Coupling guide for trailer hitches

A coupling guide for bringing into registry a hitch component carried by a tow vehicle and a companion hitch component carried by a trailer tongue, wherein the hitch component carried by the trailer tongue is secured integrally thereto and the trailer tongue mounts an adjustable jack for supporting the forward end of a trailer, the coupling guide comprising:

• a. an elongated bar mounted on the trailer tongue for longitudinal and lateral swinging movement relative to the tongue,
• b. a base slidably supporting the bar for longitudinal and lateral swinging movement relative thereto, the base having an opening therethrough for the reception of said adjustable jack,
• c. attaching means engaging the base for securing the latter to the trailer tongue,
• d. a jack base for supporting the bottom end of the jack, the jack base including an elongated beam having elevating pads at its opposite ends for elevating the beam above the ground support.
• e. a jack connector mounted on the beam for movement along the latter,
• f. pivotal attachment means on the jack connector for connecting the bottom end of the jack to the jack connector,
• g. a pair of elongated restraining members connected at one of their ends to the rearward end of the bar and at the other of their ends to laterally spaced terminals fixed relative to the tongue and located on opposite sides of the longitudinal centerline of the tongue, and
• h. connector means on the forward end of the bar for engaging a hitch component on a tow vehicle.

A coupling guide for bringing into registry a hitch component carried by a tow vehicle and a companion hitch component carried by a tongue, wherein the hitch component carried by the tow vehicle is a ball on the upper end of a stem secured to the tow vehicle, and the hitch component carried by the tongue is a socket member arranged to seat releasably over said ball, the coupling guide comprising:

• a. an elongatd bar mounted on the trailer tongue for longitudinal and lateral swinging movement relative to the tongue,
• b. a base slidably supporting the bar for longitudinal and lateral swinging movement relative thereto,
• c. attaching means engaging the base for securing the latter to the trailer tongue, the attaching means disposing the bar in a plane underlying the hitch component on the trailer tongue,
• d. a pair of elongated restraining members connected at one of their ends to the rearward end of the bar and at the other of their ends to laterally spaced terminals fixed relative to the tongue and located on opposite sides of the longitudinal centerline of the tongue, and
• e. connector means on the forward end of the bar for engaging the hitch component on the tow vehicle, the connector means comprising a notch in the forward end of the bar arranged to engage the stem of the ball component of the trailer hitch.

A coupling guide for bringing into registry a hitch component carried by a tow vehicle and a companion hitch component carried by a trailer tongue, the coupling guide comprising:

• a. an elongated bar mounted on the trailer tongue for longitudinal and lateral swinging movement relative to the tongue,
• b. a pair of elongated restraining members connected at one of their ends to the rearward end of the bar and at the other of the ends to laterally spaced terminals fixed relative to the tongue and located on opposite sides of the longitudinal centerline of the tongue,
• c. connector means on the forward end of the bar for engaging a hitch component on a tow vehicle, and
• d. a retractable reel secured to the forward end portion of the bar rearwardly of said connector means and mounting an elongated flexible alignment line arranged to be extended from the reel and to be attached at its outer end releasably to a tow vehicle on the vertical axis of the hitch component carried thereby, the reel including means for tensioning the line in the retracting direction sufficient to cause the bar to be extended and swung laterally into alignment with the hitch component on the tow vehicle.