The idea started in Polson High School’s shop class more than 30 years ago.

Dave McConnell had seen too many people, including a guy in shop, bang their shins and knees on truck hitches that jutted out from underneath the bumper. He thought maybe someone could fix that problem.

But like many good ideas that come to teenagers, it quickly left McConnell’s mind.

In 2007, the now-successful landscaper and 1980 Polson grad had the idea pop back into his mind and he quickly worked up a prototype.

The Montana Hitch, McConnell’s invention, allows truck owners to press a pin and fold the hitch underneath the bumper. No mess, no tools required, no shin injuries.

“The biggest response we have gotten from dealerships is, ‘I can’t believe no one thought of this before,’” he said. “And it truly is surprising no one had thought of it.”

The Montana Hitch, a three-sided frame that can be bolted to the underside of trucks and full-size vans in less than 20 minutes, will be a welcome addition to quite a few trucks around the country, McConnell said. He is selling it initially for around $500.

Jay Hoker, a friend and business partner, said McConnell has sunk just about everything into this project.

“He didn’t have the money he needed starting off,” Hoker said. “So he sold his house and everything he owned but his truck.”

The Montana Hitch is having a soft release in Dallas, but Montanans can buy the setup now for the Ford F-150. The F-250 and 350 are still in the works, but will be done sometime in the next six months.

“After we develop those, we will move on to other models like GM,” McConnell said. “We already have some local Ford dealerships contacting us.”

The F-150 standard hitch has a 11,500-pound towing capacity. According to McConnell and Hoker, the Montana Hitch was so well designed that it shot well above factory specs. The same went for the 18,500-pound Super Duty hitch.

“It far exceeded anything on the market,” Hoker said. “It looks like it might be weak but it tests stronger.”

The hitch weighs 59 to 68 pounds, depending on the truck model. The stress-testing lab the inventor brought it to was impressed how well beyond factory specs it went in terms of towing capacity.

The standard my-dad-and-grandad hitch has worked for decades, but has also been the cause of a group of problems even for the most fastidious truck owner.

Backing into cars with the hitch, rusting in place or even losing the receiver when taking it out have been headaches for so long that most pickup drivers have just learned to deal with the issues.

McConnell said he feels his Montana Hitch solves these problems. It takes less than 20 seconds to fold in the hitch, where a magnet keeps it affixed under the bumper. The powder-coating keeps rust away even in Montana’s charming winter weather.

With the several years it took to get patents (McConnell has two in the United States with two pending as well as several others around the world pending) and huge cost of implementing his new invention, he can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“After the long process, it’s kind of hard to explain how excited I am,” McConnell said. “We all have dreams, so when something like this happens it feels so good.”

Interested truck owners can check out www.MontanaHitch.com for more details.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4439 or at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.