to the rear of your vehicle. Next we will be going ahead and putting the bike onto the bike rack. We will get a standard frame bike to keep things simple. Then we will show you how the cradles work. more
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Posted: 8/13/2008 12:24:33 PM
Today we are going to show you part number 63123 from Tow Ready. What we have here is a folding 3 bike bicycle rack that will fit either an 1 inch and 1/4 class 2 receiver hitch or a 2 inch receiver hitch. This does carry up to 3 bikes. This bike rack does come with heavy duty Velcro straps to secure the bike to the carrier which will not allow it to be removed or be scratched. Also the cradles themselves have a rubber padding which will not allow the bikes to get scratched up and grips them nice and tight. Also this bicycle rack will tilt forward to allow access to the rear of the vehicle. Once again this will fit an inch and a 1/4 class 2 receiver hitch or a class 3 2x2 receiver hitch. It is really easy to convert it into an incha and a 1/4 since we have it in the 2 inch position right now. Pull this pin and all you have to do is spin it around and it is ready to go into a class 2 receiver hitch. more
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Posted: 8/19/2008 4:12:23 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH956. This is the folding 4 bike carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches, also known as the Thule Parkway. It is perfect for a weekly trip to the park or an annual family vacation. The convenient tilting mechanism allows for easy access to the rear cargo area of your vehicle, while an anti rattle device secures the bike carrier to the hitch. It also comes with a safety strap to give your bikes just a little more security with you are driving down the road. Okay we are going to go ahead and put the bike rack into the hitch now and install the anti rattle device. Simply screw it in like so and Thule has a tightening tool you can use to tighten it down the rest of the way. Nice and tight and it will not be going anywhere. We will show you the tilting feature next. Undo the pin and let it fall forward and then you can get to the rear of your vehicle with ease and comfort. Next we are going to install a bike for you here. more
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Posted: 8/20/2008 3:03:03 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH915 from Thule. What we have here is a folding 5 bike carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches. This is their Roadway model. We will go ahead and install it on our 2 inch receiver hitch and show you the features of this. We will go ahead and show you how this works. Line up the hole. And instead of a hitch pin, it does come with this bolt that you just thread it into the bike rack. Once you tighten the bolt down it acts as an anti sway device also. It makes a permanent connection to the hitch. Alright, this lower latch that you saw before lets you tilt the bike rack, so if it is on the back of your SUV, you can get back to the inside of your vehicle. To get the bicycle rack ready to accept the bikes, you need to pull on this latch up here, and pull the arms up into position, and it is ready to haul your bikes. Alright we will go ahead and throw on our bike now and show you how it works. It is pretty simple, just lay it on the cradles and then take your straps and pull them tight over your bike. Same thing with your one in the back, you can pull it over and there you have it. Your bike is secured and you can do that with 4 more bikes. more
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Posted: 8/18/2008 8:56:22 AM
Today we are going to show you part number BH91818 from Boone outdoor hardware. What we have here is a trailer hitch mounted gold club carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches. The hardshell carriers are not included and what also is not included is a 5/8 hitch pin and clip. Next we will go ahead and show you how it is installed on a typical 2 inch receiver hitch and show you show you how you can mount up your golf clubs. Alright, we will go ahead and show you a couple of nice features about this golf club carrier. It is pretty nice. First off, it is really light weight and it is really easy to install. Also you can actually tilt it into get to the back of your SUV or mini van. Simply pull out this pin right here. Then tilt it down and you have easy access to the back of your vehicle. What is nice about this carrier is that it has nice padding, so if you have a really nice hard case for your clubs it will not scratch it up either. more
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Posted: 8/18/2008 6:49:10 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH955 from Thule. And what this is, is the Thule no sway cage bike stabilizer. With this part number you get a quantity of 2. What this part number does is actually eliminates any sway on your bicycle while it is on the rack itself. It is pretty neat and easy to install on Thule bike racks and this part will install on most Thule bicycle racks. As we have here we will show you on part number TH915. It is very simple to install. Basically you have this little guide that goes in the middle of the cradle here and you simply just slide it underneath into that guide there. Also make sure you get it around the bar here and simply it just snaps into place. You can rotate it depending on the down tube of your bike to accommodate all kinds of different frames. We will go ahead and install a bike and show you how you can use it. You put it against your down tube and then you strap it in. Of course the same thing applies for the cradles that are holding the bike into place. Alright and there you have it for part number TH955 from Thule, the no sway cage bike stabilizer. more
