Vehicle alignment assistance device

A vehicle alignment assistance device for a towing vehicle and a trailer, said towing vehicle having a front end, a rear end, a rear window and a towing ball at said rear end, and said trailer having a front end and a rear end, there being at the front end thereof a towing socket to be attached to said towing ball, said device comprising

• a box adapted to be secured to the front end of said trailer,
• a resilient target-carrying member having an aft end located in said box and a forward end that can be extended from said box, said target-carrying member being extendable and contractible in length and mounted so as to be retractable into an inoperative storage position within said box,
• a target at the forward end of said target-carrying member,
• said target-carrying member being so mounted in said box as to be movable at will out of said box to locate said target in a first predetermined relationship with said towing socket, and
• a sighting mark adapted to be located on said rear window of said towing vehicle in a corresponding second predetermined relationship with said towing ball,
• said predetermined relationships being such as to enable said target to come into contact with said rear window when said towing ball is under said towing socket.

A vehicle alignment assistance device for proper alignment of a towing vehicle and a trailer, said trailer having a front end at which is located a towing socket to be coupled to a towing ball located at a rear end of said towing vehicle, there being a window located at the rear end of said towing vehicle, said device comprising:

• a box enclosure adapted to be mounted on the front end of said trailer,
• a sighting mark adapted to be located on said window at the rear end of said towing vehicle,
• a target capable of being visually seen through said window by a driver in said towing vehicle,
• a resilient target-carrying member that is extendable and contractible in length, said member having an aft end held at a fixed location in said box enclosure and a forward end at which said target is pivotally held, said target-carrying member being capable of being extended out of said box enclosure in a horizontal direction over a length sufficient to enable said target to contact said sighting mark, the extended length of said target-carrying member being such that said towing socket is vertically aligned with said towing ball when said target is in contact with said sighting mark, said target-carrying member being retractable into a storage position within said box enclosure.