My pet peeve involves trailer hitches.

[eveled]

Just a rant, but also a PSA. I don't understand why people with receiver style trailer hitches leave them on all the time. I consider it a major safety hazard, I've seen lots of people walking into them in parking lots. Especially little kids.

Strip malls are even worse they back the truck up over the side walk and the hitch is half way across the side walk.


Also in an accident it stops the bumper from doing its job.

Plus when you go to take it off it will be rusted solid in the receiver.

To make it even worse most of them probably only use it once a year if at all.

 

[RoninPA]

Can't disagree with the poster. Unless you use it everyday why not just take it off when not in use. Not like it is an all day affair to pull a pin, remove the hitch and put it in the bed of the truck (or trunk of a car). And yes, I have run my shin into one or two in a parking lot (when I was paying attention to car(s) moving in the lot). The worst I think are the quad ball type, they seem to stick out farther.

 

[Mike J]

There are 2 reasons I keep my hitch in my truck box. The one you stated & the fact it is just really easy for someone to pull the pin & take the hitch. Besides it might be me or one of the kids that walks into it.

 

[Pistolero]

A savvy RVer removes the hitch, cleans the dirt or dry mud from the receiver then wipes it down with a lubricant/preservative and finishes of by covering the end of the receiver with a hitch cover. The hitch itself is cleaned in the same manner and then stored in the corner of the garage,storage room or truck box to prevent someone from tripping over it.

 

[Acorn]

I believe you can be cited in the state of Pennsylvania for having the hitch in your vehicle while it is not being used

 

[Ale-8(1)]

One of the main features driving this arrangement was the ability to remove the hitch when not in use.

Some folks just don'r get it.

 

[Mus408]

I remove mine cause I was the first one to walk in to it! Don't use a hitch pin but do use a Grade 8 shoulder bolt double nutted. Takes an Allen wrench and a box end wrench to remove it which I carry.

 

[pisgah]

When I inherited a truck with receiver hitch from my dad, I left the hitch in place for a while -- until I realized one day, "Hey, that's a $40 piece of equipment just waiting to be stolen." I took it off right away and locked it in the steel truck-bed toolbox, where it has remained ever since except for two brief towing sessions.

 

[tookalisten]

I keep mine behind the back seat and spray the receiver with WD40.

 

[eveled]

I believe you can be cited in the state of Pennsylvania for having the hitch in your vehicle while it is not being used

That is a good law.

I hate that laws get passed to solve problems that could be prevented with an ounce of common sense.

Thanks for the replies guys nice to know it wasn't me being picky.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

In Alaska I had one on my F350. Most places the hitch you find, the biggest is a Type IV. I had a Type 5 on my truck. The hitch I used extended out past the end of my camper. When I didn't have my camper on I still had the hitch (but not the bull prick - extension) with the ball. Twice in a corner I might roll slightly past the stop sign before a right turn and invariably the guy behind me would be following thinking I was going to do a California stop. I've been hit a couple of times. That ball sticking out would put a major dent in their vehicle, but protected my truck both times.

I can't argue when I came around the truck and the ball hit me in the middle of my chin it hurt. Depends on what you anticipate I guess. The pick up I use now is a Toyota Tundra and in truth, I've sold my camper, I've sold my ATV trailer and haven't pulled anything with it. I don't have the ball hanging on the hitch, and I haven't whacked my shin. But I still worry about someone rolling up on me because they are looking back to the left to see if someone is coming and if they can roll on through.

 

[Jeepnik]

While I keep mine in my bed box unless in use, I've got to wonder why folks are walking so close to the rear of a vehicle that they would trip over it. Mine can't stick out more that 7 or 8 inches, if that.

And on my Jeep, if I have my spare tire rack on, it won't stick out past the tire. Sadly the real reason anyone would walk into one is that they just aren't paying attention to the world around them, a common occurrence these days.

 

[57springer]

While I keep mine in my bed box unless in use, I've got to wonder why folks are walking so close to the rear of a vehicle that they would trip over it. Mine can't stick out more that 7 or 8 inches, if that.

And on my Jeep, if I have my spare tire rack on, it won't stick out past the tire. Sadly the real reason anyone would walk into one is that they just aren't paying attention to the world around them, a common occurrence these days.

Yes if they are that close .................. :roll:

 

[huntsman22]

I came around the truck and the ball hit me in the middle of my chin it hurt.

short feller, aintcha?.....

 

[mjpchief]

Mine is in the receiver. Twice it has kept me from having 6-700 dollars worth of damage to the back of my truck. Both times in a drive thru by a young girl texting while driving. If you hit your shin on my hitch you are too close to my truck. It's no different than when hitches were permanent mounted on rear bumper.

 

[eveled]

I've got to wonder why folks are walking so close to the rear of a vehicle that they would trip over it.

Sadly the real reason anyone would walk into one is that they just aren't paying attention to the world around them, a common occurrence these days.

Mostly it's when they are backed into a space too far and are overhanging half the walkway.

For the second point, people not paying attention can be blamed for lots of accidents. Doesn't make it ok to create a hazard.

For the record it's not me that walks into them it's my elderly mother and my kids.

 

[#1rugerman]

I leave mine all the time, it makes a handy step to get into the bed of my truck. I walked into it once, figured out what I did wrong, learning experience, haven't done it since.