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Posted: 8/13/2008 12:52:43 PM
Today we are going to be showing you part number 52018F, the 24x60 folding cargo carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches. This carrier is also the largest size folding cargo carrier we offer. This carrier stands up and out of the way when not in use, saving you the bumps and bruises. The tall rail keeps your cargo safe and secure, also making it easy to attach your bungee cords or tie downs. This particular model also folds up when not in use to save space when you are in the garage or when you reach your destination. The platform measures 24 inches by 60 inches inside the rails. The overall dimensions are 25 and 1/2 inches by 61 and 1/2 inches. The side rails measure 5 and a 1/2 inches high. It fits 2 inch trailer hitches only. The maximum weight capacity is 500 pounds and the pin and clip are sold separately. As we mentioned before, this cargo carrier does fold up. To do that, you simply pull out the pin and lift up, and reinsert the pin to make sure that it does not fall back down. There you have it for part number 52018F the 24 by 60 folding cargo carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches. more
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Posted: 8/19/2008 11:30:50 AM
Today we are going to be showing you part number 988501. This is the etrailer.com extra large cargo carrier bag which is 20 cubic feet. The extra large bag is weather proof and is great for protecting your luggage and camping equipment or golf clubs from the elements. The bag also folds flat for easy compact storage when it is not in use. This features 20 cubic feet of storage, rain proof construction, flaps the cover the zippers, and water proof material. It includes six tie down straps. It folds easy for storage and has a double zipper for easy opening and closing. As mentioned before, there actually are flaps that cover and protect the zipper for extra weather protection. They are all held down by Velcro and of course you can see the 2 zippers here that keep everything nice and secure inside. Alright now we are going to go ahead and show you how to tie up these straps here. Simply take this end and you put it through one of the bars on the bottom of the cargo carrier. Pull it through like so and you take this strap here and push it through and then put it through that hole there and you simply tighten it up until it is nice and secure. Now as you notice here, the other straps have already been done. So this cargo bag is ready to go down the road and it will not fall off your cargo carrier. There you have it for part number 988501, this is the etrailer.com extra large cargo carrier bag with 20 cubic feet of storage space. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 10:17:36 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH954 from Thule. This is the Ridgeline 4 bike hitch carrier. It carries up to 4 bikes comes with anti sway knob as well as anti sway for the bikes after they are installed. It comes with 2 locks, one for the actual hitch itself and one for the bikes after they are installed as well. This is a tilting bike rack as well as a folding bike rack which provides better storage for you when you are not using it. It can be converted into 1 inch and 1/4 by removing covering on the shank. All that requires is an alan key to unscrew it. Before we install this into our 2 inch hitch we are going to show you how convert it into 1 inch and a quarter. You go to this screw here and take this alan key and simply loosen it off, unscrew it, and this sheath slides off and it is ready for your inch and a quarter application. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 4:12:00 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH518 from Thule. This is their Echelon bicycle carrier. This bicycle carrier does fit on top of all Thule roof top racks and also some Yakim racks also. We will go ahead and show you a quick overview of how the unit installs to your existing roof rack. First you have to just lay it up there. These 2 bolts clamp down to this bar in the back and you can move it back and forth as needed. There is a clip that goes on the front bar right here. This clip here slides over the bar and you can take the bike rack and it slides onto there like so. Then you drop 2 bolts from the top down into this bracket that has threaded nuts on the bottom edge of it. It does come complete with a tool to tightens it down. The back also clamps down into place similar to the front except it uses a plate and a couple of knobs. Before you tighten these down you want to take a moment to make sure you have this going in a straight line with the vehicle so it is not going side ways. These fit and then you go ahead and tighten them down. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 2:55:50 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH517 from Thule, this is the Peloton. This is their bicycle rack that fits on top of most of the Thule roof racks assemblies out there. This is a bicycle rack that requires you to remove the front wheel to install it on the rack. We will go ahead and show you how it is done. The Peloton bike rack actually clamps onto these bars right here. There are 2 bolts that can come down from the rack itself and then there is a plate right here that tightens it on. Then up front of the vehicle there is a u-bolt that goes to the front cross bar. That is attached by 2 screws underneath the hood right here. more
