Posted by Mark Williams | Pickuptrucks.com November 21, 2013
Walking the aisles at the recent Las Vegas Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, an aftermarket showcase of just about every car and truck product known to man, we found a stunning new product that stopped us in our tracks. The idea is simple and will have pickup truck owners wondering why they didn't think of it themselves.
Called WeighSafe, the product uses a small, hydraulically based tongue-weight scale built right into the stock of a trailer hitch. Based on how much down force (or how little, because too little tongue weight is just as dangerous as too much) is being exerted on the ball mount, the scale will show you how much tongue weight (with a relatively small margin of error) is sitting on the back end of your tow vehicle.
The built-in scale was the brainchild of Kevin McAllister from Lehi, Utah, where, as he tells the story, his wife challenged him to invent something that could save lives. At the time the challenge was issued he happened to be studying some federal statistics on trailering accidents and found that more than 10,000 deaths and almost 350,000 injuries could be directly related to improper or unsafe towing.
The product varies in price and can be configured in many different ways. This was McAllister's first time at SEMA, where his new product won the coveted Best New Tools & Equipment Product award. We're hoping we'll see more towing inventions from him in the future.
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