Our trailer expert tests two accessories designed to ease bumper-pull hitch-ups and electrical connectivity, especially if youre completing the tasks by yourself.

If you’re new to towing a bumper-pull horse trailer, you may not appreciate how difficult it can be to line up the hitch and ball and then get the electrical systems all connected correctly. But if you’ve spent time jumping in and out of the truck to see how close you are to the trailer, or you’ve pulled out your little screwdriver to redo your trailer plugs after they pulled apart, you’ll appreciate a better way. Here are two accessories that can help.

QuickBite Coupler
I’ve actually found a hitch coupler that gets me excited! I use mine each week. It just tickles me after I back up to my trailer, hear the click, run back there, and voila! — it’s latched the very first time! There’s no more in-and-out of your truck to see how close you are to the trailer or if you’re centered, and no more asking for help to back up.

QuickBite Couplers (336/956-1956; www.quickbitecouplers.com) hook up like a semi-tractor fifth-wheel. The ball funnels into the coupler and latches on to the hitch. This system requires a whole lot less cranking on your trailer jack since you don’t need to jack the coupler off the ball. To hook up, all you do is back up to your trailer and listen for the snap of the coupler, then you’re hooked! Also, make sure to put in the additional safety pin.

When the dual jaws automatically close around the ball, they’re captured by a torsion spring locking jaw that drops down and locks and surrounds the internal jaws, making it all but impossible for the ball to escape. There’s no need to check if the rear tab is locked under the ball like you do with the cheap, stamped recreational-vehicle couplers.

The QuickBite Coupler jaws are zinc plated, with stainless-steel jaws as an option. And you get your choice of black powder coat, stainless steel, primed, or zinc plated to match your trailer.

The coupler utilizes a five-inch horizontal and increased vertical funnel for the ball mount. There’s no need to have the coupler vertically or horizontally lined up with the ball. When most of the ball is within the funnel, it slides into the internal jaws, which then automatically close and lock. The system is also able to couple at extreme vertical and horizontal angles.

QuickBite comes with two fiberglass rods that extend up to help line you up in the middle; when the coupler locks itself shut, the rods come together. The guide rods are nice and simple. They telescope up above your tailgate or rear hatch on a sports utility vehicle. Then they fit into holes on top of the dual jaws and extend up over your tailgate or SUV liftgate.

Included are sticky dots to put on your tailgate to help you line up between the rods for the first time, all seen through your rearview mirror. I’ve seen different trailer hitching helpers: magnets, suction cups, cameras, mirrors, lights. This is the KISS system: keep it simple, stupid — and it comes free with the QuickBite Coupler.

It’s worth replacing what you have now with this coupler. One of the more difficult things about trailering is backing up to your trailer. I hook and unhook often, and I’m replacing all my couplers with QuickBite. It appeals to my lazy side. I’ve put a lot of miles on my driver’s side door hinges, going in and out to see how close I am to the ball. My trailers are heavier now, too, and I can’t just kick the trailer tongue over to the ball anymore.

And then there are the safety concerns. The cheap, stamped couplers on so many entry-level trailers don’t give you peace of mind about whether they’re latched or not. QuickBite Couplers snap shut, lock with a spring-loaded lever, and have a safety pin for the double lock. Many times, trailers have become disconnected when, in fact, they were never locked on. With the Quickbite Coupler, if it’s closed, it’s locked.

The QuickBite Coupler features dual jaws that automatically close around the ball (top) and two telescoping fiberglass rods that help you line up in the middle (bottom).

EZ Connector
When brakes, lights, and blinkers on your trailer aren’t working — but you don’t know it — it’s a hauling disaster waiting to happen.

Those of us who tow trailers every week know how many times we drop the coupler on the ball and plug in the wire connection, then wiggle the connection for contact. This is a far-from-foolproof method of ensuring you have lights and power. The EZ Connector (559/686-5889; www.ezconnector.com) will make the wiring connection issue one less thing for you to worry about.

EZ Connector is a magnetic connection made between very powerful magnets. Just get the male end near the female plug and pop! — it sucks the two together. An index tab slot aligns the socket and plug to match the right connections.

The male end has two silicone O-rings; the cables have sealant injected inside. All these measures help to make the system waterproof. If you can keep the water out, you can keep the mud and all the corrosive chemicals used to dissolve ice on the highway out.

Because the EZ Connector is magnetic, it’s a no-brainer to understand that the system will break away if your trailer cable gets tangled or you forget to unplug it when unhooking your trailer. This is quality all the way.

When you first look at the EZ Connector, you’ll be impressed that it’s made to last with trouble-free function. Inside the truck socket, the cable is crimped three times, according to EZ Connector president Joe Cardoza. It’s also reinforced with a stainless-steel hog-ring on the inside to take any strain. Every unit is 100 percent tested, not a sample testing as is common in the electronic industry.

With the T-connector I used for a factory tow package, it took only 15 minutes to install on my truck. EZ Connector also has a hard-wired version if you don’t have a factory tow package on your truck or SUV.

Bottom line: Yes it’s expensive. But you buy the more expensive aluminum trailers for a reason. Quality is never cheap. I’m frugal, but I’d have no problem shelling out over $100 for this trailer-wiring system. Peace of mind and safety have value.