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Posted: 8/10/2008 9:58:43 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH593 from Thule. This is their wheel on accessory. This mounts to any Thule roof rack system and also a few different Yakima systems also. When this type of rack requires you take off the front wheel of the bicycle, you use this part number here, the TH593, to store the wheel so you do not have to keep it inside the vehicle and take up any extra room when you do not have to. As you can see here, the device is pretty easy to install. Basically there are 4 screws and it clamps on over the bar so you just use thumb knobs to tighten them down on all 4 corners. It is basically ready to go. Also these arms right here that hold the wheel are fully adjustable. You just loosen this thumb knob here and you can move it up or down as needed. We will go ahead and install a wheel. Basically it just slides on just like on to your bike. There is a nice long groove here so you can set the wheel all the way at the bottom and so it does not rotate while you are going down the road. Then simply tighten it up like it is a fork on your bike. There you have it, stored away and ready to go down the road. There you have it for part number TH593 from Thule, the wheel on bike rack accessory. more
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Posted: 8/11/2008 7:57:38 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH7038, this is the Thule Roadmate vehicle storage organizer, constructed of non PVC nylon. It has a semi rigid design for durability. It has multiple pockets that provide convenient organization access to all your mobile devices such as cell phones, Ipods, sunglasses, pens, pencils, Cds, anything in your car. It also has an integrated cooler compartment with an insulated cup holder keeps drinks and snacks cool and fresh. The Thule Roadmate collapses easily into a small carrying tote and features a heavy duty handle, providing comfortable transportation to and from the vehicle. Now we are going to go ahead and show you some of these features and how they work. First off to open it you just pop off these straps here and open it up. You can see on the top part here 3 different compartments, ideal of course for sunglasses, pens, etc. more
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Posted: 8/7/2008 5:28:22 PM
Today we are going to be showing you part number WC2398, this is the bright night dynamo charger flashlight. This is the micro version of that you can also recharge your cell phone in minutes, it has 3 super bright LED bulbs, and 13000 MCD light power. It is rechargeable by a built in hand crank in dynamo. With 2 minutes of winding up you can have 30 plus minutes of light power. It includes cell phone connectors for Motorola, Razor, Nokia and Samsung. We will go ahead and show you how it works. First, to get it charged up, you will pull out this switch here and charge it like so and you wind it up for about 2 minutes, which gives you 30 plus minutes of power for the lights. You press this button on the side which lights up all three lights as you can see here. It also has a flashing function. Also, on this side, you can see there is a plug for the cell phone adapters. You will take one of these 4 adapters here to attach to the cable. We have a USB phone here with us today so we will show you how it works with the USB connection. You just plug it in and then crank the handle and you will get a charge on your phone. If you crank it long enough you will at least be able to make a 2 minute call, for whatever emergency pick up you might need. There you have it for part number WC2398 from Wagan Tech. This is the bright night Dynamo charger flashlight, the micro version. more
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Posted: 8/6/2008 3:49:38 AM
Today we are going to be showing you part number WC2477 this is the 3 way light LED. This is a Flashlight, Lantern, and even a emergency flashing light all in one. It has a magnetic end or hanging ring for easy attachment anywhere. It includes 2 magnetic bases you can stick on non metal surfaces to hold the light. The LED bulbs last up to 100,000 hours. It uses 3 double A batteries which are sold separately. Now we have dimmed the lights to show you more contrast so you can see how these lights work. Now simply push this button here, press once and the emergency strobe comes on. You can place it along side your car on a dark night so that people know you are there. If you press it again you have a camping light and if you press it a third time it becomes an actual flashlight with the 3 LED lights. The light has a magnetic top right here and a ring so that you can hang it from things. It comes in handy when you are underneath the hood at night. Lets say you need to check the oil in your car, you can simply stick the light to any metal surface and you have a nice lit area. If that is not enough you use the lantern to provide more light. There you have it for part number WC2477 the 3 way LED flashlight, lantern, and emergency light by Wagan Tech. more
