A hitch tightener is used around the lip of a hitch receiver tube and a shank inserted into the hitch receiver tube. The hitch tightener has a U-bolt with two threaded legs, and a crossbar with throughholes for the legs of the U-bolt, positioned so the crossbar and the U-bolt encircle the shank and the receiver tube lip. A standard threaded nut holds the crossbar onto one of the legs, and a cam lock lever is pivotally attached on the other leg by a threaded trunnion nut. When the cam lock lever is pivoted from its opened position to its closed position, it moves the crossbar toward the connecting portion of the clamp component, tightening the hitch tightener around shank and lip.