What Is a Hitch Hog? Hitch Hog For Double Towing (Pros-Cons)
The name does not do the device justice. One would think that the term hog in the name would refer to the device taking up too much space. That is not what it does. It is supposed to hog all the tongue weight so that your hitch has an easier time of it.
From what we can see, this is a device with two wheels and a hitch ball. You connect it to your tow hitch and then the trailer to the hitch hog. This is supposed to move the tongue weight off the tow vehicle giving you a better ride and larger towing capacity.
To learn more about this device, just continue to read our article. It has the information you want to know about to help you make the decision if this is what you need or not. To be honest, there is not a lot of information available on this device.
What is a Hitch Hog?
This device is supposed to be an extra set of wheels that helps you tow your trailer easier. It comes with electrical connections so you hook your tow vehicle's trailer lights system to it and then your trailer to it. That p[asses along the power.
There are 2 wheels on the road and this device acts more like a middleman than anything else. It attaches to your tow vehicle’s hitch and then accepts the trailer hitch.
This device may be known by better names and one is the trailer toad. The purpose of this device is to remove the tongue weight from the tow vehicle. There is a video of the hitch hog in action. It is 4 minutes long and all it shows is the hitch hog as it runs down the road.
There is no information given in that video or the other 46-second one we watched. It looks like these devices cost a lot of money as the 5000SD sells for over $5000.
You are supposed to be able to back up with this device attached to your tow vehicle and trailer. But many owners have their doubts about that.
Hitch Hog For Double Towing
We are not sure. You would be double towing technically as you have this device attached to your tow vehicle and the trailer attached to it. Some toll booths and law enforcement agencies may not approve of this towing situation.
The videos we saw and there is a third one showing the airbag system, show a website but when we put the URL in our search box, no website appeared.
The hitch hog is supposed to run on an airbag system that automatically inflates or deflates when you use the compressor inside your vehicle. But how much weight it will support is another question.
Hitch Hog Pros And Cons
Pros:
- removes tongue weight from to vehicle
Cons:
- It may be too expensive for what it does
- can be complicated to operate
- needs air after every turn
- may not be good for backing up or making turns
- may not be needed as a good truck with air shocks can do this better and easier
When the cons out number the pros, then you really have to think twice about buying one. The only advantage we or anyone else can see is that it helps lessen the tongue weight. But is that advantage worth the thousands of dollars these devices cost?
Even the two other options we have seen, trailer toad and load mate, do not seem to add any advantage to towing a trailer.
Plus, we ran into a video talking about how the ‘inventor’ of a similar device was scamming people and there is supposed to be legal action against him and his wife right now. You can see the ad for this tow all device and read the information about the lawsuits at this link.
Benefits Of Using Hitch Hogs
There are some benefits to using the hitch hog, trailer toad, or load mate (or any other device similar to these 3). But these benefits may not be great enough to add the device to your towing lineup
- Protects the chassis from being over-stressed
- Prevents overloading the rear suspension and tires
- Prevents stress damage to the floor and sidewalls
- Helps prevent slide-outs from becoming out of alignment from the twisting of the frame.
(source- https://racetoolsdirect.com/product/trailer-toad-5000sd/ )
You may find other benefits to these devices but we are not sure if there are any more.
Not a New Concept
One would think that with the aid this device gives it would be more popular and more information about it on the internet. After all, this device was in existence back in the days of Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball.
They used one in their 1950 to 60ish movie The Long, Long Trailer. This is not a very popular device as we have not run across it before this. Most likely, it is not popular as it does not do a very good job backing up or making sharp turns.
There is not a lot of information about any of the devices we mentioned. So far, only trailer toad has a viable website. Another reason these devices are not popular would be their high cost.
It is just out of the budget of many trailer owners especially when they have cheaper and easier options available to them
Some Final Words
This device may be perfect for the gadget-happy traveler but we do not see much practical use for it. Plus, you may have trouble using it in some states as it may be considered a double tow situation.
Some owners speculated that with another pair of wheels on the road, you may be paying higher tolls. There is speculation as there are videos on these devices but not a lot of concrete and verifiable information to checkout.