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Posted: 8/5/2008 5:56:52 PM
Today we are going to install part number 60818 from Hidden Hitch on our 2006 Chrysler PT cruiser. This install also applies to part number 24759 from Draw Tite. Alright, the hitch will attach where this tow hook is. This tow hook will be removed and kept off. The hitch will be bolt into place right here and also there will be a part in the frame up a little further around this area that we will have to drill out for access of a carriage bolt. It is basically the same thing on both sides. On the driver side we are going to have to lower the muffler to get to the access there. Also we took down the spare tire for now. Theoretically you should not have to take it down but it makes it just a little bit easier to put the hitch back up against the bumper and then put the spare tire up when you are done. First of all, remove the exhaust hangers. more
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Posted: 8/7/2008 4:27:42 PM
Alright today we are going to install part number 41920 from Draw Tite. We are going to install this on a Ford F250 lite duty version pickup. The hitch will install in these pre existing holes in the frame here. There is also a bracket that needs to be installed at the end of the frame. That goes over the top of the rear set of holes, and there also has to be a hole inside of the bracket that needs to be drilled through the side of the frame. Our next step is going to be going ahead and temporarily bolting this bracket into place. We are going to just use existing hardware. That will just give us a guide for our drill bit to go on through. Okay we drilled out our pilot hole a 1/4 inch, then we will follow it up with a half inch bit. Now we are going to repeat everything for the other side. more
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Posted: 8/4/2008 1:43:14 PM
Today we are going to install part number 11468 from Curt and we are installing this on a 2007 Toyota Prius. First thing we need to do is take down this shield right here. This will come off and the hitch will go in the place where this tie down hook is. Once we take this shield off we can unbolt this hook and there is another hook on the passenger side that we need to take off also. The first thing we need to do is take down this shield here for now. We will end up trimming it when we put the hitch back up. Alright, next we will want to take down the tie down bracket. Now go do the same thing for the other side. Next we can go ahead and install the hitch onto the vehicle and you can actually put the passenger side over the exhaust and let you help hold it up while you do the driver side first. Once you have the hitch held up by a couple bolts, it is a good idea to go ahead and snug down the bolts to help you line up the hitch with the rest of the holes. Alright once you get your holes lined up, you will have to move around the hitch a little bit and get your last bolt on this side started. Go ahead and snug it up and then go back and do the remaining one on the driver side. more
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Posted: 8/7/2008 4:26:30 PM
What we have here is a 4 pole flat car end, 16 inches long and includes 4 wiring caps. This is going to be installed on a 2005 Ford Mustang. We need to get the access to the wiring. So the first thing we need to do is take out this bottom tray or carpeting here. You have to take off this back panel here to get access to the wiring. Once that is out of the way we can start taking these fasteners off this back panel here and then take it off to get to the wiring. This is the wiring harness that is actually going to the tail light lens. So what we need to do is strip away our wires here so we can figure out which wire is our turn signal or running light. Since we have to hardwire this, we have to test to see what wire does what. So basically we will just use our ground tester to the existing ground on the body. more
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Posted: 8/8/2008 8:52:27 AM
Today we are going to install part number 118446 from Tow Ready on our 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. First what we need to do to start is get behind the tail lights. So we will have to open up the trunk and take out 2 screws on each side to undo the tail lights. There are 2 torque screws that have to come out and you just simply pry off the light. You will see 2 tabs, just pull straight out from there. For now we will just go ahead and let the light sit there so we will have to make our T1 connector right here. Again it is the same thing for the other side. To begin our install, we will take our 4 pole and our converter box and stick it behind the bumper. And it will come out below the bumper. Also the wires going to the passenger side will go down there too. These will eventually get run down underneath the bumper to the other side. Just to make sure we have the socket to hook up take a look at the outside. Obviously this is going to be your reverse light. And your turning signal and running lights and brake lights are going to be this bulb. So you are going to want to take this socket and this bulb apart. You have to unlock it and it should come apart just like so. Then you reinstall the T-1 connector in the same spot. Then take the other 2 halves you have left over and connect those together. Make sure you put the red locks back into place. more