 

[radicalrod]

So do you walk into the mirrors too :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[gramps]

I too leave mine on all the time. It extends 5.25 inches from the end of the bumper. I have a difficult time getting on my knees to pull the pin, then replace the pin. My truck gets used once a week to take off the trash. The trailer gets used maybe 5-6 times a year, and my WaveRunner another 5-6 times a year. I have never run into a trailer hitch.
gramps

 

[Galaxiedan]

Mine stays on all the time as i tow trailers 6 days a week. I however painted it safety yellow to reduce how many times i hit it with my shin.

 

[H.H. Hipshot]

I think that I have six trailers of various sizes and types at my farm. They are in use quite often. I used to take my hitch out, but have stopped doing so. I have three sizes of hitches and balls, the 1-7/8, 2, and 2-5/16" sizes.
When I go to civilization, if you can call WalMart civilization, I park way out in the most remote, unoccupied area I can find. Invariably, some one will go way out there and park right next to me. There must be a gremlin that follows me around, and I hope that he busts his shin on one of my hitches.
Oh, did I say that I have a hitch on the front of my truck as well as the rear?
Beware and bewarned and beinformed and becareful.

HHH

 

[redhawker]

I always remove mine when not in use and replace it with a brake light hitch cover. I believe in as many brake lights as possible is a good thing.

 

[Colonialgirl]

WHY is ANYONE walking THAT CLOSE to the rear end of your truck?
MAYBE they should get their nose out of the iPhone/iPad or whatever and pay attention to the world around them.

 

[blume357]

I drive a utility van and the hitch on the back is one with a step up on it so I can reach and managed the 32ft extension ladder in the center of the wrack.... as someone else mentioned... the thing might stick out 12"... who walks that close to a vehicle... now with that said, except for needing it as a step, I'd take it off because half the time while trying to reach something in the back of the van, I hit my shine. For years I had a permanent hitch on the front.... was my father's idea... and a good one if you need to put a trailer in a tight place... you can push the trailer exactly where you want it. Then one day I almost bumped someone in front of me at a traffic light and I realized that hitch sticking out of the front would do a lot more damage if I ran into the back of someone, which would probably be my fault and also I had not used it to 'push' a trailer in probably 5 or 8 years.... so I took it off.

 

[Rumrunner]

I leave mine in all the time. I have a locking pin so not worried about theft. I have probably hit my shins on my own truck at least 5 or 6 times. It hurts, I cuss, and it stays put. I have been rear ended twice, and when my brother was alive he also was rear ended. Never even knocked the rust off of my receiver ball but it saved my truck from being damaged. One small car ended up with a good sized hole through his hood and his radiator being dented, but again no damage to mine. So yes, it stays in.

By the way, I have walked into mine being forgetful or just stupid, but I have never walked into someone else's hitch.

 

[vito]

It takes all of about 1 minute to remove the hitch, and mine has a locking pin. I only leave it attached when towing my camping trailer, which is at most a few times a year. My Dodge Durango has a plastic piece which completely cover the whole hitch receiver area, and that takes only a few seconds to take off or put on, so I don't find it a big deal to remove the hitch whenever it will not be in use. And I remove it for the reasons the OP stated. I see it as sensible and just common courtesy.

 

[contender]

I have to agree with the few here who leave the hitch hooked up. I have had a few folks hit me from behind. Usually not too fast or too hard,, but enough to cause damage to their car,,, & none to mine. I've even had folks park behind me in a parking space,, with my truck AND hitch inside my "space" only to find they hit my hitch. Seems they can not judge distances too good. My trailer hitch is locked to my receiver,,, with a drilled pin & a combo lock. AND,,, for the rare occasion I've accidentally locked myself out of my truck,,, I can unlock my receiver hitch, pull it,, and stuff securely inside it,,, is a magnetic spare key holder.
I do back my truck into a lot of parking places,,, but usually where nobody is supposed to be walking anyway.
And in parking lots,,, where I can,, I park away from the front,,, AND I like to pull in to where I take 2 in-line spaces,,, WHEN I'm going to be loading stuff into my bed. That way, nobody parks behind me,,, allowing me access to my bed for loading.
If you are walking too close to my truck,,, you may bump your shin,,, so I ask; "Why are you that close to my truck & it's contents?

 

[Jeepnik]

Contender, folks just don't think.

Shortly after I got my Jeep I put nerf bars on it. Mostly for a step for my wife, but hey have save sheet metal several times over the years. At any rate a woman pulled up next to me in a parking lot, threw open her door and left a nice crescent shaped dent in the edge of her door.

She became quite irate and threatened to do everything from have me arrested to having her husband kick my tail. Now mind you had the bar not been there I would have had quite a good sized dent in the door of my Jeep.

I invited her to do either at which point she left in a huff, but not before she refused to exchange information.

 

[A.J.]

I remove the hitch for two reasons: so it doesn't get stolen and so it doesn't get rusted into the receiver.

 

[Robb Barnes]

I hook up to one of my trailers several times a week so I leave mine in. It has also taken the brunt of two young drivers foolish mistakes and both times it saved the bumper and sheet metal of my truck. I understand the frustration if folks back into a spot and let it overhang the sidewalk. That is why I always park at the far end of the lot and stay within my space. If you are not paying attention and run into my hitch when I'm parked out of the way then I'm sorry.