MOTHERHOOD INVENTS NECESSITY or whatever—

One problem when I bought my my new truck was I could not see the ball of the trailer hitch when I backed up to connect the camper.

Even with careful alignment of the vehicles it is still a hit and miss proposition, requiring multiple trips in and out of the truck to place the ball precisely enough the receiver can be lowered and secured.

A visit to the “Ajax Camper Supply” web catalog led me to a nifty mirror on an adjustable shaft which attached somewhere on the rear of the truck with a magnet; and, for only a100 bucks or so.

I was tempted until I read their customer comments on this contraption and discovered folks had trouble with the mirror falling out of its frame.

So, after pondering this challenge a bit, I went to the local auto parts store and bought a rectangular semi-truck mirror. It has threaded studs on both narrow ends and cost 20 bucks.

I then fashioned a two piece saddle out of wood scraps that hangs over the truck’s tailgate and allows me to adjust the tilt of the mirror so I can clearly see the ball in the truck’s own rearview mirror.

About a bucks worth of weather stripping on the saddle cut in the contour of the tailgate protects the truck’s paint and about three bucks worth of white, spray enamel makes the thing look store bought.

When I am done with the hitching chore I simply loosen a couple of wing nuts and put the mirror back in its original box. The saddle is two flat pieces and it joins the boxed mirror in a storage compartment for the next outing.

Yup, necessity sure is the mother of invention.