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Posted: 8/8/2008 8:50:47 AM
Today we are going to install part number 28406 from Tow Ready. We are going to install this on a 2007 Chrysler 300C. The first step we have to do is get into a trunk area. Then we need to take off these wing nuts to take out this carpeting and expose the wiring that we need to get to. We need to do that on both sides. There is a little plastic fastener that would help for it to come apart too. There is the wiring we need to get to right there. Now pull back this trunk panel right here, exposing the battery and spare tire. Then we will take the wing nut on the other side and get to the wiring there too. Lastly we are going to take off this interior panel right here. Starting on our driver side, we will go ahead and disconnect here and install our T-connector. Simply push this red button out the way, press on the end, and it comes right apart. more
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Posted: 8/8/2008 3:52:02 AM
Today we are going to install part number 13465 from Curt. We are going to install this on a 2007 Chrysler 300c. To begin our install, we have to lower our exhaust out of the way. We actually have to lower it down pretty good, a pretty far distance. Basically we are going to remove this hanger here, we are going to unbolt it here. We will unbolt this hanger also. Now on the back here, we will need to undo this rubber hanger here too. This whole exhaust system will be resting basically on this point right here. So it may be a good idea to throw a strap around the exhaust for safety purposes to it keep it from really falling down. It looks like we have plenty of clearance to do our work here so we do not have to undo that last strap, our last hanger, so we should be in good shape. more
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Posted: 8/7/2008 4:27:14 PM
This is a ball mount that uses a 2 inch and 2 5/16 ball. As you can see this is an adjustable ball mount which means that this platform here can travel up and down as necessary. Theres two locks on here that use coke machine keys, theres one up top right here. This lock controls the pin that locks it into the hitch. This lock here facilitates the adjustments up and down the shank. Well show you how the locks work starting with the hitch pin. Basically you take the key and twist it and you can see how the pin retracts when you want to slide it into the hitch. When you have it in the right spot, take the key back and it forces the pin back out. This does so on both sides. With the same key you can go down here, it pretty much works the same way, it just allows it to adjust in different increments. more
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Posted: 8/13/2008 2:57:08 PM
Well show you some of the nice features of this table, the way it folds up and stores. This table provides two heights, this is bar height and we can lower it to table height. First you loosen the pin, on the bottom and tilt the table and re-install the pin. Then we do the same thing with the pivot point on top. Now well show you the last feature of this, the storage and fold ability of the table itself. Basically its just a reverse procedure of folding it out. Thats the table in its storage configuration. For protection of your table top, it comes with this nice vinyl cover which well show you how to use. Thats the sport fan tail gate table from Boone outdoor hardware, part # BH70777. more
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Posted: 8/7/2008 4:51:16 PM
This ball mount is designed to tow and carry accessories such as bicycle racks and cargo carriers at the same time with a trailer. Now well show you proper usage. It simply installs into the hitch like any other ball mount and you can add you accessories on top of that. One thing we should note about the ball mount part of this device is this shank is a one inch shank that uses a variety of ball mounts. Just remember that the towing capacity of this draw bar is only 5,000 pounds with 500 pounds tongue weight. Now well show you how a bicycle rack will reside on top of the ball. As you can see this is a versatile ball mount, you can use two things at the same time. Just a couple things you want to make sure of before you use this ball mount. On the tongue rating, you only have 500 pounds of tongue weight, make sure your hitch can carry that amount and make sure that your trailer and your bicycle rack with the bicycles on does not go over 500 pounds. This is part # V75090, the multi-purpose ball mount from Valley. more
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Posted: 8/13/2008 3:00:29 PM
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My second order and both shipped same day I urdered, got them fast and saved me over thirty bucks each rather than buying hitches from local dealer. :-)
Dick, Ladys Island, SC |
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