Why a sturdy hitch-mounted vise is really handy should be pretty obvious. Everyone appreciates that when you need to cut something, it’s easier and a whole safer if the material is held securely in place. And, when you’re at a work site, you quickly miss items such as a vice even if it’s rarely used compared to your other tools. Tailgates maybe convenient, but they don’t help keep stuff still. So, a rock-solid vice that locks into your truck’s hitch is a tool you’ll instantly be thankful for when you need it. The Wilton Tools All-Terrain Vice, or ATV, is both vice and anvil. It includes a bracket that allows you to use the vise on a bench or trailer.
Another nice feature is the addition of set screws in the shank portion that inserts into your hitch. This allows you to adjust for a tight fit that reduces annoying vibration.
The handle has a locking design that prevents the jaws from moving while driving.
Fits a standard 2-in. hitch and includes a hitch pin.
The stationary jaw is designed to function as a carrying handle, but Wilton also offers an optional carrying case.
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With tens of thousands of utility-body trucks out there, plus countless tradesmen using simple Pick-Up trucks, it's about time someone made a vise specific to this market!
I've never used this Wilton vise, so I cannot speak to it specifically. I can, however. tell you what I want in such a vise.
Oddly enough, I'm not too concerned if the thing wriggles a bit in the hitch. American Van has sold a 'vise mount' for years, and no one ever got too concerned about that mount moving about just a little.
Nobody is going to want to leave the vise in place for long ... you have other uses for the hitch (towing, maybe?), and theft is a concern. So are banged shins. You're going to want to pull the thing out regularly.
With that in mind, I'd like the vise to be lightweight and rust-resistant. Let it be designed to take jaw inserts (like Snap-Jaws) for different tasks. Let it operate without needing messy greases and oils. Let it have a 'rapid-set' feature so you can adjust it without having to make countless cranks on the handle.
I value 'capacity' over massive crushing force. I want to be able to hold electrical panels, doors, and larger pipes- a problem with machinists' vises.
Finally, let it be a BRIGHT color. Let any part you touch with your hands be made so you can handle it after it has sat all day in the hot sun, or been frozen. (That probably means some rubbery coating or epoxy finish in places). Let the handle be stout enough to survive solid hits from a 2-lb maul when it's tightened.